Finding the DBS
My Grandfather, Albert Barker, certainly had a penchant for Aston Martin motorcars, having owned a DB 4, 5 and a 6. As a young boy, I spent many a happy hour in the rear seats of these majestic machines, sliding across the seats as we raced across the Northamptonshire countryside.
Then in September of 1968, my Grandfather purchased a beautiful white Aston Martin DBS model, with a four litre straight six engine and the width of an American muscle car. I was now ten years old and this was my bedroom pin-up machine. I was on love!
Grandpa was a wonderful rifle shot and most weekends he, Grandma Molly and I would set off for a trip to Bisley camp in Surrey, where they kept a large caravan. The DBS’ boot was duly loaded with rifles, ammunition, plenty of provisions and we set off. Grandma was a diminutive figure, being not much more than 5ft tall and she would perch on the front passenger seat of the Aston trying to see over the long bonnet as to provide me a constant running commentary of the route from Earls Barton to Bisley. Although the DBS had basic, non inertia seat belts fitted to the front seats, few people bothered with them and ours were tucked away down the side of the front seats.
The route in those days, took in part of the M1, but without the M25, we would then travel via Rickmansworth, Slough and across the Thames at Staines Bridge, at which point Granny would glance out of her side window and tell me ’we are crossing the Queen’s river Charles darling’ The Aston would roar onwards, through exotic sounding places like Virginia Water towards Chobham, until we reached Granny’s next verbal landmark, the Hen and Chickens pub at Bisley.
On this particular weekend, we had just past through Virginia Water and the roads were narrowing to the extent that the huge DBS took up most of the road. I was standing up in the rear footwell, holding on to the front seats, desperately trying to watch Grandpa majestically place the Aston into each bend and then listen to the roar of the engine as he powered out. Grandma had adopted her low level position in the passenger seat, not wishing to see the oncoming traffic, or dare to mention to Albert that he might wish to slow down slightly.
The little blue open top tractor was trundling along along the country road as it approached the bend. We were closing in at high speed and taking up most of the road as usual. I can clearly remember seeing the look of sheer panic on the famers face as our white beast roared around the bend into his view. I felt the DBS lurch forward violently as Grandpa hit the brakes, just as Grandma majestically slid out of view into the footwell, with no more than a faint squeak.
With Grandma out of vision, Grandpa expertly threw the Aston up a grassy bank, perfectly positioning the car between a garden wall and a roadside telegraph pole. Fighting the g-force, I managed to hold onto the seats for dear life and glanced over my shoulder to see the little tractor thankfully continuing along the road. By this time, Grandpa had negotiated the bank and returned the Aston back onto level tarmac, just as Grandma was emerging from the footwell. ‘Whatever happened Albert’ enquired Granny. ‘Nothing to see dear’ replied Grandpa curtly. I smiled and never told Granny what had happened. Mind you, I had nibbled the rear piping around the rear of Grandpa’s seat - clearly in nervous excitement. Grandpa was rather non-plus having noticed my bite marks, but thankfully never mentioned it again.
Almost sixty year on from the famous near miss, I found myself copying a few family photographs and slides. Suddenly, I came across a photographs of the white DBS registration number: VLW 953G. Could the car still be on the road? I checked the MOT history, but nothing appeared. Of course, there are numerous other methods of tracing classic cars and their car club records are an obvious choice.
My son James, quickly typed the following information into Google: Aston Martin DBS registration VLW9 53G …… and this is what came up:
The vehicle with UK registration number VLW 953G is a classic 1968 Aston Martin DBS.
Key Vehicle History & Specifications:
Chassis Number: DBS/5130/R
Engine Number: 400/3819/S
Original Engine: 3995cc (4.0L) straight-six engine
Original Factory Colour: Platinum White with a Blue Leather interior
Transmission: Originally supplied new with an automatic transmission
First Registration Date: September 12, 1968
Background & Provenance
The car was delivered brand new to Mr. Albert Barker of Barkers and Sons Shoes. In recent history, it surfaced on the classic car auction market (via platforms like The Market) as an ideal restoration project. A previous owner had begun prepping the vehicle for a conversion from its original automatic setup to a modern 5-speed manual unit, meaning it retains the correct manual pedal box assembly, though it requires a manual gearbox to be sourced.
1968 Aston Martin DBS For Sale by Auction - The Market
This DBS was first registered on 12/9/1968, with the registration number VLW 953G, chassis number DBS/5130/R and engine number 400...
Of course, the really interesting item here was the fact that the DBS was sold at auction recently by a company called the Market.
James was already typing them a letter:
Subject: 1968 Aston Martin DBS – DBS/5130/R – former family car
Hi there,
I'm hoping you might be able to help me make contact with the purchaser of an Aston Martin DBS that you sold on 26 October 2022:
1968 Aston Martin DBS
Chassis: DBS/5130/R
Original registration: VLW 953G
The auction listing is here:
https://www.themarket.co.uk/listings/aston-martin/dbs/b1d7231a-bf11-42de-a59b-4e00e28e284b
The car has a particular significance to my family. My great-grandfather, Albert Barker ordered it new from Aston Martin in 1968.
My father has recently been going through and recovering quite a lot of our family history, including a collection of period photographs. We're both petrolheads, so we were particularly excited to find photographs of the DBS during my great-grandfather's ownership. We were delighted to discover that it survives and was sold through your website in 2022.
I completely understand that you won't be able to provide the purchaser's details. However, I wondered whether you would be willing to forward this email and my contact details to them, so that they can contact me if they would like to.
We'd be fascinated to know what has happened to the car since the auction and how the restoration is progressing. We'd also be very happy to share the period photographs and any other family history we find relating to the car.
Many thanks for any help you can offer.
Best wishes,
James Ward
Mark from The Market, kindly forwarded James’ email on to the new owner, who immediately provided us with his contact details. I called him last week to chat about the car’s past history and he explained that the DBS was currently undergoing a complete restoration. He went on to say that I would be most welcome to come and photograph it when it is back on the road next Spring.
Having reviewed the auction photographs, I noticed the Aston’s blue leather interior has survived after all these years and I wonder if the rear driver’s seat still contains the indentation of my young nashers?
…. to be continued.
