HISTORY OF "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR" CUP.
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A Trophy which has Created and Helped to Maintain a Very High Standard in Commercial Vehicle Condition and Appearance.
HE FACT that the silver cup, which was pre T sented by the proprietors of The Commercial Motor to the Commercial Motor Users Association in 1910 to be utilized as a team. prize in connection with the annual-commercial vehicle parade, has been won outright by Messrs. Thomas Wethered and Sons, Ltd., of Marlow, Bucks., draws attention to some of the salient facts in the history of the cup. Neither the donors nor the trustees seem in 1910 to have contemplated the possibility, upon an entrant winning the cup three times in succession, that they would feel inclined to regard the third success as an outright win. It was at the presentation at Marlow a year ago that the president of the C.M.U.A., in handing over the cup to Messrs. Wethereds for the second time in succession, expressed the hope that, should a third successive success be scored, representations should be made to the donors that they should agree to an outright win and, further, should be invited to replace the cup with another: i The proposal was made to the donors by the president prior to the holding of this year's competition, and on their expression of approval of. the. idea Messrs. Wethereds have been informed that the cup now becomes their absolute property.
Ten Close Competitions for the Cup.
With the cup goes all the glamour of a series of struggles for its possession from June, 1910, onwards (the sequence being broken only by the war), and in that time the cup has become, the principal prize to be fought for: ;In 1910, it was offered as a special feature of the parade, beingea, new award) to the owner of the best team of six vehicles or tractors entered. There were 96 entries for the parade, and of these ten teams of six vehicles were entered foe The Commercial Motor Cup, and the winners were the Eastern Motor Wagon Co., Ltd., whose team of six Foden steam wagons scored 243 marks, Mann, Grossman and •Paulin's team of six Leyland lorries (five steamers and one petrol) running them extremely' close, scoring 242 marks. Each driver „of the winning team received a medal and the drivers of the runners-up received consolation prizes in money. .
The year 1911 marked an epoch. There was a great expansion of the scope of the parade, for no fewer than • 392 vehicles were entered and a new venue—the.Earl's Court Grounds—had to be engaged. This was the Coronation year, and in honour of the circumstance, the C.M.U.A. entertained more than 1,200 drivers and their mates at dinner, whilst at the official luncheon a telegram was sent to His Majesty the King conveying the thanks of the drivers and staff for .the.i ready helpwhich His i Majesty was always ready to give n forwarding any useful developments of self-propelled traffic. To this the King graciously replied. "
Of teams entered for the cup, the number had grown from 10 to 37, representing 222 vehicles, and the winners were the Sun Flour Mills, Ltd., with six -Foden steam wagons.
In 1912, 275 vehicles were paraded on the Thames Embankment and in the streets adjacent to the Tate Gallery. The cup went to the Westminster City Council in respect of a team of six steam vehicles— three Thornyerofts and three Leylands. Four , of these . old stagers were actually competing in the parade of 1921!
In 1913 the Thames Embankment site was again 816
the scene of the parade and the competitors had increased in number to 372. The cup was won by Cannon and Gaze, Ltd., with a team of two Halford petrol vans and four Foden steam wagons.
The year 1914 was the climax of the parades, for no fewer than 520 vehicles were entered and 509 actually paraded for the judging. Great difficulty was experienced in finding standing room for all the vehicles, in marshalling and manoeuvring them into position, and it was then that Mr. A. W. Windsor's experience showed up, for the proceedings, carefully organized as they were, went off without a hitch. Thirty-two teams competed for the cup, the winners being Spiel's and Pond, Ltd., with a team n of six Albion vans—the first time that petrol vehicles had alone succeeded in beating the steam vehicles. The factors of age and lengthy mileage had always dominated in the marking.
For five years now the war intervened an& mechanical road transport entered upon a sphere of usefulness which, subsequent to the hostilities, was going to be continued on behalf of commerce and to make it almost equal the railways in its annual carrying capacity.
With the resumption of the parades in 1920 there came the desire to reduce the contest to more manageable proportions, and the step was taken of confining it to teams of three vehicles, The Commercial Motor Cup being the principal award. This reduced the entry to 150 vehicles. Again Cannon and Gaze, Ltd., secured the cup with their team of three Foden steamers. In 1921 the entry increased to 180 vehicles. Greater importance was this year attached to appearance and less to mileage, and Shell-Mex, Ltd., captured the cup with their fine team of Thornycroft wagons and lorries and their team of Leyland tank wagons and lorries, the two teams being bracketed first.
In 1922 there were 225 entries and 216 vehicles on parade. Messrs. Thomas lArethered and Sons, Ltd., entered for the first time and the condition of their vehicles set quite a new standard, for cleanliness and polish pervaded every inch of each vehicle. The first team with three times the mileage of the company's second team took the cup, the second team being highly commended. This success was. i repeated n 1923, when 150 vehicles paraded, and again on April 12th last, -when of 135 entries there were six absentees.