The remarkable culmination of one man’s endeavours Our story begins in the early part of this century when a young lad by the name of Toby Robinson was taken by his father to see the London to Brighton Commercial Vehicle run. Sitting by the roadside with a lunch box of sandwiches and a flask of coffee young Toby was captivated by the passing of all types of commercial lorries and steam road vehicles. It has lead to Toby being a major prize winner at the HCVS London to Brighton Run on Sunday 12 May. David Vaughan interviews Toby to get the full story for Old Glory.
The Thornycroft J-type was designed to meet the 1911 War Office specification for a 3-ton ‘Subsidy Scheme’ general cargo lorry. After ordering a few of the H, J and K types for evaluation the War Office settled on the J-type chassis and, during WW1, over 5,000 were delivered to the British military forces, principally for the Royal Navy.
Production of the model for both military and civil use lasted from 1911 to 1926. The J-type was a 3-ton 4x2 lorry powered by Thornycroft’s own M4 four-cylinder in-line side-valve petrol engine developing 45 brake horsepower at 1,800rpm and driving the rear wheels though a four-speed gearbox. The J-type that features in this article was sold new via local dealer Joseph Milborne to a metal merchant and haulier, Brierly & Sons of Warrington, Cheshire in 1919.
DV: I asked Toby how those early memories led to him owning the Thornycroft?
I have always been interested in old vehicles, especially the early petrol-engined
