CARS made decades earlier were a popular purchase for new young drivers in the 50s and 60s. I recently featured memories of the “old bangers” in Kindred Spirits.

Jean Patterson, of Clapgate Lane, Ipswich, said: “I had an ‘old banger’, a 1954 Ford Popular. I had to crank the engine, no self-starter then, hand signals and only one windscreen wiper on the driver’s side, which had a tendency to work its way up to the roof when in action.

“My poor husband had to get out in the rain and put it ‘on course’ again. It only went at 45mph and we travelled a lot, going to Wales to where my husband’s home was, a 200-mile trip, it took us quite a long while to get there!

“It was bought for me by my parents in November 1967. I had just passed my driving test and I was no youngster, dad said it would give me good experience and he had been a driving instructor. I certainly had a lot of fun with the old thing and went to Wales many times and I did learn a lot from the experience.”

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