Things ain’t what they used to be

A 1965 Commer Ambulance, with just 9,455 miles on the clock, was sold for £3,650 plus VAT at a recent dedicated van and truck auction at Manheim Washington. The ambulance, sold on behalf of the North East Ambulance Service, was first registered in January 1965 and has only covered an average of 219 miles per year since then. Its V5 shows only one owner from new and it has a full and comprehensive history file.

The Ambulance provides an astonishing insight into how the emergency services have changed over the past 4 decades. In the last 10 years alone the ambulance has won several awards at shows, fairs and exhibitions and still has all of its original equipment including stretchers, first aid bags, steel helmets, a gas mask, contamination meter, minuteman resuscitator, Civil Defence overcoats and a Neil Robinson immobilisation kit.

The ambulance started life at Hartlepool Ambulance Station where the Civil Defence Corps placed it on standby until the demise of the Corps in 1968. In 1974 the ambulance was handed over to the NHS where it was used as a major incident vehicle. It was then moved to Coulby Newham until Cleveland Ambulance Service bought a purpose built replacement.

Due to the ambulance’s age it was never fitted with “Blues & Twos”, yet it also goes without many features we take for granted today - power steering, servo assisted brakes and even a radio. In an era prior to escalating fuel prices and a need for fuel economy it was fitted with a petrol engine with a top speed of up to 45mph. The auction saw both physical and online buyers in attendance, and the winning bid was from a buyer in the auction hall. Whilst it will never see front line action again it will no doubt continue to be coveted by its new owner.