Standard 10

When visiting the Banbury Rally in Oxfordshire, I could not help but notice this Standard 10 from the 1950s. It was parked in a row of cars from the past, many of them being models that I remember very well from my childhood days.

The Standard 10 was particularly memorable to me, because my father bought one when I was very young, and it was the family car for about ten years before he fell in love with VW Beetles.

Our Standard 10 was blue, its name was Oscar (named after Oscar Wilde, who was one of my father’s favourite writers) and the number plate was PLJ 483 – a detail never forgotten in half a century!

I don’t ever remember Oscar breaking down or having an accident. He took us on family holidays from Dorset to Wales on many occasions, with the four of us and all our luggage, much of it on a roof rack - apart from the surf board which somehow slotted alongside the front and rear seats on the driver’s side.

I remember being very sad when I saw Oscar being driven away after he was sold. It seemed as though an old friend had gone for ever.

However, several years later I was walking through a boatyard a few miles from our home when I saw an empty boat trailer with a familiar number plate on the back – PLJ 483. So Oscar had learned to tow boats in his old age! Unfortunately I never saw Oscar himself, but it was good to know that someone else was now appreciating him!

And all those memories came flooding back when I saw this exhibit at the Rally. If this Standard 10 could still be running, despite being about 60 years old, then maybe Oscar is still around somewhere too!