MEET THE OWNER - STEVEN GRAY AND HIS BEDFORD HA ROMA

Last year, we met Steven Gray, the proud owner of a Vauxhall Chevette Sun Hatch. But his fleet also includes a motor home that looks as though it has strayed from the set of Carry On Camping – a 1968 Bedford HA Roma. Some time ago, I described this fine machine in a Telegraph article thus:

Think of an end-of-the-pier show somewhere on the Dorset coast starring Dickie Henderson Jr, supported by Shane Fenton & The Fentones. Think of newspaper articles describing how hippies and impending decimalisation will bring about the end of civilisation. Think of holidays where the highlight was dinner of chips, Goblin Beefburgers and a pint of Red Barrel before watching Norman Wisdom in Press for Time in the camp cinema. The Bedford HA Roma Home is truly a vehicle of the 1960s, one where Carnaby Street was just an Eastmancolor myth. The brochure showed a Roma owner as smart but approachable, in the manner of a Ladybird book illustration, but the HA was aimed at the sort of holidaymaker who would wear black socks with their sandals. This was a camper aimed at British holidaymakers who would stock up with Wonderloaf before a two-week tour of Brittany for fear of Continental food.

I stand by that description but add that the Roma was an extremely well-planned vehicle perfect for its intended market.

Vauxhall launched the Bedford HA van in 1964, a year after they unveiled the parent Viva. Shortly afterwards, Martin Walter of Folkestone introduced the Beagle four-seater estate version. By October 1967, it was the basis of the Roma motor home in either standard or De Luxe forms costing £641 or £671, respectively.

Here was a vehicle that, on weekdays, “slips easily through the traffic every morning”. Equally importantly, it was a Bedford that “parks in only 14 feet when your wife is shopping around”, in a scenario that belongs in a very bad 1960s sitcom. And when off duty, the Roma was ready to transport you to a holiday of delights, or at least a muddy field somewhere outside of Swanage.

Autocar thought, “It is not surprising to learn that the initial reception Martin Walter has had for the Roma has been very encouraging”. The ingenious cabin layout was an essential sales attraction, with a single-burner gas stove to cook the finest Frey Bentos pies available to humanity and a sink with a six-gallon water tank. The De Luxe had an additional folding rear seat, while the Roma interior boasted aircraft-style folding tables and a 3ft wardrobe.

As for the sleeping accommodation, the seats fold into a double bed with a tailgate-mounted GRP extension box providing space for your feet. The Mk. 2 version featured a tent fitted to the rear door. Both versions had an elevated roof that provided 6ft 5in headroom, while the De Luxe offered a third berth for the agile and/or the lightweight. Wisely, there was a warning lamp on the dashboard to prevent the Roma from being driven away with a raised top.

The Roma more than fulfilled its role of augmenting Martin Walter’s range of Bedford CA ‘Romany’ campers. Who could resist the lure of the sales copy, promising that by the weekend, “when the whole family is ready to head for the hills or the seaside – your Roma is waiting to take you in a three-berth caravan style all her own”? Of course, progress to your holiday destination would inevitably be stately as the 1,159cc engine was capable of a 70mph top speed, with 0-50mph in 24.4 seconds.

The last Romas left the Folkestone coachbuilder’s works in 1973 with the demise of the Beagle. Steve points out: “It is believed there were around 550 produced in total. Unfortunately, the factory had a serious fire and destroyed all the vehicle archives, so numbers are hard to come by”. Only 18 appear to survive, and comparatively few are still on the road.

Steven’s Roma is a De Luxe version, immediately recognisable via its side flash. He thinks it has been employed as a camper “maybe ten times in 25 years - only when I take her to the VBOA shows at Billing. and only on my own as it is really not built for two and certainly not three!”. But the Bedford Roma is still every inch the HA that encourages the owner to “Go motor caravanning seven days a week”. Plus, who could resist those curtains apparently borrowed from 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam?

With Thanks To: Steven Gray