Number Plates History

A brief history of British number plates

By Ruby Speechley

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First number plates in Britain

Many local authorities began issuing number plates towards the end of 1903. The coveted figure ‘1’ in each series was usually secured by a member of the local council. London was no exception. In December 1903, A 1 was issued and subsequently acquired by council member, Earl Russell, for his Napier car.

As towns expanded and industries grew, so did the need for more vehicles and therefore more number plates. London was the first authority to use up its original code, so that by May 1905, The Car magazine reported that 10,000 motor vehicles had been registered in London. The letters LC (London County) came next, but the first few, LC 1 to LC 29, were retained by the Council for its works department. The first number issued to the general public in this series, was LC 30, to a Mr. R. Moffatt Ford. Middlesex was the next to run out in 1912, when it was given the two letters MX.

In 1920, The Roads Act came in to force. A vehicle could now retain a registration number for its lifetime, instead of having to re-register if the vehicle was sold outside its original authority.

By 1932, the registration system expanded again to cope with a further increase in vehicles on the roads. Three letters then three numbers were used this time, for instance ABC 123. The second two letters (in this example, BC) showed which authority had issued the plates. The format was reversed after World War II, when owning a car, for the average family, was still unusual. ‘Motoring for the masses’ was not to arrive until the early 1960’s.

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