My affinity for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is indeed a life long love affair of the cars made in Crewe. I remember when I was a child the oldest of my two older brothers, who is himself keen in Aston-Martins, told me, that the car I should have when I am old enough to get a licence should be a Rolls-Royce. He bought me modelcars and took photographs for me when he went to London for holidays and so it came that when I met friends as a child to play with our toys I was the one who only had a fleet of Rolls-Royces but no other make or type of cars as a toy. At around age 7 I saw my very first Rolls-Royce. It was a large Silver Ghost Open Drive Limousine parked in our small town to join a classic car rally. I was very impressed about its style and luxury and then I decided I want to have one too when I am 18.

It needed until I was 21 years before I was able to buy a Rolls-Royce and became owner of a Silver Cloud 1 which was quite nice to have and to drive to school but she used a lot of oil and as the body was in very good and original condition the mechanics needed a complete overhaul. So I sold her a half year later as being still a pupil I simply could not afford it to have made out an overhaul of virtually everything from the mechanical department.

In 1993 I fall in love to my fiancee Ingrid and early in January 1994, I was 26 now, I thought it would be time to buy another Rolls-Royce. So one evening I called several dealerships in England to ask what they have in stock. One car seemed to meet my current taste and I agreed to buy immediately on the telephone. I actually had no idea what with the car was nor whether in which condition she is was - I only asked for the colour scheme an was sure about a more modern Rolls-Royce never makes any trouble. I ordered two one-way tickets with British Airways for Ingrid and me just to be as soon as the next day inLondon Heathrow and called the dealer again to tell him he shall pick me up the very next evening to give over the car. The car I had bought so quickly was a 1973 Silver Shadow, SRH14821, painted in Carribean Blue with a dark blue Everflex roof. The interior was very lovely and unmarked in beige with blue piping und blue carpets. As I said, the next day the flight brought us to London and we took over the car and so it came that we bought my second Rolls-Royce. It would lead to far to tell you what all happened during our stay over the weekend in Dover, but I promise I'll do another time, as this is a story for itself about a hotel we had left during night in sheer frighten.

Well, the Silver Shadow was a very lovely car I really had enjoyed to drive her trough France on that sunny Sunday to bring her to her new home in Germany and I'll never forget the luckyness I've felt when driving her. Ingrid lived in Bonn, then capital of Western Germany, and I came originally from near Aachen, a town about 100 Kilometres away, where the Silver Shadow became her garage behind the house my mother lives. But during the following months It became more and more difficult to find enough time to go to Aachen to have a ride in the car, so after about one year I had to part with her also as it was impossible to find garage space in Bonn. I sold her to her friend who was dealing in Rolls-Royces since the early 1970's who in turn sold her to a man who runs a private museum where "my" Silver Shadow is now displayed for more then ten years.

In the years coming I had quite a lot of cars of different makes. I loved my Porsche 911, it drove my Ferrari Mondial Convertible with joy, but I was always missing my dream fulfilled of having a Rolls-Royce again. One day I read an Ad in the Newsletter of the German Section of the RREC of someone I knew for many years selling his restored Bentley S1 (B212DB). One again I went to the phone called him and immediately agreed to buy his car und asked Ingrid to join me to go to Duesseldorf by train to collect our new Bentley right now. Ingrid really loved the car and it came that after only a few weeks I sold our daily driven Jaguar as from the first day the old Bentley was driven by us to everywhere.

I used the Bentley for around 40.000 Kilometres a year - all year round. Winters like summers. And had never any trouble with her. She was a wonder in reliability! But as it is with everything what begins to become over the years too common to you I felt that she was nice indeed, but I began to miss the squared Rolls-Royce grill and - a heater worth to be called a heater. During the winter months it wasn't always funny to drive her over the German Autobahn and to stop every second Petrol station to warm up my fingers and for having a warming cup of coffee. So the wish began to rise to have a more modern car.

It was in the Autumn 2003 when I was invited to join a Technical Seminar led by Eric Healey and Steve Lovatt hold near Frankfurt. During this occasion I met another RREC-Clubmember who recently had bought a 1981 Silver Spirit (SCAZS0000BCH02770). It was indeed interesting to learn that this car had only three owners in Britain before she was sold in 1993 to Germany where the last owner put her in his garage simply to store the car. He had never driven the Rolls-Royce for which he had paid a princely sum at a London Dealership and the first one who drove the car after ten years of storage was the one guy who came to the seminar. Well, he had have to bring the car back to the road and had first to invest very heavily in all the hydraulics which where damaged hence the long storage. He invested only for hydraulics repairs more then 10.000 Euros and a complete service any some other work came to good amount of money for a car unable to be driven the day when bought. At all, at least everything was done and the owner drove her for about 1000 Kilometer when we both met a the seminar. I really liked the green colour and there was virtually nothing to do on the Silver Spirit and as he was keen in having an old Bentley and I was keen in having a working heater it came that we had to shake our hands swopped our cars and each of us drove away in the car of the other one! In the following days we exchanged all the documents about the cars and we both felt that it was the a good deal we have made. Probably not in terms of money, as I think the Bentley was more worth than the Silver Spirit, but I felt lucky to have found another good friend in my new Silver Spirit.

This Silver Spirit was delivered new to in June 1981 to Lex Mead of Manchester, during this time one of the largest dealerships in the UK. She was specified as a RHD car with some special features for use by a director of the company. Painted in Laurel Green and with beige leather. In 1984 she changed into the hands of a Mr Patrick Connolly of London W5 before she was sold in June1987 to a Mr Gaspard, living close to the Royal Albert Hall in London. Elias Gaspard was earning his money with diamonds and his business. One of his customers was a man from Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The circumstances under which this German bought the car via a dealership are not known, but the Spirit went to Germany to be stored immediately for nearly 10 years.

My Silver Spirit offered me sterling service as my daily driven car and makes to this day absolutely no trouble. I used her for around 40.000 Km a year and I still enjoy every single one of them. Today I clearly know that hence I am grown up in the 1970's and the 1980's I have an special interest in the cars of my childhood and as Rolls-Royce of other ages might be nice too, I learned the my heart beats for Silver Shadows, Corniches, Camargues and especially for my Silver Spirit. And I really love to see and to drive them!

Juergen Th. Smuda