Carleton Brown shares the story behind the restoration of Rose, an original World War Two Austin Tilly
‘I managed to make my first planned show of the vehicle at The Thames Traditional Boat Rally’
Back in 2013, I had not long finished restoring my 1943 Willys Jeep and I knew that I wanted to do a British vehicle next – something small but iconic, that could fit in a garage and was not too thirsty on petrol. Looking around for various options, most seemed too big for what I wanted – but I soon realised the Tilly fitted the bill perfectly and was likewise very practical.
I joined the Tilly club, which has been immensely helpful and a great resource for information. The club’s records show that from 1959-1961 some enterprising gentlemen shipped as many Austin Tilly as they could find to Malta. These were snapped up by market gardeners, builders and countless other small businesses as useful pick-up vehicles.
While most were worked to death, some survived and Malta swiftly became the most populated Austin Tilly location anywhere. I was fortunate enough to find two for sale and flew out to Malta to view them. I purchased both and shipped them home through Italy and France – ultimately keeping one for res…
