James Gresham’s 1901 De Dion Bouton was bought new by his grandfather (reputedly at the Paris Motor Show) and shipped to the UK early in 1902. A keen motorist, Frank Gresham was an early member of The Automobile Club (now the Royal Automobile Club ), joining on 20th April 1900, and M 11 was his third De Dion Bouton Vis-à-vis. In fact he was more than a keen motorist - Frank Gresham and business partner Harry Heatley went on to produce the Rational motor car, several of which were used as early London motor taxis, developed and built by Heatly and Gresham Engineering in Bassingbourn. Y

Around 1904 the De Dion’s piston developed a crack, possibly caused by ham-fisted work on the engine and in ‘disgrace’ the car was not sold on but put in the back of the garage. In the middle 1950s James’s cousin asked if he could restore the car and in exchange use it on a few rallies. Using the facilities of the family engineering works (Gresham and Craven) he restored the car and used it extensively through the 1950s and 1960s.

M 11 has been a consistent participant on the Veteran Car Run for several decades, and will be lining up again at Hyde Park at sunrise this 5 November. And you can read a fascinating, detailed history of Heatly and Gresham's vehicle production, complete with period photos here: https://bassingbournparishcouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/seventeen-taxis-web.pdf