It is no surprise
that
We are celebrating
the 25th anniversary of Eliza Travel in 2004, however it will actually
be the 100th Anniversary of my family's involvement with the Motor
Vehicle industry this year with many Firsts to our name!
 I
have photos of my Grandfather & Grandmother going back to the
very early days when they ran the first Driving School in the UK,
and one of the very first motor businesses in the world - Wilsons
Automobiles and Coachworks Ltd originally located in South Norwood,
London and then Acre Lane Brixton, London. We later added branches
at Dorking Road, Epsom, Surrey + Otley Road, Bradford, Yorkshire
+ Station Road, Castle Donington, Leicestershire
The story really
started when my Grandfather, Howard Wilson, who was a Fish &
Poultry merchant had a good year and decided to buy one of the new
cars that were just beginning to appear on the roads of the UK.
He spoke to a Mr Herbert Austin and was soon driving around the
area. A friend of his admired the car so Howard Wilson told Herbert
Austin and shortly thereafter his friend came round to show off
his new car. A few days later a cheque for Introductory Commission
arrived in the mail from Herbert Austin! Howard thought this was
great and, in 1904 he started Wilsons Automobiles & Coachworks
Ltd...
Various highlights
include:
We taught
Australians and New Zealanders to drive army trucks during the first
World War 1914 - 1918. Trading as Wilsons Motor Schools
My father,
Leslie Wilson, joined the business and subsequently became Managing
Director
Wilsons had
the largest self drive car hire fleet in the UK in 1946.
I learned to drive when I was 5 years old and I taught children
to drive at school in the 1950's as part of a road safety campaign
- actually featured on Pathe News etc. I see Australia is considering
this as a new idea now...........
We were agents for Austin, Morris, Wolseley, Riley, MG, Austin Healey,
Renault, Lotus, Armstrong Siddeley, Hillman, Humber, Singer, Sunbeam,
Standard and Triumph - the UK launch of the Triumph Herald took
place in our showrooms in Acre Lane, Brixton, London in 1959
We started the first global Motorhome sales centre in 1958 and we
were the largest global motorhome dealership throughout the 1960's
and 1970's etc. trading as Wilsons Motor Caravan Centre and selling
over 2,000 motorhomes each year and with a rental fleet of 150 vehicles
We ran the first Motorhome Rally in the UK in 1960 at Woburn Abbey
We ran the first Motorhome Rally in Europe in 1966
We supplied
motorhomes to many celebrities including Steve McQueen and Graham
Hill etc. etc. (look at today's Formula 1 Paddock!).
 We
worked with Qantas, BOAC (British Airways), PanAm, South African
Airways and Air Canada as the supplier of motorhomes to their Landcruise
Fly/Motorhome programme
We raced a
Mini Cooper S during the 1960's and held 6 circuit lap records for
our class at one time
I competed in the first London-Sydney Marathon in 1968 driving an
Austin 1800 ( the visit to Australia persuaded me to emigrate!)
and again in the 1993 London-Sydney Marathon in a Rolls-Royce Corniche
convertible
We entered a Motor Caravan (Ford Escort Dormobile) in the London-Mexico
World Cup Rally in 1970
We now operate the leading global reservations service, based in
Frankston, Victoria offering Cars, 4 Wheel Drives/SUV's, Minibuses,
Campervans and Motorhomes throughout the world. My wife, Luky, one
of our sons, Francis, and our daughter Melissa are now involed in
the business so the family tradition continues....
I have boxes of photos, brochures and support material etc. dating
back to 1904 and I am trying to find the time to collate it all
and put it up on our web sites
There are literally tens of thousands of people around the world
who have had
dealings with us over the period and we would be really happy to
hear from them again and receive further information and photos
to fill in the gaps in our records
There cannot be many families with a stronger tie to the motor vehicle
and recreation..............
This is why
we refer to ourselves as ' The Experts ' !
Tony Wilson
Managing Director
January 2005
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