10 replies to this topic

[jbbugatti]

In the immediate pre-war period there was a dealer in London called Ace Motors.

Their adverts, such as this one, from an October 1938 edition of Motor, show that they dealt in a variety of desirable competition and road cars.

 

I am interested in finding out more about them, if any forum members have any knowledge.

For instance, who were the principals in the business?

 

Many thanks in advance.

Edited by jbbugatti, 01 October 2024 - 11:42.

[cooper997]

The dating of the issue raises a question for me.

 

I only have the 18/10/38 issue of The Motor and it has a dealer listed Maserati 3 litre advertised  Different car is a slim possiblity I guess.. But if the ACE Motors advert appeared after the 18th then I guess whoever was behind ACE could have pounced. 

 

 

Stephen 

[cooper997]

Looks like John Wyer had something to do with Ace Motors

 

https://forums.autos...-3000-maserati/

 

 

Stephen

[Vitesse2]

Looks like John Wyer had something to do with Ace Motors

 

https://forums.autos...-3000-maserati/

 

 

Stephen

No, that was the Ace Service Station, next door to the Ace Cafe on the North Circular Road.

[BRG]

The address 23 Oldbury Place looks like a typical London mews type venue.  It is a corner location, now a house but could have been a small garage back in the day.

 

Confusingly, there is now an Ace Motors Group in Oldbury, West Midlands, but there is no connection AFAIK.

[Vitesse2]

They seem to have only been around for a couple of years.

 

Ace Motors of Oldbury Place first appears in the phone book in August 1938 with that phone number, WELbeck 5166. By the next issue, in February 1939, the address is the same, but the phone number is now WELbeck 5446. Same in August 1939. By the February 1940 issue, they had moved to 49 Praed St W2, but still with the same phone number - WELbeck 5446. Not listed in the November 1940 book.

 

On the 1939 Register, there are two occupants at 23 Oldbury Place. The handwriting on the form is rather hard to read, but has been rather dubiously transcribed as a Mrs Alice C Reffet, born 1900, and (presumably) her son, Peter Arthur Reffet, born 1923. Her occupation is 'unpaid household duties'. His is 'motor mechanic'. Her wartime occupation is noted as ambulance driver for the LCC.

 

 

The alteration to Pullan(?) indicates a subsequent remarriage.

[Geoff E]

On the 1939 Register, there are two occupants at 23 Oldbury Place. The handwriting on the form is rather hard to read, but has been rather dubiously transcribed as a Mrs Alice C Reffet, born 1900, and (presumably) her son, Peter Arthur Reffet, born 1923. Her occupation is 'unpaid household duties'. His is 'motor mechanic'. Her wartime occupation is noted as ambulance driver for the LCC.

 

Her husband was Clive Reffitt.  If you can't find him in the marriage index, it's because he appears as "Olive".

[Vitesse2]

Her husband was Clive Reffitt.  If you can't find him in the marriage index, it's because he appears as "Olive".

 

Thanks Geoff, I was just about to have another look! So our possible dealer is Clive Ernest Reffitt, born Halifax 28 Oct 1898, married Alice Credington, 1922, died Southampton 5 June 1969.

 

Presumably the operator of the notorious Brevet Flying Club? https://www.biddr.co...=2745&l=3042918

 

Ex-RFC, apparently: https://discovery.na...ails/r/C1184333 Had previously served in the Royal Warwickshires.

 

Presumably he and Alice divorced, as there's a later travel record referring to a spouse called Pleasance, as well as this, which will take you down a whole other rabbit hole!

 

https://www.shutters...brevet-3820730a

[jbbugatti]

Many thanks to everybody for your contributions.

 

So Clive Reffitt was almost certainly the man…..

[Geoff E]

 

 

Presumably he and Alice divorced, as there's a later travel record referring to a spouse called Pleasance, as well as this, which will take you down a whole other rabbit hole!

 

https://www.shutters...brevet-3820730a

 

She appears to have been his third - but not last - wife.

[Vitesse2]

Looks like Reffitt may have either had a partner and/or sold the business, having perhaps joined the RAF at the outbreak of war, which would explain why he's not at home on the 1939 Register. And perhaps the move to Praed Street. This February 1945 report from the Sydney Daily Mirror on Trove recounts his trips to Paris in 1944 and mentions he had left the service in 1942, which would tie in with the opening of the Brevet. The court case was actually in November 1944 - there's a report of it in The Times, 27 November 1944.

 

https://trove.nla.go...ticle/272326644