Oxford 76INV001 1/76 AC Invacar Pale Blue

 

The AC Invacar. As with many things in life, its concept was borne out of a personal need as well as being of benefit to many other people. In 1948 a British engineer Bert Greeves, who had been born in France in 1906, came up with his first motorised wheelchair, powered by a lawnmower engine and designed to help his paralysed cousin get about. Bert's first job in England had been with the Austin Motor Company in their Longbridge factory following which he set up his own garage business in London, where his main occupation was a motorcycle designer and manufacturer. Together with his disabled cousin Derry Preston-Cobb, the pair saw the potential in further developing this new invalid carriage and founded Invacar Ltd - an abbreviation of Invalid Carriage. The small single-seater vehicle won the small company a contract with the Ministry of Pensions as a national supplier of transport for the physically disabled which went on for nearly 30 years. The Government distributed the Invacar free to eligible people, particularly those injured or maimed in the war, as part of their disability allowance, providing a welcome lifeline and high level of independence for its recipients.