Interesting history of registration numbers

[Twiggy]

I posted this some time ago, but I cannot find the post. It was well received at the time, so I`m re-posting it for the benefit of new members.

 

www.cvpg.co.uk/REG.pdf

 

Hope it works..............

[inconsistant]

That's fantastic, thanks for posting!

 

One question though, maybe for the Stupid Question Amnesty... 

 

 

Why do we need an area identifier? What does it matter to anyone these days where a car is first registered?

[Twiggy]

That's fantastic, thanks for posting!

 

One question though, maybe for the Stupid Question Amnesty... 

 

 

Why do we need an area identifier? What does it matter to anyone these days where a car is first registered?

 

Glad you like it - I certainly found it fascinating...

 

I`ve absolutely no idea why we would need and area identifier at all - something I`ve never thought about, but I`d like to know why too !

[twosmoke300]

You need to be careful with that interesting word

 

Very informative though and a good read , Cheers

[Angrydicky]

Interesting link! The only bit I would say isn't very accurate is the first paragraph, referring to two letter and four number registrations commonly used until the early 1930's. 

'These plates are rare and are normally only seen on newer vehicles as cherished or personalised numbers. However, some still exist

and were originally issued to vehicles first registered between 1903 and the mid 1930's. The reverse (where the one or two letters

follow the numbers) are very rare - only a few of these were issued in the 1950's / 60's when three letter plate combinations ran out'.

 

They aren't rare among pre war cars at all, and due to the age of the reg it's actually quite rare to see them sold off as cherished plates. Not all councils had used up their combinations by 1963, Nairn Council in Scotland were still registering cars in the AS **** sequence in 1963 and other, mainly rural areas with few cars were as well. There were loads of reverse combinations issued to 1950's/1960's cars, particularly by councils such as Middlesex who registered loads and loads of cars, ****MK, ****ML, ****MP etc. The only reason these are now getting rarer is because they were popular with numberplate robbers over the last 25 years, but there's still plenty about.

 

Also, there are three more combinations now in use for age related plates since the article was written.

 

***UXA-UXY

***XUA-XUY

 

And the one they're using currently is ***YUA-YUY.

 

Something else I would mention is any combination with a number less than 101 is kept back by the DVLA to flog on as private plates, i.e. 50 UXB. Also the 'hundreds' seem to be kept back, such as 400 UXC.

[HMC]

Good link! as ever in any system, its often as question of who you know. Claude Rye, a motorcycle dealer on the fulham road, got a block allocation of RYE*** when they were issued in the mid 50s. Nice advertisement!

 

It was usually down to civil servants at a local level to intercept anything they thought not quite in the spirit of the system old boy, couldnt possibly have that on an armstrong siddely what?

 

And so, having a flick through my A history of motor vehicle registration in the united kingdom......

 

Essex CC didnt issue AWC in thirties yet happily sent forth cars on a similar theme reading POO that same decade.....

London cc sidestepped FUC in 39 and 64

Salop also was wary of FUX and CNT......

Wiltshire avioded DAM.....

Pre war birminham administrators spat their pipes out at  BOG COC and COK....

Aberdeen withheld ARS in 1938....

And pre war leeds admin bods sidestepped BUB BUG and BUM

[Micrashed]

3 letters 1 number - WRN 6

Preston registered  1920 Richardson Light which belonged to my grandfather (and before that his father)

[mercrocker]

Regarding the area prefix (as it  now is)  I was  told (probably by a fibber....) that the reason the government chose to retain an area-specific prefix was  that commonality in an area  would breed a familiarity which may make remembering/reporting a number plate easier for the public.   Before the current system of  course it was necessary for each issuing borough/county or town to have blocks of letter combinations unique to them...

[minolman]

Intrestin'. I've always been a fan of the history of reg numbers and suchlike.

Once saw a photo in an old bike mag of a [i think] BSA with TOP 20, would be worth a bit now to someone. 

Someone local has C 16, which is an original 1903 Leeds number but on a modern. Some counties issued the number 1 plate to the local mayor. I have seen quite a few on mayoral limos. As already said there was a degree of 'who you know' in the system but people could write to a county asking if it was possible to retain a certain number for themselves, early days cases of vanity plates. 

Some counties reserved batches of number for different vehicle types. A big run of BT numbers were reserved for motorcycles, and another for what they called the "heavy register", lorries and buses. 

I saw ST08ART on a classy looking Merc a while back, assumed it was Eddie

cheers

M

[brickwall]

Great find Twiggy - I had wondered about the lettering on more recent vehicles. I suppose we are much more mobile now meaning the area letters are spread throughout the land.

[scruff]

I love the old Birmingham plates, especially when you see them in BL promo stuff, FOX, OOG etc

[tooSavvy]

.... Hmmm.... I'm sure I was alongside a BIG yank P.U. [Ford, I think] recently >> S16DLE >> SiddleCook, I wondered?

 

He's the guy who builds the Elddis Caravans & has a haulage co.

 

*EDIT... Yes - its a FORD.

 

tooSavvy

[Asimo]

I like the area designators. I always warm more to local shite.

I guess they were originally used because numbers were issued locally, before the dead-hand of DVLA's computers got involved.

[Buff McHugelarge]

There definitely a lot more to number plates than I first thought. 

Nice link, thanks

[Mr Livered]

I like the area designators. I always warm more to local shite.

