Ettington man’s car was his pride and joy but was stolen 37 years ago
WITH only 14,000 miles on the clock David George, aged 85, once owned a pearl grey mini which was his pride and joy but sadly it was stolen 37 years ago and now all he wants to know is what happened to his beloved car before he dies.
David, from Ettington, caught a train down to London with £4,000 in his pocket to buy the 1950’s Mini which was in Orpington, Kent. Unfortunately, he only got to enjoy a few months of driving fun with it before the Mini was stolen from outside his flat in Henley in Arden in 1986.
“I fell in love with it,” David told the Herald. “It was owned by a woman who bought the car for her husband - Dennis Green. The registration was DG 233 which matched my initials so I bought the number plate and the car for £4,000. It had 14,000 miles on the clock, was kept in a garage, and was brought out and washed by the wife from time to time. It still had the original seat covers and been looked after so well.”
In 1986, David and his wife Gillian lived in a flat above Dillons in Henley. At the time he wasn’t working having just finished his job at The Golden Cross pub in Bearley.
He used to park the car underneath a canopy over the front of Dillons but one afternoon around 5pm the Mini was stolen.
“I used to leave it unlocked with the keys in because this type of Mini had a floor start button which you had to push to start the car with the key in the ignition so I never thought it would get stolen. It was Gillian who asked me where the car was? I called the police but I never saw the car again,” said David.
A short while before it vanished into thin air, he had a knock on his front door and a man said he’d like to buy the Mini but was told it wasn’t for sale. David has since wished he’d got the man’s details.
According to David, there was something unique about his prized Mini. It was the 42nd one of its type off the production line and had a curtain grille on the front of the vehicle. He still has its log book and a photo of himself with his Mini which he remembers with affection to this day. Most of all, he’d loved to see it again.
“I don’t want to bring any charges against anyone I just wanted to know its whereabouts and I hope it’s been looked after. I want to see the Mini before I die,” David said.
In December he will be 86. David clings on to a faint hope that he will see the car he cherished for just two to three months before it was stolen from outside his flat in 1986.
