1929 Armstrong-Siddeley Mark III

1929 Armstrong Siddeley 30hp Mark II Shooting Brake  Registration no. UL 10  Chassis no. 12567  Engine no. 15270      This Armstrong Siddeley shooting brake was ordered new by HRH The Duke of York, later King George VI, a devotee of the Coventry marque since its earliest days. The Duke had first visited the Parkside factory in 1920 while on an official visit to Coventry; he was shown around by John Siddeley and ordered a 30hp model, which was followed by two further 18hp cars in 1922. Built in 1928 and delivered in January 1929, 'UL 10' was taken to the Duke and Duchess's Scottish home, Birkhall on the Balmoral estate, where it was used for three years.    Armstrong Siddeley had been created in 1919 by the fusion of the mighty Armstrong Whitworth engineering combine and the Coventry based Siddeley-Deasy Motor Manufacturing Company. Managing director John Siddeley's son Ernest had toured various car factories in the USA in 1919 and the first Armstrong Siddeley model - the 30hp - benefited from the knowledge he had acquired. Indeed, the fledgling firm even went so far as to acquire Marmon Series 34 for evaluation. Although quite different from the Marmon engine in detail, the six-cylinder Armstrong Siddeley power unit had a lengthy stroke and overhead valves like its American counterpart. The car's distinctive V-shaped radiator was the work of renowned motoring artist, Frederick Gordon Crosby, while its Sphinx mascot was a carry-over from Siddeley-Deasy, one of whose Knight sleeve valve-engined models had been described as 'silent as the Sphinx'. As one would expect of a company pre-eminent in the field of aero engine manufacture, Armstrong Siddeley built cars to the highest standards and soon gained a reputation for quality, its advertisements proudly declaring: 'You cannot buy a better car'. Its Royal patronage was well deserved.    Introduced for 1925, the 30hp Mark II was a development of the original 30hp model of 1919, inheriting a heavily revised version.