Vintage Garage Feature on Anthony Hole - Motor and Cycle Engineer

Ed - Taken in the very early days of Aviation this photograph is a rare promotion of Anglo's Aero-Naph and you can just see a couple of 2 gallon cans with one looking like the pink can used for Aero-Naph. Peter says "This photograph was taken in July 1910, on the occasion of a carnival in Burgess Hill, West Sussex. The airship was created by my Grandfather around a tricycle, whether it was motorised or not I do not know. My Grandfather was Anthony Hole, who started his Motor and Cycle business in 1895 and continued trading until his death in 1939. Grandfather is at the controls of the Airship. Note the man to the left of the picture wearing a square box, When enhanced on the computer the word Pratt's can be made out, though the other wording is unclear". Ed - Anthony Hole's 2 gallon can petrol round delivery. Peter says "I am given to understand that in the early days before the petrol pump was installed Anthony Hole had a weekly Petrol Round whereby he delivered petrol to his customers in the outlying villages. I believe the driver to be one Arthur Ladd, who went on to be the Officer in Charge of Burgess Hill's Fire Station." Grandfather seated in the car, with a member of staff in the doorway. All the staff are unfortunately unidentified, but I do know that in the early days he employed a blacksmith. The quality of these photos seem to be quite good as items on display in the windows can be clearly seen. By 1914 Grandfathers workshop had gained a second story, and the ground floor had also been extended into the yard. Early in WW1 there had been an appeal for people with workshops to assist with the manufacture of munitions. Ernest Hole (grandfathers brother who owned a foundry and engineering works) was already making items for the war effort, Anthony's response was "provide me with the equipment and I will do the job". His workshop was soon equipped with lathes, overhead shafting etc, and he produced fuse plugs, shell nose cones, and bolts for aircraft engines. Two examples of his work stood on the family mantelpiece for many years, also surviving is his Scheduled Occupation Certificate. The lady sitting on the front wing of the Dennis is my Aunt Trix, the same person who was sitting in the wicker trailer outside the shop in one of the earlier photos At this time in the 1920's it appears that grandfather became a vehicle breaker. The story goes that he would take one lorry and four drivers to Aldershot to buy Army surplus stores that were for sale by auction. First purchasing one serviceable vehicle, and two non-runners, he next purchased surplus stores to fill the four lorries and would tow the non-runners complete with their loads back to Burgess Hill. I am sure that there must have been many tales over these journeys, if only we knew!!! In the 1920's Grandfather first rented and then purchased a builders yard and associated buildings that backed onto his workshop. I can remember as a small child climbing through a hole that had been knocked through the rear wall of the original workshop. This was later enlarged and fitted with double doors.	Anthony Hole started his business in 1895 selling cycles and gramophones from a corner shop in Cyprus Road. (see modern photo below) He is reputed to have been the first person to own and drive a motor vehicle in Burgess Hill. His father Alfred financed the building of a new shop in the main street, Church Road, and Anthony took possession in September 1902. This must make the property one of the first to have been built with the Motor Trade in mind! This picture must have been taken sometime in 1903 before legislation required vehicles to be fitted with registration numbers from the 1st January 1904. Anthony Hole is seated in his Benz car, and his daughter Trix is in the wicker trailer of the motorcycle combination. The man supporting the motorcycle is unidentified. The first shop at Cyprus Road		This photograph was taken in July 1910, on the occasion of a carnival in Burgess Hill, West Sussex. The airship was created by my Grandfather around a tricycle, whether it was motorised or not I do not know. My Grandfather was Anthony Hole, who started his Motor and Cycle business in 1895 and continued trading until his death in 1939. Grandfather is at the controls of the Airship. Note the man to the left of the picture wearing a square box, When enhanced on the computer the word Pratt's can be made out, though the other wording is unclear. This photograph is of Grandfather's covered lorry, this vehicle I suspect was the one used for the"ice round". It appears that once a week a vehicle went to Brighton, 10 miles away, to collect large blocks of ice which were then delivered to butchers and fishmongers in the villages surrounding Burgess Hill. The lorry is shown standing in the side passageway of his shop. I understand that in the early days of the motor trade it was the dealers responsibility to collect his new vehicles direct from the factory and to drive them to his premises himself. In 1908 Grandfather was invited to attend the opening of Humber's new factory in Coventry and was presented with a small copper tray as a souvenir. I illustrate here two such trays, they are 41/2" diameter, the left hand tray I purchased a few years ago at an autojumble sale. The one to the right I have known all my life, being the one presented to grandfather in 1908. It spent most of it's life sitting on the desk in the family home and unfortunately was regularly polished, to such an extent that the additional engraving has almost been polished away. I believe that it used to read " Opening of Coventry Motor Works" It is just possible to make out the beginning and ends of some of the words. I do not have any pictures showing the original set of three pumps installed in front of Grandfathers shop, but I do have this one taken in the 1950's. Permission for these new pumps was given with the proviso that they must be mounted in the same position as the previous pumps. Note;- The uprights supporting the swing arms were originally chassis members from one of the vehicles that Grandfather had dismantled. Here is a little bit, really for your amusement. One day I moved a cupboard that had been standing against the workshop wall for as long as I can remember, and behind it I found this advert fixed to the wall. During the 1930's the business flourished, though I have no photographic evidence for this period, not even a picture of the three petrol pumps outside of the shop, although I do know that they were all in existence by 1933. Then in January 1939 grandfather died of a heart attack. Ownership of the business then passed to his wife, who did not enjoy the best of health. The business was effectively run by two of her sons, one a first rate engineer, who put himself out to please his customers, but with no interest in making money. His brother had given up his own business retailing good quality glass and china to join the family firm. Although the business continued it had lost it's driving force.
	The is another photo of Grandfather's Benz. This time it is standing outside his workshop, behind his new shop. By 1914 the workshop had gained a second story, and been extended to cover the area upon which the vehicle is standing. All the staff pictured are unfortunately unidentified, but I do know that in the early days he employed a blacksmith. The quality of these photos seem to be quite good as items on display in the windows can be clearly seen. Ed - Note the Pratts Gilbert and Barker petrol pump with 2 piece American style globe. Peter writes; "I have records showing that the Council required the pump to be removed from the kerbside and set back onto Anthony Hole's property in February 1933, from that date there were three pumps in line, and they were equipped with swing arms to reach vehicles in the road." Ed - Cycling has always been popular and this window display is testament to that popularity.	This picture of Church Road, Burgess Hill pre dates the installation of the petrol pumps. I am wondering if the tricycle standing at the kerbside was the one used to build the airship around! I have two copies of this picture one with the Christmas greeting and one without. Although they are in the form of a postcard neither have been franked to give an idea of their date, although the tricycle does have a registration number. Ed - Anglo-American Oil Co interest, note the Pratts 2 gallon cans in the doorway, Pratts signage, and the Pratts Gilbert and Barker petrol pump. Peter writes; "I have records showing that the Council required the pump to be removed from the kerbside and set back onto Anthony Hole's property in February 1933, from that date there were three pumps in line, and they were equipped with swing arms to reach vehicles in the road." It is a point of interest to me, that as far as I can recall the glands on the swing arms of this and two other pumps that were later installed alongside never required any attention in spite of the fact that they were in service from 1933 until 1982, when the Council withdrew permission for there use. This photograph taken in 1945/46 shows the original petrol pump in it's new position. It was in use throughout WW2 supplying Pool petrol against coupons, and was also the source of fuel for the Burgess Hill fire engines. Note the lack of goods for sale in the shop window!

