A FORMER Burton man declared himself ‘very pleased’ after being named the owner of the oldest licence plate in the world.
Retired journalist John Roberts, 69, has spent countless hours researching the history of the plate which he bought from an elderly man who had kept it in a drawer for decades. It cost $1,000.
He pinpointed the date of issue for his licence — it was produced in 1884.
He sent his findings to other collectors and many disagreed with his feeling that it was the oldest in the world.
But John pressed his case. He compiled his evidence, sending the information to officials at Guinness World Records.
After a frustrating wait, he got the acknowledgment he had been waiting for.
You can read it on a framed certificate hanging on the wall of his home: “The oldest licence plate is the 1884 hackney carriage plate from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, owned by John Roberts John was born during the war in Burton.
His father was a British Army warrant officer who served as a Desert Rat in the North Africa campaign.
He left his home in 1975 to work as a writer, editor and photojournalist for newspapers in England and Alberta.
He now works part-time as a bus driver and lives in Victoria, Canada.
The publicity he generated for his plate convinced other collectors to state their opinions about the dating.
Eric Taylor, a television documentary producer who maintains a website dedicated to porcelain plates, has no doubt about the Victoria plate.
But another expert, Christopher Garrish, said the recognition by Guinness left him “incredulous. There’s nothing to support [the] claim.” For his part, John vows to prove his case by investing even more time at the archives.
“I’m trying to find a photograph of a horse and carriage,” he said. “Just one picture will prove my point.”
