One was never enough!

IN life, great things can sometimes grow from humble beginnings, and the remarkable collection of Land Rover vehicles created by Ray Adams is a case in point. There were none of the typical family associations with Land Rovers as Ray was growing up in London in the 1960s and 70s. His father, Les, was a more than capable mechanic but it would be fair to say that this was true of many men in those days, because if you wanted to run a family car you had to be able to maintain it and fix it. Ray grew up helping his dad do just that, with regular weekend servicing and repairs on the street outside the family home. As a result, Ray developed an interest in mechanics and engineering at a young age.

“I’d always thought that when I left school I would take an apprenticeship in engineering,” says Ray, “but by the time I was old enough to apply, Maggie Thatcher’s policies meant there were virtually no traditional apprenticeships left to apply for. I’m one of the Thatcher ‘lost generation’! I decided instead to apply to British Rail and I passed all the tests and received a job offer, but that was withdrawn because of cuts and bans on recruitment. I ended up working in a warehouse for a while before I