CHAUFFEURS TO THE QUEEN

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27098, 22 July 1953, Page 8

CHAUFFEURS TO THE QUEEN

TWO NEW ZEALANDERS SELECTED

MOTOR TRANSPORT FOR DOMINION TOUR (From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, July 21. Two Public Service drivers with long experience will drive the car which will carry the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh during their tour of New Zealand. They are Messrs J. N. G. Mounsey. of Auckland, and A. Dawson, of Wellington. Thirty-two cars will be used on the tour, but the drivers for the other vehicles have not yet been selected. They will come from the Public Service garages at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. The two drivers for the Royal car were selected for their driving ability, intelligence, and personal appearance and manner. They will wear a dark §rey uniform, with peaked caps and oiible-breasted jackets. All orders for the Queen’s drivers will He received through an equerry seated next to the driving seat. The Queen or the Duke will speak to the equerry on an intercommunications telephone.

Door Opened by Equerry When the Royal couple are entering or alighting from their car the door will be opened by the equerry and not by the driver, but the driver will remain at the wheel and remove his cap. When the Royal couple are seated, the driver will replace his cap. The uniforms for all the drivers for the tour will be brand new. Drivers will wear gloves whenever they are on duty. The caps, except these of Messrs Mounsey and Dawson, will have the familiar Crown in front. The Royal car drivers will wear the Queen’s personal cipher, “EHR.” As far as possible, all contingencies have been provided for, and if the Royal car has a puncture or engine trouble. Messrs Mounsey and Dawson have been instructed to pull to the side of the road and wait until the Queen and the Duke have been transferred to another car before making repairs. They have also been told they must sit erect, and drive with their hands at the “10 to two” position. Not all of the 32 vehicles will travel in convoy. Mr W. G. Taylor, motor transport officer for the Royal tour at the head office of the Post and Telegraph Department, said he thought not more than 10 or 11 cars would travel together. The rest would probably go on beforehand. Mr Taylor has already covered the motor route for the North Island tour and made a stop-watch timing of the entire trip, including ceremonial drives. Mr Dawson drove Mr Taylor on that trip, and it is probable that Mr Mouiisey will take him over the South Island route for similar checks within the next three or four weeks. It will be necessary to travel on some occasions at four miles an hour, on others at 10, 15 and 20 miles an hour. A normal cruising speed of 45

to 50 miles an hour will be adopted on other occasions. Entrances to parks and other places are being examined to ensure that the big Daimlers of the Royal party may enter. These cars are each 18ft 6m long, weigh 2 tons 12cwt, and have a turning circle of 50 feet. Accurate Timing

Throughout the whole tour, .splitsecond timing must be observed, and the arrival of the Royal couple a minute early or a minute late will not be tolerated by the committee organising the tour. The speed of the Royal convoy will be controlled by means of two-way radio sets which are now being installed in the six Daimlers and some of the Humber cars. The cars used on the tour will be the six Daimlers bought by the New Zealand Government in 1948 and held in storage since then, and two big Humbers. These will be supplemented by 12 Humber Super Snipes, six Austin Sneerlines, and six Daimler Conqueuts, the latest small Daimlers to come on the market. All of these supplementary vehicles have been lent to the Government free of charge by Todd Motors, Ltd., the Daimler Company, and the Austin Distributors’ Federation of New Zealand. Servicing and washing of the cars will be done at night under the supervision of a Post Office foremanmechanic. Mr Taylor is still engaged in arranging for garage accommodation and precautions against the activities of souvenir-hunters. A special supply of outsize Daimler tyres is being built up at key points. The most difficult day of the tour for Mr Taylor will be January 6, when he will need to be at Rotorua, Gisborne, and Napier to supervise h|s three fleets of cars. Another problem will arise on January 16, when the whole entourage will go to Paraparaumu airport in the morning. On the same day, cars will be needed at Blenheim and Nelson, while other vehicles are on their way to Westport and Greymouth for use on the next day.