Voices from the Road

1956, 1967 and 1982 - Face to Face with Royalty

James Luckhurst — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Two rather unusual tales in this edition of Voices for the Road, as Keith Smith-Dutton talks about his visit to Nigeria resulted in a rather odd fanbelt replacement in 1982. Meanwhile, in 19667 Gerry Johns had a surprising encounter while picking up embargoed information from Downing Street.

Alan Wakely takes the wheel for 1956 as he talks us through the rise of smaller, cheaper cars. Inclduing a fascinating piece around Bubble cars.

Valerie Singleton presents Voices from the Road, an exciting project in which we will seek to create and build a fascinating audio archive capturing the widest possible range of motoring memories – starting way back in 1932. These stories could be individual accounts of road journeys… exciting adventures… and achievements from specific years… as well as more noteworthy developments in road safety, vehicle technology and motoring law. The key thing is the people telling the stories... it’s all about real life on the road.

Check out the shows website here.

GEM Motoring assist can be found on Facebook, Twitter and on their website.

James Luckhurst can be found on Twitter.

And be sure to check out Project EDWARD.

1960, 1997, and 2002 - Shiny Side up

James Luckhurst — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 06:00:00 +0000

This month we take a look at 3 years:

1960 - The evolution of the UK road network; Rat Runs and White Elephants

1997 - Finland in February with Valerie and James

2002 - Shiny Side Up; motorcycle safety

Check out the shows website here.

GEM Motoring assist can be found on Facebook, Twitter and on their website.

James Luckhurst can be found on Twitter.

And be sure to check out Project EDWARD.

1937, 1990 & 1998

James Luckhurst — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Check out the show's website here.

GEM Motoring Assist can be found on Facebook, Twitter and on their website.

James Luckhurst can be found on Twitter.

And be sure to check out Project EDWARD.

1937, 1963, and 2005 - Driving Test Troubles

James Luckhurst — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Check out the shows website here.

GEM Motoring assist can be found on Facebook, Twitter and on their website.

James Luckhurst can be found on Twitter.

And be sure to check out Project EDWARD.

1983 - Seatbelt wearing becomes compulsory with Barry Sheerman MP

James Luckhurst — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

On the 31st January 1983, the UK Parliament passed legislation to make seatbelt wearing compulsory where fitted in the front of cars. It was the result of years of campaigning by medical and safety organisations, but the law was opposed by the Conservative Government and the Labour Official Opposition.

The campaign led to the formation in 1982 of the Parliament Advisory Council for Transport Safety – or PACTS for short - under the Chairmanship of Barry Sheerman MP.

In this episode we hear from Barry, who has reunited the broadcaster Nick Ross, the safety advocate Jean Gaffin and the barrister Glyn Maddocks to remember what they achieved – and to reflect on how many lives were saved as a result…

Check out the show's website here.

GEM Motoring Assist can be found on Facebook, Twitter and on their website.

James Luckhurst can be found on Twitter.

And be sure to check out Project EDWARD.

1933, 1955 & 1958 - It was a cold winters night...

James Luckhurst — Fri, 12 May 2023 06:00:00 +0000

1933 - It’s a cold Saturday evening in late January. The Periam family are on the road between Boston and Spalding in Lincolnshire. Young Jack is driving, Gerard is the front passenger. Ruby and George are in the back with a family friend, Mrs Taylor. All is going well – until the car loses grip and starts to skid. Before they know it, the Periams are involved in a very nasty crash.

1955 - Chris de Blocq van Kuffeler – a GEM member of Austrian, German and Belgian heritage – is excited as a youngster to await the arrival of their first family car. He’s living at a Dutch naval establishment where his father is based – and the plan is to take it across on the ferry for a holiday in England. However, things don’t quite go to plan.

1958 - Douglas Harper is looking forward to finish work for a brief Christmas holiday which will be spent with family in Ipswich… but with rapidly deteriorating weather and a failing electric system on his car, he starts to worry that he’s not going to make it…

Check out the shows website here.

GEM Motoring assist can be found on Facebook, Twitter and on their website.

James Luckhurst can be found on Twitter.

And be sure to check out Project EDWARD.

1966 & 1991 - Bubble cars and the education over punishment debate

James Luckhurst — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 06:00:00 +0000

We offer an extended discussion featuring three people who were involved in the pioneering days of the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme that began – under various names in different locations - in 1991. But before that, we head back to 1966 and take a look at the Heinkel bubble car.

Valerie Singleton presents Voices from the Road, an exciting project in which we will seek to create and build a fascinating audio archive capturing the widest possible range of motoring memories – starting way back in 1932. These stories could be individual accounts of road journeys… exciting adventures… and achievements from specific years… as well as more noteworthy developments in road safety, vehicle technology, and motoring law. The key thing is the people telling the stories... it’s all about real life on the road.

Check out the show's website here.

GEM Motoring Assist can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and on their website.

James Luckhurst can be found on Twitter.

And be sure to check out Project EDWARD.

