James Radley (1884–1959) was one of the first English aviators, holding the RAC Aviators Certificate Number 12 and credited with many British aviation firsts.
Along with his interests in aviation he was also a racing driver and in 1913, in partnership with Rolls Royce he entered a specially commissioned Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost into the Austrian Alpine Trial
Car Type: Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
Year: 1913
Chassis No. 2260E
Engine No. 30.V
Coach Builder: Radley-Morison
Body Style: Alpine Tourer
Colour: Alpine Blue
Registration Number: R-827
During the 1913 trials he completed about 1,616 miles and rumbled over 19 mountain passes. The photograph below shows him stopping at the Mayfair in London prior to the Trial.
After he finished the Trial, he sold the ‘Radley Ghost’ whereupon it passed through a couple owners and was finally purchased by John Kennedy who set about re-storing the car to its original condition. In 2013, exactly 100 years after the original Alpine Trial John, accompanied by the team at Top Gear (and the slightly more modern 2013 RR Silver Ghost equivalent) drove the ‘Radley Ghost’ along the same route
In 2019 the car was delivered to James Black Restorations in Northern Ireland for restoration and refurbishment work. Due to a number of factors, not least the pandemic, this restoration took until Summer 2022 to complete; then came the tricky task of transporting the car back to New Zealand.
The Problem
Take delivery of the relatively priceless ‘Radley Ghost’, load it into a shipping container, lash and secure and deliver to Wellington, New Zealand intact and on time.
The Solution
It sounds straight forward but securing a car into a shipping container requires extensive preparatory work and planning. In partnership with specialist contractors the car was delivered to our handling yard and the battery and fuel lines were disconnected and drained respectively. The car was then driven into the container and lashed, secured and wrapped in a protective covering.
Once secured the container started its 80 day transit from Belfast to Wellington, transshipping in Rotterdam and Singapore.
The Outcome
It’s a rare occasion that something like this will travel from Belfast to the furthest location on the planet. But the car was loaded safely and the ‘Radley Ghost’ was secured without damage inside the shipping container.
At TCB Group we value our partnerships with clients and suppliers, ensuring we execute the right solution for the task at hand.
