Presentation and help needed

I remember in early 1974, four of us left Berlin to catch the ferry from Bremerhaven. When we arrived at the dock, the place was flooded by extra high spring tides. We couldn't get the car on board, but they allowed us to sleep on the ferry. Looking out of the lounge windows, we could see hundreds of cars in the Rankins compound, up to their windscreens in dirty salt water. I often wondered what happened to them.

Philgrenoble wrote:

... French "scaley" ????   
perhaps I should have a few sips of Chartreuse (local brewage) to understand the dialect of this forum

May I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your command of our language, Philippe.
We have people on this site who can hardly speak English at all !

Thank you.
You make me blushing !

UncleGrumble wrote:

I remember in early 1974, four of us left Berlin to catch the ferry from Bremerhaven. When we arrived at the dock, the place was flooded by extra high spring tides. We couldn't get the car on board, but they allowed us to sleep on the ferry. Looking out of the lounge windows, we could see hundreds of cars in the Rankins compound, up to their windscreens in dirty salt water. I often wondered what happened to them.

I know quite a few lads from my own unit (3RTR) who had problems with the cars they bought from 'Rankins'! The Rover SD1 was a classic case and one lad bought a TR7 with the latest spec (or so he thought) only to find that it was a year old when he took ownership! Transpired that it had been sat in a compound/field with water halfway up it's wheels for most of that time as well!  

I recall that they got some bad press in the Sixth Sense, probably that's why they went out of business. We also had the "Art Salesmen" and the "Mortgage/Endowment Salesmen" - they went the same way!

Yes, I remember the "Art" sellers too. (I wonder if any of it ever turned out to be a good investment ?).
We had a weird one in the Hemer area. A bloke, ex squaddie I think, used to sell sets of saucepans. It was all good German stuff but fiendishly pricey.
Anyroad up, this bloke spoke with a strong Hampshire accent but when he went into his sales spiel he suddenly acquired a German accent. It was so distracting nobody listened to his patter.
I don't reckon he sold much.

It was probably Scaley Len!   

Remember the "Art" sales adverts featuring Oil Paintings with a Germanic theme which were meant to be a long term investment.

Pardon the expression, if any contributor to this site was an Agent for the owner, but a scam on the unsuspecting in my opinion.

Hello,
I am back again with my automobile-genealogy exercise.  

Some news, at first.
I came in contact with the second owner of my car: a british officer, Captain Hicks.
In fact he was not based in Germany but in UK, where he bought the car from a garage in Farnborough 6 months after the previous owner (member of BFG) got his UK registration.

So I suppose the first owner bought the car tax free in Germany from Rankin's of Rheydt, used it, took it back to UK, claimed for a DVLA registration (I have a copy of this document) and finally sold it to this garage.
Unfortunately the DVLA is not envolved in first BFG registration.

> Do you think the administration in charge of BFG registration would find this document for me ? How to ask ?
So I could known when Blue was first sold by Rankin's...

Last thing, I started to write a book about the history of my MGB, with documents, photos, testimonies and many details you gave me in the forum.
> I found on the web a copy of one of the BFG newspapers (1973) with a Rankin's advert in it:  BFG station newspaper
Enjoy !

Here is an example of the old BFG Plate

Sorry Mike, the registration was JX 134 B and not JK84 B. I mis-red the original document...

Whilst BFG Vehicle registration has been simplified - there is a registration office in each Garrison alongside the Vehicle Inspection Bay - and each office supervisor has access to a database of every BFG Registration ever issued - airplanes were also BFG registered. Would suggest that Philgrenoble writes to BFG Licensing Office, HQ BFG, Catterick Bks, BFPO 39 and explains his interest and query!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!