Meet ‘Lady Eccles’ - the 89 year old caravan being auctioned

A vintage Eccles caravan bought in 1933 which even had a role in the Second World War, is going up for auction tomorrow (2 December), and is expected to fetch a price of £4,000 to £5,000.

The Eccles Model 35 caravan, nicknamed ‘Lady Eccles’, still has the original leaded lattice windows from when Sir Rouse Boughton bought it from the London Caravan Company in Bond Street in 1933.

Lady Eccles was requisitioned for the war effort at the start of the Second World War, and was used throughout the war by the Observer Corps.

Sir Rouse died in 1962, he passed it onto his daughter who died in 1992, after which it spent some years in a sorry state before being renovated by the parents of the vendor, who have now also died.

The auction will be held by Charterhouse.

If you’re looking for a more modern pre-owned tourer instead, be sure to take a look at our guide to the best used caravans.

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PeterBaber

Peter Baber is Reviews Editor of both Practical Motorhome and Practical Caravan. He has been reviewing motorhomes for the best part of a decade now. His first caravan reviews date back to the early 1990s when he first worked on Practical Caravan, before he embarked on a 20-year career in business journalism which saw him edit a wide variety of magazines, and launch a few too, including one that won an award. Although he enjoyed that, he always knew he wanted to come back. Peter reports on all the new models that make it to dealer forecourts each season, giving his judgement online and in magazine reviews. He has twice been shortlisted for a Caravan Writers Guild award. When he is not working, apart from going on motorhome trips himself (mostly local to where he lives in West Yorkshire, but also last year right across France) he likes trying to write novels, cooking, throwing the odd pot, and has just taken up tennis.