Edwin Hammond's account of his ownership of Austin 16 appears below:

My interest in Austin16s dates from February 1948 when my father took delivery of Birmingham registered HON 211. This car was the family car during my childhood and teenage years. It was the first car that both my wife and I drove so we have a special affection for Austin 16s.

In 1948 my father drove my mother and I to Nice down the old N7 for our summer holiday. In 1949 Dad was ready for a larger challenge. He wished to visit a friend recovering in a sanatorium in Davos, so planned the holiday around this. We made the normal crossing for that time from Dover to Boulogne on the 'Lord Warden'. The car was of course craned on & off the boat. We followed the main roads (many of which are now'D' class) via Arras, Rheims, Langres, Basle, Zurich, Davos.

We then crossed the Fluela & Maloja passes to Como, skirted Milan and took the first autostrada (motorway) we had ever seen to beyond Turin. We crossed the Alps maritime via the Col de Tende to Monaco & Nice. After a stay in Nice we returned to Boulogne via the Cols Montet & Forclaz to Martigny, round the lake to Geneva, over the Col de Faucille to Dijon, Rheims & Boulogne. The only mechanical problems were a blow out on the near side rear tyre & a loose screw in the carburettor.

Towards the end of the 1990s I determined to repeat this journey 50 years on.
For 18 months I looked for an appropriate car of comparable age without success. Then in Feb. 1999 I saw the 1948 Austin 16 YSY 485 advertised - it had been registered 1 month after my fathers HON 211. 
Having driven from the Lake District to Torquay to view the car - we did a deal on the spot and drove it home. The car is a chassis up rebuild & had won a number of best in show awards, but had done little mileage since its rebuild. In preparing the car for our intended trip we had to rebuild the rear springs, fit a new exhaust system, stabilise the sunshine roof, fit additional lighting & trafficators to meet the demands of modem traffic. Other than a well equipped tool box & a phone charger (with reverse wiring) Carolyn & I packed as normal for a continental tour.

The journey went very straightforwardly. We stuck to the original route as much as possible although we did avoid a few town centres. We crossed France without incident. Near Zurich we were warned there may be snow around Davos (it was late October), although there was snow the roads remained clear, only when we left the autostrada south of Turin to cross the Alps Maritime did the weather turn really foul. By the time we got to the Cote d'Azur there were landslips & road closures. With the weather as it was we drove the Monaco Grand Prix circuit, then headed North on the Route Napoleon following the 1949 route to Martigny, Geneva, Col de Faucille, Dijon & Boulogne.Mechanically the car was faultless on the whole journey. An idiot chef backed his truck into the rear wing but fortunately did not affect the wheel clearance. We did have a problem with the indicator switch. To repair this would have involved removing the steering column. We decided to complete the journey from Como using hand signals.

We returned home rather proud of ourselves and our motor car having completed the journey without outside assistance. Two years later we drove theWrynose & Hardnott passes in the Lake District 50 years after I kidded my dad todrive them in our first Austin 16. Since then the car has had an easy life but no doubt is up to any future challenges.