Thanks to Anita Long for these images and for introducing me to Garden Parties. I had no idea such events had taken place. It was at one of these events that her parents met.
She wrote, “As a teenager my Mum was an avid film goer and her main interest was writing to movie stars and studios for autographs. In the summer time she would attend the Sunday Pictorial Garden Parties at Morden Hall Park in Surrey to see more film stars and hopefully ‘get’ their autographs.
The staff at Metamet would drive to the Movie Stars hotels and take them to the Garden Parties. I don’t think they drove them around at the park as my photo shows them at the temporary fencing where they parked them. The jeeps were the best way to chauffeur the stars to all their scheduled meet and greets for the fans on the day. Everyone got to see them as there were definitely no open top limos in those days! The boys at Metamet must have really enjoyed those days and I thank fate for the opportunity given to my Dad. If he hadn’t met my Mum there then I wouldn’t be here now!”
Anita shared this video from Youtube. At the 40sec mark you’ll see a couple jeeps behind Bette Davis:
Here are some photos:
You can learn more about Garden Parties and see some more jeeps here:
https://alondoninheritance.com/eventsandceremonies/the-sunday-pictorial-film-garden-party/
The site includes this photo, which gives a good look at the side of the 5-in-1 Jeep. It has a little bit of a Holden Ambulance look.