LONDON'S " Q " CAR

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 270, 13 November 1937, Page 7

LONDON'S " Q " CAR

LOOKS LIKE A TAXI.

BUT IS FASTEST ON ROAD.

TRAILING JEWEL BANDITB.

As a taxicab moves out of a small South London garage of an evening the taximan lowers his flag, ignores all who hail him. and drives to a side street in Westminster.

There are waiting at the corner three men. tall, bowler-hatted, well dressed.

The driver, pulling up, touches- his uniform cap with a pleasant "Nice night, •lentlemen." A* he whers them inside lie idly fingers his number badge hanging from a coat button.

There is a hurried talk, orders are given, the driver slips into his seat, the taxi moves off.

Quite an ordinary occurrence perhaps, but a motor engineer might observe that the engine note throlis with unusual power. They do say that this cab is the fastest cab on the road.

Early in the morning the three men return. When they alight there is no "what's on the clock" query, the driver gets no tip.

AH of which may seem strange, so watch more closely next time. Three tall men get into that same cab at the Westminster side street corner.

Take the eldest. Recognise him from newspaper photographs as Brighton! trunk crime sleuth ? Chief Inspector "Bob" Donaldson who, for many months, investigated the torso riddle. He's now Scotland Yard's Flying Squad chief.

See that man sitting in the dark back seat? He has a single earphone slipped on his head. He makes notes on a pad. The third man shouts instructions through the spealyng tube to the driver. I The cab is away, hot on the trail of iiiash-and-grab bandits. •»

This latest Q car of the squad is uore than paying for the "bill on the •lock" by the number of arrests of ••nsusftecting thieves. The taxi is just "ke iniv other one. even to the stru-

tted lh-t-iise mark oil the back panel. The only difference i* under the bonnet.