Holy Grail 1963 PMG Thorpe lenses found at Car Boot sale | Season 3 – Episode 86
Wheels Nov 26, 2023
Pat Cullen and his son Padraic from Rathdrum, County Wicklow embarked on an extensive restoration of their 1963 Bedford J2 fire engine between December 2015 and January 2020.
However, while the bodywork and interior of the Bedford were restored to better-than-new condition the finishing touches were equally as important to the overall restoration.
The rear platform of this model fire engine was notoriously vulnerable to damage due to the exposed bodywork and Pat was missing most of the lenses for the rear light clusters, having only two out of five units.
Due to the small 1960s production run of this type of fire engine the PMG Thorpe (UK) lenses are regarded as rarer than hen’s teeth by restorer. And finding several boxes of these lenses would be regarded as finding the Holy Grail – and that is what Pat Cullen did!
Pat had spent months searching eBay and the internet and had reached out to all his extensive classic vehicle contacts in Ireland and the UK, where the majority of these vehicles were in service.
Pat’s worldwide search was in vain, however, as fate would have it, he only had to travel 50 kms from home to a car boot sale at Ardattin, County Carlow to attain his Holy Grail.
Because Pat had been looking for PMG Thorpe lenses for so long, the brand name was ingrained in his subconscious and as he strolled past a trailer at the Ardattin car boot sale, his attention was immediately grabbed by a stack of boxes, bearing the PMG Thorpe logo.
Walking over, Pat raised the lid to discover a stack of rare red lenses. Opening the second box revealed a set of five orange lenses – the Holy Grail had been found!
Pat and the stallholder settled on a €10 price for both boxes, with the understanding that the stallholder would hold onto the boxes while Pat explored the car boot sale.
Upon Pat’s return, the stallholder told him that he had more lenses at home in nearby Baltinglass, Co Wicklow. An arrangement was made and a few days later Pat called over.
As the two men walked across the yard, something twigged in Pat’s mind, and he inquired, “Are you Michael Carwood?” “Yes, I am,” came the reply, to which Pat remarked, “You used to work with my father at Rathdrum Fire Service.” And another piece of this story fell into place.
The two men went on to have a great conversation around the history of Rathdrum Fire Service – see below links to our previous stories on Dave Cullen (Pat’s father) and his service with Wicklow Fire Service and the restoration of the Bedford fire engine.
So how did several boxes of ‘Holy Grail’ PMG Thorpe lenses come into Dave Carwood’s possession? He had purchased them from Tommy McGrath, the owner of a bicycle shop in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, who specifically stocked these lenses for the village’s fire station. After the bike shop closed, Dave Carwood acquired the remaining stock including the lenses to sell at car boot sales and auto jumbles.
Going forward, not only does Pat have a good supply of spare PMG Thorpe lenses for his own Bedford fire engine, but he has now begun to supply other restorers in the UK.
Sometimes you can search the world for what you want, when what you are looking for is just down the road!
