Clementine II ('Clem') is the motorised mascot of the Royal school of Mines, London. She was first registered on the 13th October 1926 by Mr E.R. Courage of Edcote, Banbury, Oxfordshire. Clem was fitted with a 'General Utility' body consisting of a flatbed with dropsides, a canvas tilt and removable bench seats on flatbed for use when carrying passengers. At the time Mr Courage was moving estate from Essex to Edgcote and Clem was used to transport some of his belongings between the estates (a 220-mile trip) she was the used for general duties on the Edgcote estate until 1946 when she was removed to the Essex estate where she remained until 1957.
From 1957 until 1960 Clem was stored at Sheringham Hall, Sheringham, Norfolk amongst a vehicle collection which belonged to a Mr Fitzpatrick (and included a 1907 Metallurgique with a 21 litre engine). Clem was owned during that time by a friend of Mr Fitzpatrick.
At the end of 1959 the Royal School of Mines was looking for a replacement for their mascot, Clementine, 1919 Aveling & Porter 5-ton steam traction engine whose boiler had become unsafe. The RSM heard of a Morris in Norfolk and two students went to see her. It was decided that the lorry would be ideal for the RSM and she was bought and towed back to London by a 1934 Ford lorry, becoming Clementine II, the RSM mascot in January 1960.
Once at the RSM some bodywork repairs were carried out and she was painted in a livery of a yellow cab, red chassis and black bonnet and wings. In the early 1970s she had the misfortune of being turned over in College but was able to be repaired, although it was some time before the chassis was straightened properly. Finally, in 1976, she was dismantled for a complete overhaul but unfortunately this project lapsed and she became sadly forgotten.
In 1987 a small band of students decided to try and rebuild Clem from the boxes of pieces. This proved to be a challenging task but within a year a rolling chassis was completed. Her engine fired for the first time in over a decade, an amazing feat as we later discovered that the ignition timing was 15 degrees advanced and there was no main jet in the carburetter! Soon the body was re-assembled and she collected her MoT certificate. Clem's test drive was an 140-mile trip down to Axminster in Devon. She performed well and, with several stops for water as it was a hot day, the journey took 10 hours.
The next tstep was the cosmetic work. The paint was kindly donated by Joseph Mason plc and applied by us. Most of Clem is original although a fair amount of the flatbed has had to be replaced due to rotten wood. The replacement pieces have been built to her original 'General Utility' specification and it is hoped to build seats and a canvas tilt to complete the 'General Utility' body.
Based on text written by Stephen Laing, 30th September 1991