Buying a personalised registration plate is something that requires careful consideration. However, many people may have spent years dreaming of that perfect number plate. This was certainly the case for Charles Hudd from Middlesex. A self-confessed motor enthusiast, Hudd attributes his love of cars to riding an Auto Scooter as a young boy with his Belgian grandfather. In fact, he built up considerable skill at moves that were banned on British fairground dodgems, but were actively encouraged on the French version.

Hudd dreamed of growing up and owning a fancy car with his own personalised registration, perhaps a Morgan with a ‘1 CH’ plate, but it took many years for his dream to finally be realised.

Then, as a young medical student, Charles and a friend decided to pay a visit to a Morgan dealership. He recalls the conversation with the salesman clearly, “We shall be doctors one day and we each wish to put our names down to buy a Morgan Plus Eight. However, we cannot afford the silly deposits required in South Kensington.” “Oh, so how much can you afford?” came the reply. “Twenty-five pounds please,” he responded.

This was written up in the order book, but it was twenty years later when Charles finally purchased his velvet green Morgan, built to his own specification, including customised seats fitted to his frame. He had purchased his dream car and he also managed to acquire his private number plate, 1 CH to proudly display on it.

Sadly, his dream car was the victim of a torching incident several years later, but his current car still displays his dream plate to this day.

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People often buy private number plates that represent their names or the name of their business. However, there are lots of fun alternatives out there and Simon Dolan, managing director of SJD Accountancy found the perfect plate for him, which combined his love of music with his love for his son.

Dolan had been a life long fan of David Bowie and even managed to convince his wife that they should name their first born, Bowie, when he was born on the same date as the superstar. Years later, he was looking at personalised number plates and came across BOW 11E. Straight away he decided that he had to have it. He was really impressed with how quickly he was able to purchase the plate.

Though BOW 11E provided the perfect representation of Dolan’s musical hero and first son, he then decided he would like to honour his second son, Enzo, in the same way. He had a look around at what registration plates were available and opted to purchase ENZ 30.

Simon Dolan is a successful businessman, running SJD Accountancy, which he originally ran from his home, seventeen years ago and is now one of the top fifty accountancy firms in the country. Dolan feels that his personalised number plates add to his status, as people are always commenting on them. Bowie fans regularly photograph the BOW 11E plate, but Dolan says they are often disappointed when they discover the star himself isn’t driving the vehicle.

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Nichola Dix used a personalised number plate to honour the memory of her late husband. She chose the plate N100 BOB, as her husband’s name was Bob and she decided, on the day before his funeral that she would purchase a license plate so that she would feel a part of him was always with her. This is not the only honour bestowed upon Bob, however, because he was a Divisional Fire Officer who also competed in the fire service football and fishing championships. So now, the fire service has angling and soccer trophies presented in his memory.

Nichola explains, “The N is for Nichola and 100 signifies the score in darts, as Bob used to play in the old days, along with many other sports. He was cruelly taken from me aged only 56. The number plate gives me such comfort, I can’t tell you. I come out of work and it’s like he is there waiting for me.”

Nichola said that she had the idea to purchase a plate in Bob’s memory the day before his funeral and managed to have a replica number plate, BOB 1, made up to place on his coffin. Apparently he had often thought about having his own private number plate, but it was something he never got around to.

Nichola explained, “He is greatly missed by everyone. He was a very fair man, with a vibrant personality. Our sons and I miss him terribly. I know I can’t bring him back, but at least when I am driving my car it is as though he is still with me.”

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People often search for the perfect personal birthday present to show a loved one they care. Sadie Taylor received her ultimate birthday gift when she turned seventeen.

She explains that the day started off as an anti-climax when her father handed her a birthday card and an unwrapped pair of denims. Feeling a little glum she nevertheless got dressed for the day.

Sadie recalls, “I went downstairs a little later, all groomed and ready to go out. When I went into the kitchen, my dad said that my brother, Joe, had got me a present. Joe gave me a small box, which I opened to find a Mini keying. Jokingly, I said to my dad that all I needed now were the keys to go with it. At that point he reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. By this time my heart was racing and I had butterflies in my stomach!”

When Sadie’s father took her out to the garage, she found her dream car, a black Mini Cooper. However the icing on the cake was the personalised number plate, SAD 11E. Sadie was so delighted, all she could say was, “ It has my name on it!”

