Classic Commercial Vehicles

2011 | History & Politics

There was a time not too long ago when if you were to stand by a busy main road in Britain the majority of the commercial vehicles at work, whether they be vans, pick-ups, lorries of all types and emergency vehicles would all have been manufactured in this country.
That day has sadly now passed, but dedicated enthusiasts, companies, museums and groups have preserved many of these vehicles for display and use in the last six decades.
This superb large-format book is illustrated with images of preserved commercial vehicles, buses and a few emergency vehicles, drawn only from the ranks of the British manufacturers, and all more than twenty-five years old, though most examples are considerably older than that and a few date back to the First World War.
Together they re-create a picture of a vanished Britain when makes such as AEC, Albion, Bedford, Foden, Guy, Leyland, Scammell and Sentinel were the kings of the road.
Through this fantastic collection of more than 140 images of classic vehicles you can almost smell the oil and hear the roar of their proudly British engines.
Malcolm Edward Ranieri was born in December, 1945 to an Italian father and English mother, and lived until his late teens at Haselor, a Warwickshire village He still lives in his favourite county at Ettington, near Stratford upon Avon. He entered local government in 1962 and took early retirement in 1997, as Audit Manager at Warwick District Council. Photography has been an all consuming interest for over 40 years, especially steam railways all over the world, though his interests encompass all forms of classic transport, and photography in general. Malcolm gained the Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 1998, and also the Masters award of the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain in 2000, and regularly exhibits in photographic exhibitions all over the country. Since retiring Malcolm has taken up photojournalism, reporting for magazines such as Old Glory. He has been a volunteer on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway for over 15 years and is currently a Duty Stationmaster.

Malcolm Ranieri (Author)