[GrammarNazi]

After reading Guderian's post yesterday about a 35year old collectible Gillette Adjustable Razor, I had to turn mine into a collectible too! (Dad has been actively using it since 35 years!)

On hearing of the auto-enthu forum, dad offered to show me something we may just find interesting! So there I was, having cleaned & packed the razor in a box, ready to put it into the cupboard as a time capsule, when dad handed me over my grandfathers 1957 Driving Licence!

It consisted of 1 long sheet of paper, folded ~5-6 times.

The Cover Page :


The Page 1 & Pg 2 with name, address & other details :


Page 3 must've needed pic, wasn't there - hence the cross. Page 4 with Motor Cycle & Light Motor Vehicles ticked :


Page 5 & Pg 6 for renewal of licence & Driving Regulations :


Page 7 & (partly) Pg 8 has the rules explained with figures.


And finally Page 9 & Oops, an endorsement too! :


Followed by a plain brown cover page.

He also showed me some pics of the cars we had. Namely, an Austin of England, an Ambassador Mark 2 and a FIAT.

The FIAT : My dad remembers it as a car that was quite a troublesome one, but worked like a charm when it did. :


The Austin of England : Dad remembers it as the absolute most trouble free cars that was used for numerous South India trips back then :


The Ambassador Mark 2 : A daily workhorse that my grandfather used for Home-Office-Site commutes. :


I thought, given there were a handful of cars those days and given the completely empty roads of Bangalore, the concept of driving licence wouldn't have been existent itself.

But then dad tapped my head & reminded me that a Driving Licence wasn't just a licence to Drive, but also a document to say you actually knew driving.

Anyway, it was a nice walk down the memory lane for him and an amazing experience for me.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Vintage & Classics Forum. Thanks for sharing!

[condor]

@GN thanks for sharing that !

The Austin looks a class apart !

[abhishek46]

Woah.. thats really something. !!

The instruction for the driver while taking turns - like sticking the hand out and rotating anti clockwise etc.... Did any actually follow them?

[WorkingGuru]

OMG 3 cars in 1957! What were you guys, Royal?

Nice to know people still preserved such family antiquities. Priceless. And great fact that, about the Driving License being a document to prove you actually knew driving, and not just a 'license to drive' like it is nowdays!

Btw, awesome Austin!

[SaurabhSaran]

1957 Driving License after 57 Years!

Purpose of Page 9 was also good.

-
SS

[dreamseller]

That's a lovely piece of history there! Made me feel happy to see the Austin. My grandfather had a similar car, though I only got to see it in pictures.

Originally Posted by abhishek46

The instruction for the driver while taking turns - like sticking the hand out and rotating anti clockwise etc.... Did any actually follow them?

Actually, lot of them did. Including the truckers on the highways. I remember, as a kid, when we used to go on road trips the truck and bus drivers on GT road used those hand gestures (for stopping, taking turns, etc) all the time.

Another interesting thing that had caught my eye during going to school was, the bus driver used to push the clutch twice while changing gears, i.e., disengage the clutch - pull the gear lever into neutral - engage the clutch - disengage the clutch - put the gear into the next higher gear - engage the clutch. I reckon he was habituated of driving the old buses with different levers earlier. (So many old memories refreshed! )

[Guderian]

What a delightful piece of history !

The snap of the FIAT appears to have been taken after a small accident ? The right headlight seems to be in spot of bother and a dent is visible on the steel bumper.

And it was great fun to have a dekko at the '57 licence in detail and imagine what must have been happening at that time as well at the time of the notings & renewal endorsements.

Great cars and great snaps - thank you for sharing them !

[Servegaar]

One of the pics says the license is valid only for three years. It means a renewal every three years. Owning a license might have been tedious those days i guess.

[noopster]

Wonderful trip down memory lane. I had no idea Andhra Pradesh was even in existence in 1957!

Originally Posted by abhishek46

The instruction for the driver while taking turns - like sticking the hand out and rotating anti clockwise etc.... Did any actually follow them?

You're making me feel really old . started driving in 1993 and used all the "hand signals" in my first few years of driving!

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

The instruction for the driver while taking turns - like sticking the hand out and rotating anti clockwise etc.... Did any actually follow them?

That's what I did while riding my dad's Lambretta in the late 80s. Most vehicles had no turn signals then. I guess <35 aged drivers are not even aware of these signals.

Originally Posted by dreamseller

Another interesting thing that had caught my eye during going to school was, the bus driver used to push the clutch twice while changing gears, i.e., disengage the clutch - pull the gear lever into neutral - engage the clutch - disengage the clutch - put the gear into the next higher gear - engage the clutch. I reckon he was habituated of driving the old buses with different levers earlier. (So many old memories refreshed! )

Double declutching... that is needed when gears don't have synchromesh.

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Anyway, it was a nice walk down the memory lane for him and an amazing experience for me.

What happened to the Select? She seems to be Madhya Pradesh registered. Indore/Bhopal perhaps.

Originally Posted by WorkingGuru

OMG 3 cars in 1957

One need not have been royalty to have multiple cars in the 'Fifties.

The pics are definitely NOT from 1957. The Fiat pictured is a 103D "Select".

Production actually began in very,very late 1957, for the 1958 model year.

As this one is a "Select", and not the Selectish Millecento, this example would be post 1958.

And the Ambassador is a 'sixties Mark-II.

Seeing the old Select pics, I recall that my grandfather used to have a MHP registered SuperSelect, in Poona (obviously!). Now he has a turquoise 1100D.

We used to also have a Willys CJ3B, MHN/2191.Nagpur registered, as is evident. Imagine, back in the day, she used to go right upto J&K, right upto Madras and Bombay.

There were many more. A "BYF" something was also there. Long gone. Sigh! ::Sniff::

My grandfather still has his 1963 issued DL.

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

On hearing of the auto-enthu forum, dad offered to show me something we may just find interesting! So there I was, having cleaned & packed the razor in a box, ready to put it into the cupboard as a time capsule, when dad handed me over my grandfathers 1957 Driving Licence!

It consisted of 1 long sheet of paper, folded ~5-6 times.

That is some find! Good to know you've preserved it all these years!
But the address in the licence sounds confusing- Himayathnagar and then Risala Bazar, Bollarum (which is in Secunderabad! and quite far from Himayathnagar)

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

After reading Guderian's post
On hearing of the auto-enthu forum, dad offered to show me something we may just find interesting! my grandfathers 1957 Driving Licence!.

Please thank your Dad for sharing this with us

Originally Posted by Servegaar

One of the pics says the license is valid only for three years. It means a renewal every three years. Owning a license might have been tedious those days i guess.

Before '57 I believe a license had to be renewed each year.

[Kumar R]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

But then dad tapped my head & reminded me that a Driving Licence wasn't just a licence to Drive, but also a document to say you actually knew driving.

Haha so true..stark contrast to today's scene with the legions of assassins the RTO/PVD unleashes onto the streets with barely a pretence of testing driving and road skills.

At the time I got my shiny plastic 'smartcard' licence, my parents and grandad (all hardcore drivers) were appalled that neither my driving school 'curriculum' nor my PVD driving test included any evaluation of knowledge of road rules (both legal and otherwise), driving etiquette, courtesies and customs. I could go on and on about today's Driving License test but that's