Coming Soon - A Lifetime in Motoring : The David Unitt Collection

On Thursday 27th August, Fieldings Auctioneers will present a special Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia Auction dedicated entirely to the remarkable collection of Arthur David "David" Unitt, one of Warwick's best-known garage proprietors and lifelong motoring enthusiasts.

As part of Fieldings Auctioneers' programme of specialist monthly sales, the auction, led by Mark Hannam, offers collectors a rare opportunity to acquire over 250 lots from a single-owner collection assembled over more than three decades. The sale includes petrol cans, petrol globes, vintage petrol pumps, enamel advertising signs, car badges, mascots, oil tins, advertising memorabilia and a wealth of automobilia that reflects David's lifelong passion for Britain's motoring heritage.

David Unitt spent his entire working life at the heart of Warwick's motoring community. Following in the footsteps of his father, Arthur Unitt, proprietor of County Garage, he went on to own Wedgnock Garage on Cape Road, Warwick, just around the corner from the renowned Donald Healey Motor Company works. Growing up in the motor trade, David developed an enduring affection for Austin-Healey cars and became well known amongst local enthusiasts and Healey employees alike. He often recalled Geoff Healey telling him how his father had helped the Healey works during post-war petrol rationing by finding "an odd bit of extra petrol" when it was most needed.

One of David's favourite stories dated back to his days at County Garage, when Field Marshal Montgomery's wartime staff car was left overnight on its journey to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. David moved it only a few yards across the workshop before reversing it back again, delighting ever afterwards in being able to truthfully say, "I drove Monty's staff car."

David's own pride and joy was a 1953 Longbridge-built Austin-Healey 100, which he painstakingly restored after it returned from Tennessee. Converted from left- to right-hand drive and rebuilt to Le Mans specification, it accompanied him on rallies, hill climbs and visits to circuits including Silverstone and Castle Combe. As David liked to say of the marque, "You can't get out of a Healey and walk away without looking back at it."

Around 1990, what began with the gift of just a couple of two-gallon petrol cans quickly developed into a lifelong passion for preserving the everyday artefacts of Britain's forecourts and garages. Autojumbles, auctions, car boot sales and countless journeys around the country added to a collection that David carefully restored and proudly displayed at Wedgnock Garage. Along the way he unearthed memorable finds, including a vintage petrol globe that had been pressed into service as a bird feeder and a petrol pump in North Yorkshire whose restoration was interrupted by the discovery of a rather unwelcome resident—a large spider hiding inside.

The significance of David's collection was recognised in 1996 when he was invited to exhibit at Everything But the Car, a major exhibition at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry celebrating the centenary of the British motor industry. His display of petrol cans and automobilia reflected not only a collector's eye but also a determination to preserve the material culture of the garage world in which both he and his father had spent their lives.

This auction represents a unique opportunity to acquire pieces from David Unitt's celebrated collection. Every lot tells part of the story of a man whose life revolved around garages, classic cars and the people who built, repaired and drove them. More than a collection of automobilia, it is a tribute to a lifetime devoted to Britain's motoring heritage.

Whether you are an established collector, restoring a period garage, or simply nostalgic for the golden age of motoring, this promises to be a memorable sale.

Fieldings Auctioneers – The David Unitt Collection
Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia Auction

Online catalogue – Available 12^th August
Auction - Thursday 27th August

Viewing – Wednesday 26^th August

Please note there will be a pre-sale view of the lots on 11^th/12^th August 10am - 4pm 

Do you have a collection of automobilia you would like to sell at auction, please get in touch with our specialists

CLICK HERE TO CONTACT THE AUTOMOBILIA DEPARTMENT