Family archive · Updated 2 September 2026

Berkeley Square, 1982

The story begins with an original identification and delivery card. Chassis SCAZN0001CCH06304 was supplied through Jack Barclay Ltd in Berkeley Square and delivered on 19 November 1982. It was finished in Dark Oyster with Mushroom leather piped in red and a black Everflex roof: a quietly theatrical specification for a long-wheelbase Silver Spur.

The reported Lord Hanson chapter

In a diary entry dated 9 January 2012, David Irving wrote that the Silver Spur had previously belonged to Lord Hanson. It is the kind of detail that naturally becomes part of a family car’s folklore—and it may prove to be true—but the project has not yet found an old logbook, sale document or keeper record that independently confirms it.

Provenance status: Lord Hanson is therefore described as a reported former owner, not a documented one. The distinction will remain until supporting paperwork is found.

How the car joined the family

By July 2009 the Silver Spur had come to David from the widow of one of his supporters, identified in the diary only as Linda H. A formal transfer was signed in March 2012. The searchable archive variously describes the arrangement as a bargain-price purchase and, more loosely, as an inheritance; the careful conclusion is simply that it was acquired from the supporter’s widow.

The car spent years in restoration. A January 2012 photograph shows it high on a workshop lift, wearing registration JH 2268. Later family, garage and official records know it as OYL 366Y. The paperwork connecting those two registrations has not yet been located.

A grand saloon with ordinary jobs

Once the car returned to use, the diaries become rather endearing. This enormous Crewe-built saloon was driven on short London errands and trips to the Post Office. It made occasional longer journeys, including Inverness, and at least once carried a remarkably heavy load of books.

A very grand car doing very ordinary family errands.

That is the spirit the restoration hopes to preserve. The scratches, repaired veneer and soft leather are not inconveniences to be erased indiscriminately; they are evidence of a car that was used.

From David to Paloma

Toward the end of July 2026 the Silver Spur passed from David to his daughter, Paloma Irving. The public vehicle record shows a V5C issued on 28 July 2026, which fits the family’s timing, although the new document itself is still the evidence needed to confirm the keeper details and chassis number together.

The next chapter is methodical rather than glamorous: brakes first, then hydraulics, wiper, locks, electrical reliability, air conditioning, corrosion and the cabin. A Pioneer AVH-Z7200DAB has been purchased for Apple CarPlay and DAB, but will be installed only if it can be done reversibly without cutting the dashboard or original wiring. The Kenwood and all removed parts will stay with the car.

Two Rolls-Royces, two separate stories

David also owned an earlier coffee-brown Silver Shadow I, the Rolls-Royce Paloma remembers from childhood. That car belonged to the 1970s and 1980s and was sold in 1988. It is not this car. Keeping the two histories separate matters more than making either tale sound grander.

What the archive still needs

  • Old V5 documents connecting JH 2268 and OYL 366Y.
  • Independent evidence for the reported Lord Hanson ownership.
  • The 2009 acquisition paperwork and March 2012 transfer.
  • Complete restoration and specialist invoices.
  • Family photographs and memories, recorded with names and dates.

Until then, the story remains deliberately honest: detailed where the evidence is strong, cautious where it is not, and affectionate throughout.