Even now Sadie still gets excited about her registration, “Me with a black Mini Cooper was my dream come true. At only 5′ 1”, a Mini fits me perfectly and I became the envy of all my friends. Now, after about a year of owning my ‘baby’ and my number plate, I still get a rush each time I put my seatbelt on. And I don’t know how but everyone knows my name!”

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Personalised number plates are an ideal way to recognise or celebrate the people or things that you love. Jago Mead’s passion is snooker, having been a fan of the sport for thirty years. He attributes his dedication to watching Terry Griffiths win the World Championships back in 1979.

Jago began playing snooker several years later and became so dedicated to his newfound hobby that he walked six miles to the snooker club every Saturday and would spend his pocket money on playing his favourite game.

He recalls, “I would wait about an hour for the table, play for an hour and then walk home again.”

His passion has continued and even influenced his brother’s love of the game. Jago said, “My brother, Ralph, also became interested in snooker and when we were both working, we would play on a regular basis, sometimes three times a week.” He continued, “Our games have come on leaps and bounds. I achieved my first century (a score of 108) about five years ago and I continue to love playing the game.”

Jago Mead admits that he always thought that private number plates were pretentious and never considered buying one. However, that all changed when he purchased his Mini and discovered the plate SN03 KER. He felt that it would be the ultimate recognition of the sport, which has shaped his life.

“The plate, SN03 KER, combined my love for snooker and my Mini, so I felt I just had to have it. Fortunately, I was able to afford it and I’m happy as it’s unlikely to go down in value.”

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Trev Smeaton has long been a private registration enthusiast, having purchased his first one over ten years ago. He bought the plate, E22 BEV, for his wife Bev and was so excited by his purchase that he wrapped it in a Toblerone shaped parcel for her.

Smeaton explained, “It was quite a surprise for her. The plates now sit on a little MG and they look great.”

Of course, after treating his wife, he decided it was time to look for something for himself. He decided to buy himself a present for his 38th birthday and that the ideal gift would be the registration plate, 38 TS. He still uses the plate to this day and recalls, “From the first day it was put on a vehicle it seemed to attract a lot of attention.”

However, his love of personalised registrations didn’t stop there. He decided to buy one for his father, who had long been known by the nickname ‘Smeat’. The registration S17 EAT seemed like the perfect choice.

Trev has since purchased another plate for the family car. This time he opted for T12 EVS. Trev explains, “It’s on out family car. A Jeep that’s mostly driven by Bev. When she asked why I had bought another plate with my name on it, the answer was simple, it’s Trev’s wife driving Trev’s car!” However, he admits that this plate was not quite as popular with his wife as her own plate was.

In the future, Smeaton plans to extend his collection of private registrations with dedications to his children, Hayley and Jamie.

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The laws covering UK number plates has been constantly evolving since being introduced, mainly to stop criminal activity regarding stolen or fake plates and to cope with the ever increasing cars on the road.

Back in 1903 when they were introduced, registration numbers were based solely on location and followed the style “A 1″ through to “YY 9999″. This continued until 1932 when the numbers began to run out as the popularity of cars increased although the new format still used location. The new number plates used the sytem of “A A A 1″ to “YYY 999″, excluding the letters I, Q and Z. There were also some three letter combinations that were never issued – for instance, the last two letters of the Great Yarmouth registration was “EX” but plates issued in this region were never allowed to use “SEX”, which resulted in many droll headlines such as “No Sex for Great Yarmouth Motorists.” In 1963, when the numbers were once again on the verge of running out, an additional letter was added on to the end of plates all around the country, which corresponded to the year that the car was registered.

The next change came in 1973, but this was a change of style rather than a change of format. Previously, number plates were either white on black or silver on black, and were made from pressed metal or plastic characters attached to the metal plate. No laws were in place regarding size, font or gap between characters but this all changed in the beginning of 1973. From then on, characters on number plates had to be 89mm by 64mm or 79 by 57mm. The gaps between characters were also standardised to be 13mm with the larger characters and 11mm with the smaller.

