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 The Register
was set up in 1996 with the aims of establishing which police forces
used Mini Coopers, to identify and record the specification of the
cars used, to register cars which still survive, to formulate
relationships with police force archivists and museums, and provide
advice on availability of police equipment for restorers.
At the time
the Register was started the Liverpool and Bootle force cars were
fairly well documented and some of the Manchester force cars were
known about. I have been quite successful in gaining information on
cars from the following forces:
Liverpool,
Manchester, Birmingham, Ulster, West Yorkshire, Metropolitan, Essex,
Hampshire, Gateshead and Pembroke County. No doubt there are others
which have not come to light yet. The majority of forces ran the
Cooper ‘S’ although the "Met" are known to have had Mk 2 Coopers. The
"bobbies" that I have spoken with all enjoyed using the ‘S’s even if
they sometimes struggled to fit in them!
The force with
the largest number of cars registered is Liverpool, probably because
they were the force with the most cars, as over the period from 1966
to 1971 they registered twenty seven cars each year and kept them for
two years. At any one time they had fifty four cars on the road. At
present the only cars I can call on for display in correct colour and
livery are a couple of Liverpool cars. There are a number of other
cars from various forces under restoration which always seems to take
longer than the restoration of standard cars, probably because police
cars had an extremely hard life and were quite popular purchases from
the police by people who wished to go rallying!
Cars are still
being discovered and recently a Liverpool MK3 ‘S’ was founded in a
garden only twenty minutes from where I live!
Added
advantaged of police car ownership are the opportunity to display the
cars at Emergency Services shows, police displays and film and TV work
which can be quite lucrative.
Finally,
you’ll probably find that ex-police cars are rarer than ex-works cars
and always create a lot of interest when displayed.
Registrar: David Davies
Tel No: 01244 332282
email
David Davies
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