Resting Child

Home of Hope

Ambulance

Home of Hope

"Father "

Home of Hope

Smile!

Home of Hope

White Beach- Isle of man

xPan

Wooden steps

Isle of Man

Peel Castle

Sunset

White Strand

Sun Set

The 'Manxcar'

 When WW2 ended there was a great shortage of private cars in the UK, all new ones being reserved for export. Kit cars were offered by some small firms for self assembly to offset the purchase tax then being levied on assembled vehicles. This seemed an attractive option for producing in the Isle of Man and a simple 3-wheeler design was evolved,as this could be driven by holders of a motorcycle driving licence.

However, there were objections from the then UK based Customs & Excise and payment of purchase tax would have greatly reduced the sales potential so the project was abandoned with regret.

P.1000 Car Body

The first car body that we produced was designed for fitting to the Ford 8/10 or Morris 8 chassis. A simple one piece shell it found a ready market but it required internal framework for support, so a self supporting body was eveolved, consisting of a front section with bonnet, lid and dashboard, double skinned doors with integral pockets, a rear section with boot lid and named the P.1000. Sales were very encouraging, the sections could be packed into a crate of 5ft cube and at one time nearly 500 of these were in circulation.

The Viking Sport

A design for a sports car based on the Mini was evolved but using the longer Minivan wheelbase. The entire body shell was moulded in GRP and many of the original Mini fittings and components utilised, but with the addition of a raised central floor tunnel to give longitudinal stiffness. A light steel tube frame was bonded internally to connect all the important stress points and termed the 'bird cage'.

The prototype car was exhibited at the London Racing Car Show and this was a great opportunity to meet some of the most prominent designers and builders in the racing and sports car field, at least one of whom subsequently produced a car using virtually the same technology

The GRP 'Mini' for the British Motor Corporation (Austin/Morris)

For political reasons in some overseas countires, BMC required a GRP version of the very popular 'Mini' and our 'Viking Sport' was possibly the reason for our being awarded the contract. this was to design and produce prototypes and associated moulds, jigs and tools - a considerable personal responsibility. The BMC distributors in Chile were the primary outlet, so a number of South Americans arrived in Peel to view the project.

One car was taken to MIRA for the crash test and well exceeded the standard metal version, likewise another on the tordion testing rig at the Austin Factory in Birmingham.

Roadside Store

Woman selling fruit to make a living.

Mother and child

Young girl with her new baby.

Friends having a joke

Watching the world go by.

Street seller

Lady at the roadside 

29p Angel with the Crown of Glory

Another detail from St German's Cathedral, Peel

26p Mother and child, Mary and Jesus

A detail from the window at the west end of the south aisle at St. German's Cathedral, Peel.

42p Shepherds come to worship the Christ Child

A further detail from the same window at Peel. st german's is unusual in having two windows side by side at the west end both depicting the Nativity. The larger nave window replaced a different one blown out in the great storms of 1903.

60p A less stylised verson of the Christmas Story

The Christ Child born in a stable and laid in a manger lovingly looked after by Mary and Joesph whilst the animals look on. A detail from the left hand apse window of Kirk Christ, Rushen.