AutoCult Morris 15cwt GPO Special (1934) (Great Britain) "Royal Air Mail Service"

About the Original:

The Blue Post Service

In 1930 the British Post Office wanted to promote and advertise their Air Mail service. Therefore they intruduced special and extra letter boxes in various locations around the United Kingdom and a own fleet of vehicles to handle new Air Mail service. Instead of using the common red color both, boxes and vehicles, were painted in blue color. In 1934 one additional vehicle was added to the fleet. But this vehicle did not only differ by its color from the usual delivery vans but also by its extraordinary design.

The one-off vehicle was intended for promotion purposes only. The unique car body design came from sculptor Maurice Prosper Lampert, who was known for is public sculptures and back then 29 years old. His design followed the guidelines of aerodynamics and therefore oriented towards the back then latest car design. Based on the Morris Commercial chassis with a standard wheelbase – ’15 cwt’ – he shaped a roundish and curved car body whose striking feature undoubtedly the tail fin was. The steel sheet car body was built by the company ‘Duple Bodies and Motors Ltd’, was painted in the color ‘midblue’ and was fitted with the Royal Mail logo on both side doors.

In August 1938 all vehicles were withdrawn from the Air Mail service. The vans were repainted in red color and entered normal service by end of the year. The special, streamlined vehicle was firstly put on display at the Glasgow Empire Exhibition before it was returned to London where the special body was removed and replaced with a standard body for normal service.