Number Plate Stories

Home is where the number plate is

By Ruby Speechley

“EY plates are highly sought after in Anglesey, I often see EY 9, EY100 and 5 EY in town. I’ve even parked next to a car with the plate 8 EY and my son’s neighbour has 3 EY on his Mercedes. I’ve been doing a bit of research and found out that EY 1 was the first number issued in 1903, to a wealthy land owner. The story goes that his chauffeur queued all night to ensure that he secured it for his master. A lot of EY numbers have been lost or destroyed over the years, which makes the ones that are left much more sought after.”

David Woodhouse from Lake on the Isle of Wight was born and bred on the island. “The new style number plates have the letters HW, for Hampshire and Wight, which I don’t think look as good as the old DL numbers,” he said. “I had DL 8905 on a motorbike many years ago and WDL 312 on a van. Unfortunately I sold the van for scrap for £15! I wish I’d kept the number plates because they are going up in value now that the new system has come in. That’s why I wanted to buy one of the old numbers. I have YDL 164 on my VW.”

Being proud of where you were born is a good reason to have a personal number plate, as Paul Sisson from Oakwood in Derby reasons. “I chose the plate D3 RBY because I was born in Derby and I’m not shy of showing that I’m proud of the city and the football club.”

One man who is the envy of inhabitants in a small village in East Anglia is Alan Filby. He was lucky enough to find a plate to match his surname F1 LBY, over ten years ago. “Filby is also the name of a place in Norfolk. When I go there, the villagers show a lot of interest in the plate. I’ve had many people offering to buy it. I’ve also been asked on numerous occasions whether it is genuine or not. I was stopped by the Police on a very busy M6 one day, only to be told by a young constable that the spacing was incorrect – it wasn’t actually – I went home and checked! I have four sons, nine brothers and two sisters who would all love to have the plate.”

Number plates spelling where you come from are quite difficult to find, especially if you originate from overseas. Plates like SPA 1N, BEL 12E, AUS 1, 1 UAE and FIG 1, have already been allocated as diplomatic plates, which means that some of the best ones aren’t in general circulation. But if it’s a local UK town you’d like to represent on a plate, there are still a few good ones around, such as BUX 70N and SUT 70N, after all, there’s no place like HOM 3.

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