General Information
Year
1963
Make
Land Rover
Model
109 Standard
Color
Green
Packages
Everythng ...
History
THE GREEN MACHINE
On August 9. 1963, she rolled off the assembly line at the "Meteor Works" on Lode Lane, Solihull, Warwickshire. She was dispatched to the War Office in London on August 13, 1963. The Meteorological Office records tell us that the weather was "cool and dull, wet in the East". Elvis was topping the charts with "You're a Devil in Disguise" and "Da Doo Ron Ron" by the Crystals was not far behind. But the music of a new upstart band from Liverpool was already wafting through the air at the junction of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall in central London. "From Me To You" was climbing the charts and it was a harbinger of things to come.
The United Kingdom was in chaos. The War Office was reeling in the midst of the so-called Profumo affair. A proper scandal in which John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War, apparently had an affair with Christine Keeler, a "good-times-girl" with personal ties to the Soviet Naval Attaché in London. British Diplomat and double agent, Kim Philby, had just been granted asylum in Moscow on July 30th. The Great Train Robbery took place on August 8th in Buckinghamshire. A gang of 15 thugs attacked a Royal Mail train and, although later arrested, they grabbed £2.6 million. The bulk of the stolen money was never recovered. Another Vickers Viscount aircraft crashed on August 12th adding an additional 15 victims to the troubled airliners death toll.
In contrast with the madness of the times, a group of men in starched white shirts, thin black ties and horn rim glasses, gathered around the civilian model IIA 109 Land-Rover. Her strength and stability must have been a welcomed sight. A reminder of all that was right with Britain. Perhaps an officer or two inspected the vehicle as well; the left breast of their number 2 service dress khaki adorned with various campaign ribbons from WWII. Only those men, now long gone, knew why she had been kitted out with such unusual and expensive equipment. The British Motor Industry Heritage Trust can only say that she was a RHD, petrol powered vehicle built for the Home Market to the specification of the War Office. But I know her as "The Green Machine"!
On August 9. 1963, she rolled off the assembly line at the "Meteor Works" on Lode Lane, Solihull, Warwickshire. She was dispatched to the War Office in London on August 13, 1963. The Meteorological Office records tell us that the weather was "cool and dull, wet in the East". Elvis was topping the charts with "You're a Devil in Disguise" and "Da Doo Ron Ron" by the Crystals was not far behind. But the music of a new upstart band from Liverpool was already wafting through the air at the junction of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall in central London. "From Me To You" was climbing the charts and it was a harbinger of things to come.
The United Kingdom was in chaos. The War Office was reeling in the midst of the so-called Profumo affair. A proper scandal in which John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War, apparently had an affair with Christine Keeler, a "good-times-girl" with personal ties to the Soviet Naval Attaché in London. British Diplomat and double agent, Kim Philby, had just been granted asylum in Moscow on July 30th. The Great Train Robbery took place on August 8th in Buckinghamshire. A gang of 15 thugs attacked a Royal Mail train and, although later arrested, they grabbed £2.6 million. The bulk of the stolen money was never recovered. Another Vickers Viscount aircraft crashed on August 12th adding an additional 15 victims to the troubled airliners death toll.
In contrast with the madness of the times, a group of men in starched white shirts, thin black ties and horn rim glasses, gathered around the civilian model IIA 109 Land-Rover. Her strength and stability must have been a welcomed sight. A reminder of all that was right with Britain. Perhaps an officer or two inspected the vehicle as well; the left breast of their number 2 service dress khaki adorned with various campaign ribbons from WWII. Only those men, now long gone, knew why she had been kitted out with such unusual and expensive equipment. The British Motor Industry Heritage Trust can only say that she was a RHD, petrol powered vehicle built for the Home Market to the specification of the War Office. But I know her as "The Green Machine"!
1963 Land Rover 109 Standard (Green)
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