Rolls-Royce 20/25 chassis number GMU33 was ordered by newspaper scion Sir Hugh Smiley, 3rd Baronet. The original order forms, copies of which remain in the file, note a “special Barker long bonnet with louvres”, much-improving the elegance of the car’s proportions, as well as a Harrison trunk to accommodate golf bags, “and complete with all extras and accessories”. Amusingly a further £7 was charged to train Sir Hugh’s driver, Bellamy, at the Rolls-Royce School of Instruction, which must have been an intensive course as it lasted nearly two weeks! Bellamy’s “report card”, of sorts, is also in the file, within which he received high marks.

The 20/25 remained with Sir Hugh until 1936. Its next known owner is recorded as Dr CF Stott of London, in 1948. It appears to have been later restored for one Alfred Goodson and then sold around 1970, moving to Cape Town, South Africa, in the care of a Dr Feinberg. There it was acquired in 1988 from a Mr Petersen by T.H.J. Eastwood, and returned to the country of its origin. Mr Eastwood set about refreshing the car both cosmetically and mechanically, as recorded in a maintenance file invoicing a full engine rebuild, and reuniting it with its original registration number. He also took great pleasure in researching its history, including a fascinating correspondence with the original owner, who recounted visiting the works to see the driver’s seat fashioned to Bellamy’s measurements. Bellamy, himself, also wrote to Mr Eastwood, noting that “the car did the usual social rounds in London”, and that his employer drove the car more than he did. Eventually, the restored car was reunited with Sir Hugh and Lady Smiley, who were able to ride in it once more.

The consigning owner’s family acquired the car from Eastwood in 1991, and it has now remained in their small, select collection of outstanding Rolls-Royces for some 34 years. It has been well-loved and properly kept, with more recent engine work and rewiring undertaken in 2017, as documented by a small collection of invoices and photographs in the file. Further invoices on file document mechanical restoration work to the car dating back to the 1980s.

Well-loved and still very attractive, this is a superb example of an “owner-driver” Rolls-Royce, with wonderful history and documentation to boot.