Reeman Dansie Colchester to auction off 1929 Singer Junior

Auction house Reeman Dansie, on Severalls Business Park, is selling off a 1929 Singer Junior with a remarkable history.

Vintage motoring enthusiast Harry Booth bought the car from a scrapyard in 1961.

The vehicle was in a reasonable condition at the time, and Mr Booth's 16-year-old daughter, Merriel Gallifant, now aged in her 80s, decided it would be ideal to learn to drive in.

She would practise gearstick changes in front of her father’s Old Cottage Paint Shop, in London Road.

Family car - Merriel Gallifant sitting on top of the Singer Junior (Image: Reeman Dansie)Mr Booth then sold the Singer to Great Maplestead couple David and Sylvia Rouse after he put an advert in Exchange and Mart for a 1930s Sunbeam he was planning to sell.

The couple decided not to buy the Sunbeam but liked the Singer and bought it for £5 in 1962.

Incredibly, Merriel would be reunited with the car around 30 years later.

Mr and Mrs Rouse were showing it at a car rally, and she ended up showing Mr Rouse an old photo of her sitting on Singer's bonnet after exclaiming: “That’s my car!”

Mr Rouse used the car every day and took it to vintage car club events, competed in hill climbs, driving tests and navigational rallies and tours

The couple kept it for 57 years before he died in 2017.

Mrs Rouse decided to sell their car collection but kept the Singer until Merriel became the owner again in 2019.

Proud - Merriel Gallifant with the Singer Junior this year (Image: Reeman Dansie) Now, Merriel has decided to auction off the car which comes with a large file of its history and a collection of photographs.

It is expectted to sell for between £4,000 to £5,000 and all proceeds will be donated to St Helena Hospice.

Lewis Rabett, head of the collectors department at Reeman Dansie, said: “First of all, it is a lovely vehicle and has a very nice end to quite a happy story.

“It has come full circle and there is a nice photograph of Merriel next to the car today and one from when she was a teenager.

Auctioneer - Lewis Rabett (Image: Reeman Dansie)

“I think it is quite a specialist classic vehicle. It’s not necessarily going to appeal to everyone - they require specialist knowledge to work on and drive.

“But a combination of the history, lovely condition, and the fact the car been used and enjoyed for years, for anyone with a collection of cars, this is going to be something they are really keen to acquire.”

“With the money going to a very good local hospice, I hope people will be generous.”

The auction begins at 11am on Saturday.