Beware - not for the faint hearted - this is painful viewing!

[matchboxpaul]

Hi Diomede.
Afraid I dont have any more pics of this machine.
The image I have is from a scan of, I think, the 1963 or 1964 'Which' magazine.

The piccy of the REX in the kitchen is only the second time I have ever sen an image of the machine.

I had no idea that they were affiliated with Zanussi. Would that mean that 'Imperial REX' was the precursor brand prior to the introduction of Zanussi to the UK?

Glad you enjoyed the pic.
Cheers
Paul

 

[lurkalot]

Hello, all,

I am the owner of the 1960s kitchen photograph, taken by my father in 1963. Curiosity got the better of me, and I've just called in to see how my picture was being used!

Nevertheless, I am pleased that matchboxpaul asked if the machine was a REX, because until now, I always believed that the machine (the family's first) was a Hotpoint. As soon as I saw the word 'Rex', I immediately associated it with the word 'Imperial', ably confirmed by matchboxpaul's subsequent post.

I can remember the day it was delivered, and how we kids (three of us) sat infront of it for seemingly hours on end just watching all our clothes going round, as if it were some sort of new television entertainment.

Our marvellous new machine replaced a green coloured copper and mangle. It survived our move to Bostall Heath in 1966, but became less reliable until finally replaced in 1971. By then, our marvellous new machine was being referred to as 'that bloody machine', a sad indictment to something which had taken our family out of the 1950s and into a new effort-free era.

Still, I am pleased that my old picture has been enjoyed by many here.

best wishes,

Steve Thoroughgood

 

[lurkalot]

Incidentally, we DID realise the controls were at the back of the machine, and it was never plumbed in at either of its two locations! I can remember helping my mum to pull the machine out from under the worktop on wash days.

As an aside, our Crayford house was of interest in that it was built by Vickers in 1917, as part of their 'Barnes Cray Garden Village' built for the local workforce. Apart from occasional redecoration, it remained unmodified whilst in our possession.

Steve

 

[electron800]

OH MY GOD!!!

I just realised this mine is about 15 miles from me!!!

Methinks I might have to have a look out there at some point =]

 

[robm]

Welcome Steve (Lurkalot)

Great thread Paul, despite my nostalgia thread I love these machines, such a shame these have rotted so much. It somehow reminds me of the West Pier in Brighton, a thing of great engineering and design left to rack and ruin!

Hi Steve, thanks for the low down on the Rex. It's always great to here about older machines. Bizarre really they put the controls at the back.

All the best

Rob

 

[matchboxpaul]

Welcome Steve.

I feel like a naughty school boy who has been upto mischief and been caught out!

I really do hope you dont mind too much me posting the picture of your kitchen.
When i stumbled across it, whilst searching through Flickr, I initially thought it was a picture of a National Trust restored property!
I was over the moon - the picture exudes nostalgia and is of a really high quality and, as I have said above, everyone should take pictures of rooms in their house - the nostalgia trip is incredible.

It was, of course, the white box which caught my eye and then......well....you know what has followed.

This is only the second ever image i have seen of the Imperial Rex automatic and i only knew what it was, after the passage of a couple of hours, due to being in possession of Which Magazine from November 1964.

Here is a bit of info on your first automatic washing machine:

made in italy
cold water fill only
max load 8ib
noise - fairly quiet
vibration - slight
radio interference - moderate on LW and MW, slight on BBC TV
cost £72 9s

I take it it was abit of an effort to move. My grandparents automatic was a mid 1970s machine and was a real wight to move about. When my grandfather died, in 1983, it had to be permanently plumbed in in order to avoid my grandmother doing herself some damage.

Can I pick your brains a little bit?
You mention it became a tad unreliable - anything in particular?
can you remember what replaced it at all?

I am so glad that you are able to appreciate the enjoyment i had in finding it and the excitement others have had in seeing it.

Have to say - i am a bit perplexed! how on earth did you find the picture on this site/thread?

Once again - welcome to the site and thankyou for posting your fantastic pictures on the internet, for the world to see.

Regards
Paul

 

[matchboxpaul]

Please Matthew.....

if you do go up there - be careful!

The takers of the photos did say that there were 'chavs' about the place.
Really dont want you getting into a problem.

Paul

 

[lurkalot]

Hello, Paul,

Thank you very much for the welcome. Please be assured that I really don't mind you using my photo for this group, so don't feel too guilty! I am flattered enough to think it was deemed worthy in the first place. By the way, and in case you were wondering, other photos in my Flickr collection are mainly of local history interest (appertaining to the London Borough of Bexley), and a good quantity of public road transport photos taken in various parts of the country over the past 40 years or so.

How I found the photo here was quite easy and no real mystery. On Flickr, I am presented with daily stats which show a list of sites from which referral has been made. Having selected the visible link to automaticwasher.org, finding the relavent thread wasn't too much of a problem. My picture received 49 views over a three day period, unusually high for one of my boring old photos! I figured that with this many views, the thread on which it appeared must already contain quite a few recent messages, so fairly easy for me to locate.

Regarding the Rex's unreliability and it's subsequent replacement, these are details I will ask my mum or my brother assuming either can remember. My recollections of the replacement are rather vague, although I recall a black maker's plaque with the model number or type shown against a copper colour background near the top of the machine, possibly spanning the entire width. I will endeavour to find out and let you know. Of one thing I am certain is that it never appeared in any photographs!

The Rex info you have supplied is interesting, least of all the cost of a new machine in 1964. We were never 'well heeled' as a family in those days, with dad as the sole wage-earner in a not particularly well paid job in the City. £72 must have been an awful lot for them to scrimp and save at the time, a fact not entirely appreciated by us kids!

best wishes,

Steve

 

[chestermikeuk]

Service Wash Indeed...!!!

Wow, I bet this was a canteen laundry washing loads of greasy spoon towels after feeding the masses!!! (my theory anyway) the Bendix looks like an early 7100 series silver machine, I`m sure the later brown ones had the water connections across not down..

That poor Hottie, I thought it was a dryer at first, interesting graphics on the early models...the Colston is a favourite, just like the styling & the graphics, very quiet in operation ....

The Rex Imperial was for its time was well ahead of the field in terms of looks & style, very simple & stylish, & in some ways looks just as good in Steves family kitchen as it would have in an Italian Designer showroom..

Hi Steve, welcome to the club, fascinating insight into the Rex automatic Washer and your family days! Did you ever get chance to use it in your later days???

Cheers, Mike

 

[lurkalot]

Hi, Mike,

I didn't start using washing machines until 1983. I was about 12 or 13 years of age when our Rex was disposed of!

Steve