JOHN BIGGS in Bishop Auckland was taken by the picture of Memories 64 of the 1910 Lanchester Landaulette vintage car appearing at the 1954 Etherley Dene steam rally – because John attended the rally.
It was organised by his next-door neighbour, Herbert Dunn – the man who, in 1947, had built the miniature railway at Saltburn.
It was held on the curiously named Jumbo Field, in Etherley Dene.
“Steam traction engines didn’t have the same cachet as they do now,” says John.
“In fact, you could still see them in use. An agricultural contractor called I’Anson would use a traction engine to tow a belt-driven threshing machine from farm to farm.
“The third vehicle in his procession was a threewheeled Reliant van, which he would use to drive home in at night.”
• IF the Jumbo Field isn’t a peculiar enough name – can they have kept elephants in Etherley Dene? – the road just to the west of it is called Widgan Walls Lane. It runs past a farm called Widgan Walls Farm. Can anyone explain?
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