Richard and Christina Joyce didn’t let the British weather deter them from attending the recent Gingin Car Day with their 1998 Rolls-Royce. Richard
shared, “We always come and will never miss it. Regardless of whether it is a wet day or not you have to support these things otherwise there might be a day
when you want to go and it is not there.”
Growing up in Derby (UK), the home of the Rolls-Royce, it seems only natural that Richard would chose to own such a trophy car. After a brief conversation
with Richard I learnt quickly that owning a Rolls Royce is much more than being a car owner. Richard is also a proud ambassador of the Rolls-Royce company, and I was fortunate to be enlightened on the company’s history as well as recent successes.
The Rolls-Royce engine has long had an association with the aerospace – Charles Rolls was a pioneer aviator. He first met the Wright brothers in 1906 and had his first flight with Wilbur Wright in 1908. In the early days he repeatedly tried but failed to convince Rolls-Royce to manufacture aero-engines – a vision that is now the company’s greatest success. Not only did the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engine power numerous aircraft used by the RAAF during World War Two, in April this year Rolls-Royce secured its largest order in a £6.1bn deal with Emirates. The order of 200 engines will power 50 Airbus A380 super jumbos entering service from next year.
Richard mused, “Most people think of the car and yet most of the time when they are flying around the world it is on a plane with a Rolls Royce engine.”
With a workforce of over 12,000 people, Derby has the largest concentration of Rolls-Royce employees in the UK. The total Rolls-Royce estate in Derby
is almost 100 acres. One in every 11 workers in Derby is directly employed by Rolls-Royce. With this new information at hand I gained a new appreciation for the Rolls and was grateful for the opportunity to chat with Richard and enjoy the banter of fellow car enthusiasts as they praised Richard’s unique 1998 vehicle. The only
one of its kind in WA and winner of its class at the recent national Rolls Royce rally held in Fremantle.
It was wonderful to see so many beautiful cars out for the day. Those who came made the most of each pocket of sunshine as they whipped out their picnic assembles and then quickly packed them away again as they took shelter in their cars during the rain.
