Mike Thrift, a 90-year-old wartime evacuee from Hemsby, Norfolk, has expressed his delight at being reunited with a 1928 Sunbeam car more than 80 years after it first captured his imagination. Mr Thrift was five years old in 1941 when he was driven in the Sunbeam from a school hall in Nottingham to his lodgings at a nearby manor house.
Mr Thrift, who was billeted with the manor's owner Elizabeth Machin, recalled sneaking into the back of the car to dream. Wartime petrol rationing meant the Sunbeam remained in a garage during his stay at Edwalton Manor.
The reunion was facilitated by Mr Thrift's daughter, Mel, after he shared his memories with his grandsons and daughter. Mel was put in touch with the car's current owner, Guy Lachlan, 61, from Caxton, Cambridgeshire. Mr Lachlan arranged for Mr Thrift to be taken for a spin in the Sunbeam, along with Robin Brown, 98, of Castle Acre, Norfolk, who is Ms Machin's nephew and the car's second owner.