W Cripps & Son [Photo from Vic Hodgkins papers].
Pam Edwards has identified this photo as Date: c1950, Location: Cornmarket Street, Oxford. Barclays Bank, left foreground is still there and can be seen on the Then and Now page.
Vauxhall Bedford Type O lorry. The Type O was manufactured between 1939 and 1953 and the commercial versions were Type OS (short wheelbase, 12 cwt), Type OL (long wheelbase, 5 tons) and Type OT (tipper side). During World War II, production of the commercial versions ceased and Military incarnations appeared. Production of the commercial versions recommenced after the war and the models were discontinued in 1953. The vehicle had a 3.5 litre petrol engine and 4 speed gearbox. The Luton van in the picture would have been specially coach-built on a standard chassis. It is difficult to tell from the perspective of the photo whether this particular vehicle was an OS or OL but I suspect it was the former when the length of the bus is used as reference.
Looking at the buildings and pedestrians in the photo, there does not appear to be any evidence of wartime paraphernalia and I would hazard to guess that the scene was post-war; it could not have been taken before 1938. [Subsequently Pam Edwards has identified this photo as Date: c1950, Location: Cornmarket Street, Oxford. Barclays Bank, left foreground, is still there and can be seen on the Then and Now page.]
Clive Dunn
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