When the AP registration series was released, in the early 1900s, it was decided that odd numbers should be reserved for cars and even numbers for motorcycles. By the close of business on 2nd January 1904, East Sussex County Council had registered 96 motorcycles and 151 cars, including AP 1.
AP 1 was issued to Mr John Godwin King of Shorelands, Westheathly, East Grinstead. The number was assigned to a dark green Darracq 12 hp. Records show that the car had red wheels, that its unladen weight was 15 cwt (762kg), and that it was intended for private use.
Mr King was born in Mill Bank, Anfield Road, Liverpool in March 1864. He was the youngest son of a non-practising surgeon who, instead, made his money as a broker at the Liverpool Stock Exchange. John King was educated at Bilton Grange, and University College London, before studying medicine at Cambridge. Sadly, as a young man, John suffered from poor health. Rather than have him take up medicine in cold, wet Britain, his father decided that he should relocate to warmer climes.
Ill health notwithstanding, John Godwin King turned out to be fit enough to travel in America, India and Japan, before settling in Australia, where he worked on a cattle station. While he was in Australia, King met his cousin Charlotte, whom he subsequently married in Brisbane in July 1892.
The couple returned to England, where they lived at Stonelands, in West Hoathly, Sussex, where their first daughter, Ursula, was born.
John Godwin King became a member of East Sussex Council in 1899. He was a keen motorist and, by the turn of the century, he had owned an 1898 De Dion, several Darracqs, and a couple of Renaults. As chairman of East Sussex Council, he was able to secure AP 1 for himself!
In February 1905 John became a founder member of the Sussex Automobile Club and, with Earl Russell amongst others, was on the committee that formulated the club’s rules.
We have mentioned that John was a keen driver. Well, it seems that he was, at times, a rather over-keen driver as, on one occasion, he managed to pick up a fine for dangerous driving – specifically speeding through Romsey at 23mph – for which he had to pay a £5 fine and one-and-a-half guineas in costs. He also received a three-year endorsement.
John Godwin King was appointed Justice of the Peace for Sussex in 1906 and was granted Freedom of the City of London the following year. After the First World War, King also became a founder member of the Sussex Archaeological Trust.
Politically, he was a Liberal and a strong believer in women’s suffrage. These values were shared by his daughter, who became a member of the National Union of Women Suffrage Societies.
For his lifelong services to Sussex he was appointed a CBE in 1942, and he remained a county councillor until his death in 1948 – just short of his 84th birthday – leaving £114,463 in his will. His widow, Charlotte, died of a stroke a few months later. Their ashes lie together in a grave in the woods at their beloved Stonelands.
AP 1 was originally sold in 2010, but it's back on the market and now available exclusively through Regtransfers.
As you can see, the purchaser will acquire not only a striking cherished registration number, but one with a comprehensive history.
Image and text sources: Car Number Classics - Nicholas Young, 2018
