1949 Bentley MKVI Straight Eight 6½ Litre Boat Tail Special B319EW

An exciting, characterful special, utilising a B81 straight eight 6½litre engine & a 5 speed Tremec gearbox, making the performance bothexciting & fun. Extensively used & enjoyed over the last 20 years orso. The body was designed by the last owner & built by Chic Doig, is verywell-proportioned in appearance, with appropriately re-located radiatorposition, a wonderful boat tail rear, appropriate wings, bonnet & radiatorshell, with aero screens as well as a fold-flat one-piece alternative. Thedashboard incorporates fabulous aircraft instrumentation, including a starterbutton which we understand to be from a WWII Spitfire, which feels reallyfitting! It is quite difficult to sum the car up in words, but suffice to saythat it is a true ‘one off’ which satisfies the senses in a stimulating &rewarding way. The car is nicely matured, with an appealing dose of slightshabbiness & has a two letter, four number registration number, giving apre-war look, and adding to the charm of the appearance. Running & drivingvery nicely, MoT tested, ready to go, fitted with seat belts & flashingindicators to suit modern-day use, the car is ready to move on to a newlife-chapter, for the next owner to enjoy in whatever way they may wish!Certainly the car is ready to use, having been driven about 150 miles to us.

Chassis No. B319EW                                                 Reg No. EF 8972                                    

Snippets:The Northerners

The chassiscards and old V5 for B319EW are somewhat vague – however…… The order for B319EWwas placed by John Fenwick of West Hartlepool – the family firm of Fenwick& Co banked at Midland Bank in West Hartlepool & there are a couple ofoptions for the company – either timber merchants or ship owners! Newspapercuttings show that in 1941 John was president of the Hartlepool Beekeeper’sassociation and the local West Hartlepool Show had a Fenwick Trophy for theChrysanthemum section of the flower display! In 1951 John had parked a car (perhaps the Bentley) in ScarboroughStreet and upon his return at 5.30 it was no longer there – the car was foundand the thief was duly prosecuted.  In1953 his son Michael (19) was charged with driving a car between 40 / 45mph ina 30mph zone, resulting in a fine and points. 

The next namein the file is a Dr. John Abels (1913/2002) of Haverton Hill in Co Durham.  Research has provided us with the followingfascinating story:  John and his wife, Claire, escaped from Czechoslavakiajust after the outbreak of the second world war. He saw active service firstwith the free Czech forces and later in the war with the British Army inNormandy and northern Europe. After a brief interlude in Prague after the war,he returned to England where he spent the rest of his working life as a GP& was also a police surgeon for many years. John’s greatest interest was swimming, he was selected to swim for hiscountry in the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the 200 metres breaststroke, butwithdrew on the advice of the World Jewish Federation in protest againstNazism.

The third name in the fileis that of Robert Charles Cleminson of Barnard’s Castle – little has been foundbut there is a James Lyons Cleminson (1840/96) of Leeds who inventedCleminson’s Patent Axle System for railway rolling stock.  James was the son of John Cleminson, who wasa railway engineer of original Nitrate railway & who had fought in theBaltic region under Garibaldi.