1978 & 1944 - The Isle of Man TT races and an unexploded bomb

James Luckhurst — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

First up. we travel back to 1978 as motorcycling fans across the nation are making the journey to the TT Races on the Isle of Man, where they will cheer for their heroes including Mike Hailwood, John Williams and Ian Richards. One such fan is John Henderson, who recounts his own two-wheeled adventure that took him through the night from Reading to catch the ferry from Liverpool the following morning.

Our second stop is1944 and somewhere on the Kent coast a V1 doodlebug has come down onto the beach, but it hasn’t exploded. It’s the job of bomb disposal officers to make it safe – and once the fuses have been removed, they hand it to the care of RAF fireman Ronald Packer to get the thing winched onto a low loader and escorted to Knightsbridge Barracks in London… with a ton of explosives still on board. Now 101 years old, Ronald recounts the challenges of finding somewhere in central London to park for the night… and the puzzled look from a government scientist when he demanded a receipt for the doodlebug the following morning.

Check out the shows website here.

GEM Motoring assist can be found on Facebook, Twitter and on their website.

James Luckhurst can be found on Twitter.

And be sure to check out Project EDWARD.

2014 - David's story and its worldwide impact

James Luckhurst — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the Voices from the Road podcast. This time round we offer an extended discussion focussing on just one year – 2014.

In the UK, Brenda Holmes is working with Norfolk Police to publish video footage of a road collision from the previous year in which her son David died. The footage was recorded using a camera attached to David’s own helmet and it shows – in disturbing detail – what happened when a car turned right across David’s path on the A47.

No one could have anticipated the impact of the video, which was viewed millions of times by people all over the world on social media, and in today's episode, Brenda Holmes, Chris Spinks, and Charley Sands reflect on the release of David’s Story in 2014, and the impact it made across the world.

You can watch the video here.

Valerie Singleton presents Voices from the Road, an exciting project in which we will seek to create and build a fascinating audio archive capturing the widest possible range of motoring memories – starting way back in 1932. These stories could be individual accounts of road journeys… exciting adventures… and achievements from specific years… as well as more noteworthy developments in road safety, vehicle technology, and motoring law. The key thing is the people telling the stories... it’s all about real life on the road.

Check out the show's website here.

GEM Motoring assist can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and on their website.

James Luckhurst can be found on Twitter.

And be sure to check out Project EDWARD.

1960, 1972, and 1975 - Snowstorms, underwater cars and armed police

James Luckhurst — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 06:00:00 +0000

In this episode we head to 1960 and meet Sylvia Watts, who is turning her attention to the process of learning to drive. Sylvia talks to us about:

Getting stuck in a snow drift
Being submerged underwater
An unfortunate blackout

Continuing with the underwater theme we take an unauthorised trip in an amphibious car on the Shropshire Union Canal as a young Colin Parker back from college for the weekend in 1971, to the family home – a police house provided because his father is in the local constabulary. The weekend takes an unusual – and somewhat maritime – twist.

Finally for this episode, our automotive blackjack wheel comes to a stop in… 1975. Keith Bowden is living in Northampton and has been invited by close friends to take a trip to a villa in the south of France. This would be Keith’s first drive abroad. He has an MGB-GT and his friend Michael is in an MGB Roadster… off they go, blissfully unaware of the brush with authority they are soon to have at the Italian border…

Check out the shows website here.

GEM Motoring assist can be found on Facebook, Twitter and on their website.

James Luckhurst can be found on Twitter.

And be sure to check out Project EDWARD.

1935, 1970 and 1982

James Luckhurst — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 06:00:00 +0000

A warm welcome to the very first edition of the Voices from the Road podcast. It’s an exciting new project in which we will seek to create and build a fascinating audio archive capturing the widest possible range of motoring memories – starting with the years 1935, 1970 and 1982.

1935 - James Luckhurst went recently to meet Eddie – who’s now in his late 90s. Eddie recalls those learner journeys of long ago, as well as a few close calls and a disagreement over a speeding ticket…

1970 - Brian Runnett had just given an organ recital in Westminster Abbey in August 1970, when he was tragically killed in a collision on the A6 in Staffordshire. James Luckhurst tracked down the then Norwich organ scholar, who had turned pages for Brian at that Westminster concert, to find out more about Brian Runnett’s brilliance, the shock of his death and the strength of his legacy…

1982 - In west London, Dawn Franklin is getting ready for her driving test – there’s a thunderstorm and she has only had one proper lesson. Is she ready for it? And what will she do with the freedom a test pass would bring…. ?

Check out the shows website here.

GEM Motoring assist can be found on Facebook, Twitter and on their website.

James Luckhurst can be found on Twitter.

And be sure to check out Project EDWARD.

Welcome to Voices from the Road

James Luckhurst — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Check out the shows website here.

GEM Motoring assist can be found on Facebook, Twitter and on their website.

James Luckhurst can be found on Twitter.

And be sure to check out Project EDWARD.