The story continues and Peter writes;

During the 1930's the business flourished, though I have no photographic evidence for this period, not even a picture of the three petrol pumps outside of the shop, although I do know that they were all in existence by 1933. Then in January 1939 grandfather died of a heart attack. Ownership of the business then passed to his wife, who did not enjoy the best of health. The business was effectively run by two of her sons, one a first rate engineer,who put himself out to please his customers, but with no interest in making money. His brother had given up his own business retailing good quality glass and china to join the family firm. Although the business continued it had lost it's driving force. With the coming of WW2, all but one of the staff were called up, leaving just one lad. Both of the brothers had been members of the local volunteer fire brigade before the war, and were classified as being in a reserved occupation but now becoming retained members of the National Fire Service. With the restrictions on motor vehicle use, and the manufacturing industry focused on the war effort there was very little business in either sales or service. The viability of the business was further compromised because the brothers were frequently away from home for long periods especially during the blitz, serving in the Portsmouth and London areas. I can remember seeing the local WVS canteen, and tractors in for service, and also cycles and prams waiting for repair. The majority of the workshop and showroom space was taken up by vehicles stored on blocks for the duration. The sideboard in Grandmothers dining room was festooned with Distributor caps, plug leads and rotor arms.

After the war business was slow to pick up. The Austin franchise continued for a while until the conditions changed. Previously the cars had been supplied on a sale or return basis, but the dealer was then required to purchase his stock on delivery. Unfortunately any reserve cash had been used up during the war years and the franchise was relinquished. However new electric petrol pumps were installed, as well as an hydraulic lift in the workshop. These new pumps had the option to be hand wound, and were the only ones operating in the town during the frequent power cuts of the Winter of Discontent. By 1962 the health of both brothers was beginning to fail, and I joined the business to help out. I had served my apprenticeship in the workshops of the Dreadnought Garage, Austin Distributors in Brighton. On the brothers death ownership of the business passed to Grandfathers three daughters, who each had their own careers, but being maiden ladies still lived in the family home above the shop. Although I continued to run the business on their behalf I had no financial control, their philosophy seemed to be, if it was good enough for Father, that's good enough for us. By the 1980's the choice was either to invest heavily in modern technology or get out. My Aunts, now getting elderly, chose to get out of the business, sell off part of the property and move to a modern house.

I was allowed to retain the second property that Grandfather had purchased, and continued to trade solely as a cycle dealer. Before I also retired I almost reached my goal of selling one thousand cycles in a year; I reached 997 machines!! The business continues today, now owned by one of my previous employees.

and some last thought's from Peter

When I was young there was no such thing as a 24 hour petrol station in or around Burgess Hill. It was common knowledge that grandfather lived over the shop. It was therefore not surprising that on occasions, either during the evening, or on Sundays, there would be a distressed customer knocking on the door and pleading to be supplied with petrol, a request that was always responded to.

Local people were allowed to leave their cycles on the premises during the evening for a charge of two old pence. This was completely unsupervised. I can remember that when staying with my Grandparents, being sent to answer the front door in the evening, to find someone standing there offering the two pence, saying that they had put their cycles under cover as they were going to the nearby cinema. There were never any problems with loss or damage , although there could be up to 20 cycles left on a Saturday night.

Up until the mid 1960's Grandfather's workshop was never locked, the doors were only secured by a latch, in spite of the fact that the rear entrance was accessible from another road. To the best of my knowledge the only thing that was ever taken was some coal, and that was during the Second World War when it was rationed.

When we withdrew from the motor trade a lot of the older items of workshop equipment, such as a Dunlop trolley pump, numerous jacks and grease guns, a Castrol gear oil bucket, and numerous specialist spanners, along with workshop manuals and car brochures went to various museums. The majority to Beaulieu, but some went to the Bentley Motor Museum near Ringmer, and some to The Booth Collection of Historic Vehicles in Rolvenden, Kent.

The end.