The next change was once again to the format and saw the letter that identified the year being moved from the end of the registration to the beginning. This format remained in place until September 2001 when the current style of plate introduced a two-letter area code, followed by a two-number year code, followed by three random letters. The reasoning behind this was that the first four characters would be easy to remember and would allow police to drastically reduce the number of potential vehicles involved in a crime if witnesses could remember just the first four digits, or even just the first two. It also meant that second-hand buyers could have some clue as to the age of the car, and solved the problem of numbers running out until 2051.

To ensure that all format and style regulations are observed, every supplier of number plates must be registered with the DVLA, and the name and postcode of the supplier is displayed on every license plate they make and issue. Those buying registration plates must also supply proof of identity, as well as the documentation to show the number plate is theirs. Suppliers must also keep records of all of the above information and make those records available to the police when required.

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The first registration plate, which was issued in London in 1903, was A1. This started the process of using letters and numbers to differentiate and keep track of vehicles. There is evidence to suggest that registration plates were issued in some other areas of the UK slightly earlier, although there is no record of these registration marks.

The first owner of the A1 registration mark was Earl Russell who was among the throng that queued all night outside the offices of the London County Council to secure the honour. He won the plate and an excerpt from ‘Car Illustrated’ on 23rd December 1903 reads, “There has been some amount of competition for the securing of the number plate A1 and this has been acquired by Earl Russell for his Napier car. A Mr. L. H. Oliver of Edgware claims the distinction of personally handing the certificate for A1 over to Earl Russell.

A1 was also owned by the chairman of London County Council, but only for a short time. Later, in 1907, George V. Petty bought the car with A 1 assigned to it. He then proceeded to transfer it to several vehicles throughout his lifetime. On his death, in 1950, Trevor T. Laker inherited the plate. Petty’s last will and testament actually stated that Laker should use the plate until his death, at which point the registration plate was to be sold and the proceeds were to be donated to a dog charity. An ageing Laker actually sold the plate to Dunlop Holdings Ltd, although they did not take possession of it until his death. The £2,500 he received was donated to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

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Jonny Leroux has been a car enthusiast since he was a young boy. He even goes so far as to class himself as a ‘petrol head’. By the age of 10 he was a fervent Ferrari enthusiast, collecting memorabilia and attending all the shows. In fact he even painted the Ferrari ‘prancing horse’ logo on his bedroom wall.

It is, therefore, no surprise that Jonny sat his driving test as quickly as possible, passing just four days after his seventeenth birthday. From that moment on, most of his spare cash was spent on cars and he says that remains true, even to this day. However, it wasn’t until he turned 21 that he discovered personalised registrations. His first plate was R80 JON, which he later sold for double the price he had originally paid for it.

Leroux then came up with the idea of matching people who have uncommon names with appropriate personalised registration plates. This process made profits for him and left his customers delighted to have their own personalised registrations.

Jonny has gone on to set up his dream business, organising days out at motor racing circuits, including Brands Hatch and Spa-Francorchamps. The success of his company has allowed him to finally purchase that dream Ferrari F355 GTB in gunmetal grey. Of course his dream car would not be complete without the dream registration plate, so he has fitted it with the plate, 76 JL, which denotes his year of birth and initials.

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Bill Spence has accumulated quite a collection of personalised number plates over the years, having managed to acquire BS 15, BS 38, BS 43, BS 47 and BS 4747. However, it was his acquisition of the elusive BS 1, which provided him with one of his happiest moments.

Bill, who lives in Orkney, was very happy to have purchased the plate so that he could bring it back to his home in Orkney, from where it originated over 100 years ago. He originally bought the plate to put on his Jaguar XK8, as it displays his initials, but then he decided to delve further into the history of the registration number.

He approached the Kirkwall Archive in Orkney and discovered that, in his own words; “It was originally assigned to William MacLennan of Grainbank who held the registration for eight years until 1912 when John McEwan, Rector of Kirkwall Grammar School, obtained it. Subsequently it was assigned to the manager of the National Bank in Kirkwall, George Drever. Then in 1921 Charles Haydon of Lynnfield put the number on his new Crossley.”

He continued, “Eight years later the number was in Victoria Street, Stromness when the car was owned by Robert Cursiter; then, in early 1930, the Crossley bearing BS 1 was sold to John M. F. Groat of Moasound, Longhope.”

Bill recalls, “I first saw BS 1 on the old Crossley in JMF’s coal store in the 1950s soon before it left Orkney to go to Sheffield, where it was allocated to Bob Stanley.”

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