Licence, driving licence

Driver's licence issued by the London County Council to Frederick Ernest Bird, a resident of Abinger Road, Deptford. The licence entitled Mr Bird to drive a motor car or motor cycle. It was initially issued in 1926 but Mr Bird was required to renew it annually for a fee of five shillings. A renewed licence for 1928-1929 has been stuck in between the hard card covers covered with blue starched cotton.

Motoring was a luxury hobby before the First World War. This changed with the arrival of cheap lightweight cars like the Austin 7, introduced in 1922. Its relatively low price of £135 (£5,590 today) made the Austin 7 affordable by more than just the wealthy, particularly on hire-purchase. Driving licences were introduced in 1903 and in London the number issued rose from 100,000 to 261,000 between 1920 and 1930. Although car owners needed a driving licence, driving tests were not compulsory until 1935. Anyone over the age of 17 could simply get in a car and drive away with only the most basic of instructions.