A WHITE 1934 Rolls Royce 20/25 Light Saloon which was built for Peter Morton, the late chairman of famed Lancashire bread and flour maker Hovis, will make its first public appearance since the Covid-19 lockdown at Stokesley’s Classics on Show on August 7.

The pristine saloon, which was originally black, served the Morton family until the end of the Second World War when it was sold to a USA buyer. The car remained in the US, where it underwent a respray to white, until 1988 when it was tracked down to Seattle by Graham Armstrong of Marton, Middlesbrough, a lifelong Rolls Royce fanatic and a member of Teesside Yesteryear Club.

Graham set his heart on the car and brought it back to the North-East, where he completely renovated it. Today the 87-year-old Rolls Royce still wins admiring glances wherever Graham takes her. “Driving her is a bit like living in a goldfish bowl – everyone stops for a look, and photos, if possible,” he said.

When first bought by Peter Morton back in 1934 the saloon cost £1,500 – the equivalent of £300,000 today. “It was a lot of dough then and now,” said Graham.

The Rolls Royce will be among a spectacular line up of classic vehicles which will serve as a glimpse of transport history since 1914.

“This Rolls Royce is a bit of a history maker in that it has Lancashire heritage now in the care of a Yorkshire man,” said Chris Mayes, chairman of the Classics on Show committee of event organiser Stokesley Rotary Club. “She is one of many interesting vehicles with equally intriguing back stories which can be retold at this year’s show.”

Classics on Show 2021, held at Stokesley showfield, just off the A172, is supported by Mathewson’s classic vehicle auctions of Thornton le Dale and sponsored by SG Petch and Lexus Teesside. This year, for the first time, the show will feature a dedicated motorcycle arena. The show is free to enter for exhibitors, though donations are welcomed. Visitors pay £6 or £14 for a family ticket, while auto jumble traders pay £15 for a standard pitch. The event regularly attracts up to 400 exhibitors. Funds raised from this year’s show will go the Great North Air Ambulance, The Samaritans, Blood Bikes, and other Rotary supported charities.