Ethel
Edith Hickmott and her 1923 Buick Touring Car
My
“Albert” - by John Feser (2006)
Hello,
my name is Ethel Edith Hickmott. I
was born on
July 4th, 1877
, and I am now 48 years old.
I live at
Longfield Court
in
Longfield
,
Kent
County,
England
. Longfield
is small, but I like it. You see I
was born here, and I imagine that I will probably die here too.
I am single, and a schoolteacher.
The good news that I want to share with you is that I just bought a brand new
car. It was very expensive, but it
was so glamorous. Maybe too flashy
for a woman my age, but I wanted it. So
throwing caution aside I purchased a McLaughlin Buick Touring car from Roots,
Ltd in
Maidstone
. I
so enjoy this car; it is a wonderful machine and takes me everywhere.
The only problem I have had with this car is that I lost my license to
drive a car in June of 1925; and wouldn’t you know it I was pulled over by a
Police Constable. Oh, what a
problem. I was fined 5 pounds, and I had to get a replacement license at a cost
of 1 shilling. That really hurt the
budget for this month. Ah, but life
goes on, and my Buick and I are still the best of friends, I call him
“Albert”.
Ethel Edith Hickmott’s 1923 McLaughlin Buick, Model 45 Special was
manufactured by General Motors of Canada. General
Motors bought the McLaughlin company in 1922, but McLaughlin produced Buicks for
15 years under an agreement with Buick. Even
after the purchase, Buicks were always referred to as McLaughlin Buicks.
After all it was built in
Canada
.
It was an export model and right hand drive, hence the Special designation. It
probably was one of a small number of right hand drive cars that were produced
at the McLaughlin Buick factory in
Oshawa
,
Ontario
,
Canada
. It
also has a Canadian built engine manufactured in
Walkerville
,
Ontario
. We
know that it was not one of the 47 export cars that Buick built in
Flint
as they were completed cars and
shipped to dealers in
Europe
and elsewhere by Buck.
Production records for 1923 at General Motors of Canada were lost at some
point, and there is no known record as to how many export models were produced.
But auto historians figure that it could not have been more than a couple
of dozen. Also it may be that this
is the only 45 special with a Canadian produced engine that survives to this
date.
The car is currently in
Marshall
,
VA
just 60 miles west of
Washington
,
DC
. How
it returned to the states is a mystery. But
some data does exist that it was imported to
Massachusetts
in the early 80s.
The car was driven “as is” for a few years in
Florida
when the engine seized.
This gave the owner the opportunity upgrade the car as it was getting
rather tired and worn after 65 years. I
would rather not use the term restoration as not everything was or will be
restored to new. So for the past 18
years it has had a major mechanical rebuild, bodywork done, and fresh new paint.
New leather upholstery has been partially installed.
It had been the owner’s plan to drive the car again, but time got ahead
of him and he never seemed to have the time to finish it.
Retirement loomed and other interests took priority so it was time to
sell the car.
I bought the car in upstate
New York
in October of 2006.
What a beautiful prize. She
is not finished by any stretch of the imagination, but all the piece parts to
finish are hopefully in the 20 or so boxes that came with the car.
Now all the fit and finish work is to be done.
“Albert” is now in the garage with my 1928 Buick, Model 29 Town
Brougham. It is great to see two
beautiful Buicks together.
My
immediate plans are to get the car running with the completion of the wiring and
cooling system. We hope to have this
done by the spring of 2007. Interior
work has to be completed and a new top made.
We hope to have her all done, well maybe not the top, by August of 2007
for the annual McLaughlin Homecoming in
Canada
.
Well, back to the garage and the 23-45 Special.
Time to check everything over and inventory those parts in the boxes.
I sure hope that I can fine a spot for everything.
Just couple of final notes. Ethel
Edith driver’s license was found inside of the door panel.
It must have slipped behind the panel and kept safe all these years.
The facts pertaining to Ethel Edith are true, only “Albert” is
fiction, but I am sure that she gave the Buick a name. Don’t we all?
I am continuing my search for her relatives and hopefully they have saved
a picture of her and maybe the car. We
are changing the car’s name to “Edith” in honor of her first owner.
I think that it will be a fitting tribute to Ethel Edith Hickmott.
Ethel died in Longfield on
February 16th, 1964
. Ethel
was 87 when she died and is buried at St. Mary Magdalene Church in
Longfield
,
Kent
County.
John Feser
Pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/unimogjohn
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