It was a more refined era of British motoring.
And the days of the luxury limousine were brought bang up to date when a Huddersfield car became one of the stars of a classic motor show.
The 1935 Rolls Royce featuring a body made by the iconic Huddersfield coachbuilders Rippon Bros was a huge hit at the Swiss Classic British Car Meeting in Geneva.
Thousands of motoring fans flocked to the shores of Lake Geneva for the show, which was paying homage to 110 years of Rolls Royces.
The 1935 Rippon model is now owned by Sven Beham, of Lichtenstein and he drove into Switzerland for the rally.
That journey delighted James and Annabel Hinchlfife, who were among the fans at the show.
James is the grandson of Col Reg Rippon, the Huddersfield motor company’s chairman in he post war years, and the couple initiated a best-selling book detailing the Rippon Bros history.
The book, ‘Rippon Bros a Coachbuilder of Renown’ by Jonathan Wood, was recently awarded the Antique Automobile Club of America’s Thomas McKean Cup.
Rippon Bros, established as a carriage maker in Huddersfield in 1870, went on to produce highly regarded car coachwork and specialised in Rolls Royces in the centre of Huddersfield. The firm was originally in St John’s Road but before the First World War the company moved to purpose-built premises in Viaduct Street.
The building was occupied until 1971 and is now part of the site of the Tesco supermarket.
The firm can trace its history back to 1555 when Walter Rippon was credited with having introduced the coach to England in 1555 with his first customer being the Earl of Rutland.
The company’s reputation for excellence was rooted in its association with Rolls-Royce, having built its first body for what was a new make in 1906 and went on to work with the firm until 1958.
Certainly the model on show in Geneva attracted massive attention.
It was in a line-up of Rolls Royces dating from the early models of 1904 right up to the present day. In all, there were more than 100 cars on display.
Annabel said: The event was huge, attracting 20,000 visitors. It has been going for 23 years and has celebrated an enormous variety of different British makes from Aston Martins, to MGs, to Jaguars and to Rovers.
“This year it was Rollys Royce and they lined up in front of the Castle of Morges.
“It was a real surprise when the Rippon-bodied Rolls Royce arrived at the last minute
