The Armstrong Siddeley Car Club
 

Competition results for the category: Hardluck & Perserverance

CompetitionOwner/DriverCarPositionResulting timeNotes
Concours d'Elegance - 1975 CanberraBill Lyford100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1976 DeniliquinBrian Cleghorn100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1977 CootamundraRalph Tolson100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1978 MilduraJack Jefferyes100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1979 Wagga WaggaEvan Wright100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1980 TamworthHoward McCormick100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1981 Barossa ValleyJohn & Alison Colbrook100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1982 ToowoombaFred & Pat Jones100:00:00

My trials and tribulations, and therefore, this hard luck story, began several days before Easter 1982. I had prepared my Whitley (C189160), popularly known as “Whittles”, for the trip from Sydney to the Federal Rally to be held at Toowoomba that year.

As I had planned to depart Sydney early on the Thursday before Easter, I parked her in the parking station of the Boulevard Hotel, William Street, Sydney on the Wednesday evening. Paradoxically, the Boulevard Hotel is situated diagonally opposite the site of the old Buckle Motors showroom (now demolished) at 119-121 William Street, from whence Whittles was delivered to her first owner in late 1950.

Early next morning, I returned to the Boulevard to collect Whittles. She was gone. Thinking I may have mistaken the level of the parking station I had left her on, I ran up, then down, checking each floor, but in vain. The Wilson Parking attendant informed me that the boom gate of the parking station was left open in the early hours of each morning, apparently to save the cost of paying an attendant to man the booth. “Funny that”, he said, “we lost a Ferrari here last week”.

I contacted Police and reported the loss. Next, I rang Bob Elliott, then Treasurer of ASCC and he posted out a notice to every Club member, that day, alerting them to the theft. I rang radio station 2WS and paid for an announcement to be aired asking listeners to keep a lookout for the car. Naturally, I advised the Rally organisers in Toowoomba. What to do next?

I set out driving around Sydney, gradually heading west across Sydney, towards the Blue Mountains. By 10 p.m. on Good Friday I called in to yet another service station, at Springwood, where the console operator, an Englishman of mature years, listened to my story with real interest and remarked that he had owned a Whitley many years before, in Britain.

An offer of accommodation was gratefully accepted, and his kind wife served me a late supper. Next day, I took my leave of the Good Samaritans, and returned to my searching across Sydney for the remainder of the long Easter weekend.

On the following Wednesday, I received a call at work from the Police. Whittles had been reported as having been parked under a block of flats at Hurlstone Park for several days, and was apparently undamaged. I left the city immediately and found her parked under the building. A small scratch on the NSF wing was noted, and the radio/8-track player was gone, but there was no sign of forced entry or other apparent damage. The trip meter showed 39 miles, as I had set it to zero in anticipation of the Easter Rally. She started and ran normally, and the gearbox was undamaged – one of my fears having been that a person unused to a preselector box may have ruined it.

I advised various Club members of the remarkable recovery and learnt that I had been awarded the ASCC Hard Luck Trophy at Toowoomba, a small but welcome consolation.

Since that day, I have always used steering locks, immobilisers and other safety devices!

Whittles enjoyed a further eight years of regular use in my hands, including attendance at Federal Rallies at Canberra, Ballarat, Bowral, Thredbo (the best location ever), and Mudgee, before she passed from my possession to a succession of owners in Canberra, where she resides today. Truly a lucky car!

— Peter Woodward

Concours d'Elegance - 1983 CanberraPeter Woodward100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1984 BallaratAthol Duncan100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1985 BowralAlf Britton100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1986 RenmarkAlf Britton100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1987 StanthorpeMaurie & Jill Turland100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1988 ThredboHarry Cooper100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1989 WangarattaPaul Caro100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1990 MudgeeLee Rodda100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1991 Clare ValleyHelen Andrews100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1992 ToowoombaFred Jones100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1993 TumutAndrew Hyden100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1994 DartmouthPaul Caro100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1995 CowraPaul Caro100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1996 Barossa ValleyBrad Purss100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1997 CherrabahAlan Purss100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1998 GoulburnJack Jeffries100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 1999 Mt BeautyAndrew Kemp100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2000 SingletonStuart & Kelly Daw100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2002 JindabyneRoss Burgess100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2003 BeechworthJohn Graham100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2004 Wagga WaggaTore Pannuzzo100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2005 TanundaNot Contested100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2006 InverellGraham & Pauline Carson100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2007 CanberraRobert & Miriam Bradly100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2008 EchucaLyel & Robyn Murrell100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2009 BathurstHelen Andrews100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2010 Swan HillAllan & Brad Purss100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2011 ToowoombaPaul Caro100:00:00

My 1954 Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire was parked at the motel in it's allocated space. Another member of the ASCC reversed out of his car space and "kissed" my car. No hard feelings on either side.

— Ernie Garton

Concours d'Elegance - 2012 Sapphire CoastErnie Garton100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2013 BendigoLex Marshall100:00:00Overheating problems capped off by collapsed heater pipe connections at the rear of the cylinder head made sure that Lex and Ruth Marshall received the Hard Luck Trophy for 2013.
Concours d'Elegance - 2014 MaitlandLex Marshall100:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2015 Broken HillSelwyn Allen10:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2016 Tweed HeadsIan Handley1956 Armstrong Siddeley 2361C230253
Concours d'Elegance - 2017 ForbesNot Contested1
Concours d'Elegance - 2018 BeechworthJohn Graham10:00:00
Concours d'Elegance - 2019 CanberraStephen Purss1
Concours d'Elegance - 2021 RenmarkBruce Pearce11Two Siddeleys failed just before the rally.
Concours d'Elegance - 2022 Yarrawonga MulwalaPaul Cole1956 Armstrong Siddeley 23611C230541
Concours d'Elegance - 2023 LeetonBarbara Pennington1954 Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 111C341870
The Armstrong Siddeley Car Club
Armstrong Siddeley Car Club The Court House 325 High Street Learmonth VIC 3352
Phone Cameron Wright, President, 0408 595 461
ACN 001 059 212
Email president@armstrongsiddeley.org.au
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