I guess they were originally used because numbers were issued locally, before the dead-hand of DVLA's computers got involved.

Absolutely. My family is from Somerset, and I remember all the elderly relations we used to visit as kids (long since dead now) used to have YA, YB or YC on their cars.

 

Now I is a grownup, my Minx has a YA numberplate, and that's part of the car's appeal to me. A sort of nostalgic sentimentality for anoraks.

[scruff]

Yep, I'd love a BP or PX. Or an FP for where we live now.

[Justin Case]

Greetings fellow automumerologists (sp?)

 

A few answers to some of the questions posed about earlier regs:

 

Area codes were introduced because before 1920 local authorities ran their own systems; most letters followed no logical pattern but were just allocated in a first come first served way, although London had LA, LB, LC and a few more like that, as did one or two counties. Some authorities had parallel sequences for say, cars and motorbikes or commercial vehicles, so it could be possible to see two different pre 1920 vehicles with the the same number although AFAIK Worcestershire and probably some others re-registered all the bikes in 1919 to avoid duplication.

 

I've got pictures of traction engines with the number beginning with 0, eg AH 0** so perhaps they were registered separately?

 

Birmingham kept some series for commercials, all their buses had OA, OG, OJ or VP registrations and we have a Fordson truck at the Museum HVP 167.

 

Devon never issued GOD, so I don't know what the Archbish has on his car

 

Dorset originally issued BF, but they had second thoughts and changed to FX, but BF later turned up in Staffordshire (where perhaps they are a little less refined )

 

I'll get my anorak

[chaseracer]

...but BF later turned up in Staffordshire (where perhaps they are a little less refined )

'kin right we are... 

[scruff]

I believe the AH-0xxx were Norfolk's "motor tractor" series, we have FE 1620 which was issued by Lincoln in 1915 as a "motor tractor". 

[DSdriver]

London Transport had *LT and the Royal Mail or General Post Office as it then was had GPO on their vans.

[minolman]

IIRC it was permissable to use a zero numeral on a plate in a series such as VY0123, I can't remember where I read this though! 

In the 1903 series the single letters issued first were given to towns or cities in order of the 1901 census population size, hence A was London, C was Leeds etc. 

I also love the idea of the county identifier letters. I had a Morris Oxford that was 'FF' Merionethshire, and whenever we were in North Wales we got waves from the locals, who thought it was a local car.

[tooSavvy]

NL was for Northumberland, ergo 'country set'.

 

'Knob edd' wannaby Poshhers - from Gosforth [Newcastle reg VK] - would take the bus to Morpeth[NL] & buy a Vlovo....... oh yes

 

tooSavvy

[quicksilver]

I've heard the BF story about Northampton so maybe it was passed around a few areas before Staffordshire accepted it, or they're trying to claim credit that isn't due. Pre-1920 registrations can be quite bizarre. Buckinghamshire certainly had two series, BH123 for cars and motorbikes and BH0123 for 'heavy motor vehicles', and at least one area (can't remember who) used even numbers only on motorbikes and odd numbers on everything else (or vice versa). We haven't had any local identifers in Bucks since 1974 (used to have BH, KX and PP which were all moved to Luton) so new vehicles here tend to be registered in Luton, Northampton or Oxford in equal measure, just adding to the variety.

 

Didn''t a few C-UNT marks get issued in 1985 before someone at Shrewsbury VRO realised how rude they were?

[Twiggy]

_{I understand that PEN 1S was issued by Bury Council. but quickly withdrawn. Similarly with PEN 15, which was advertsised in N.W. Auto Trader in the late 80`s. Probably all apocryphal.......}

[mercrocker]

_{I understand that PEN 1S was issued by Bury Council. but quickly withdrawn.}

Rhythm method?

[Rusty_Rocket]

I saw PEN 15 on a black Mercedes outside Maidstone Kwik Fit(!) about ten years ago.

Why anyone would want that on their car is beyond me.

[Junkman]

Because he thinks his is too small.

[Vin]

Greetings fellow automumerologists (sp?)

 

Dorset originally issued BF, but they had second thoughts and changed to FX, but BF later turned up in Staffordshire (where perhaps they are a little less refined )

 

I'll get my anorak

 

Very interesting thread.

 

My reference material has this to say about 'BF' when mentioning combinations that have never been issued -

 

"...This practice originated with the innocent use of the BF mark issued by Dorsetshire, abandoned in 1904 with BF 162 because many motorists took BF to mean Bloody Fool, a serious insult in those days. Dorsetshire switched to FX from then on..."

 

It also states that BF was eventually issued as a Staffordshire ID from 1965, then a Stoke on Trent ID from 1974 until 1996. From 1997 to 2001 it was a Nottingham issue.

[myglaren]

NL was for Northumberland, ergo 'country set'.

 

'Knob edd' wannaby Poshhers - from Gosforth [Newcastle reg VK] - would take the bus to Morpeth[NL] & buy a Vlovo....... oh yes

 

tooSavvy

I can't remember the reg of most of my previous cars but the last C5 is/was an NL.  Bought in Middlesborough I presumed it was a Newcastle reg

Wrong - as usual.

[martybabes]

Years ago, when I lived in Hereford, HP Bulmer (cider makers) had the registration 61DER.  This was before the C prefix was issued, so maybe they now also have C1DER.

 

In a petrol station recently, I saw a modern RR with B19 TOP - presumably someone with a connection to the circus.