How did a 1955 Volkswagen Kombi used by the Bush Church Aid Society’s Flying Medical Service in Ceduna turn up in the UK?

HOW did a 1955 Volkswagen Kombi that undertook its first patient transfer for the Bush Church Aid Society’s Flying Medical Service in Ceduna 60 years turn up 15,700km away in the UK?

George Cameron and Sister Florence Dowling with the 1955 Volkswagen Kombi outside Murat Bay Hospital, SA, circa 1956.

IF CARS could talk, there’s no doubt this 1955 Volkswagen Kombi used as an ambulance in regional South Australia would have more than a few stories to tell.

Like how it mysteriously turned up 15,700km away in the United Kingdom after undertaking its first patient transfer for the Bush Church Aid Society’s Flying Medical Service in Ceduna 60 years ago.

It was in 1956 when the BCA bought the Kombi after a public fundraising appeal in the Sunday Mail, which raised more than £2000.

The vehicle, which replaced residents’ trucks and utes, was fitted with airconditioning, detachable patient chairs, two folding stretchers and bright and dim interior lighting.

BCA chief operating officer Greg Bridge said the organisation held on to the ambulance until the late 1960s but did not know what happened to it afterwards.

While decades of its existence remain a mystery, Mr Bridge now knows where the Kombi ended up after he received an email from new owner Mark Perry, of Brighton, England, earlier this year.

The worse-for-wear Kombi in 2003 ...

... and after being fully restored.

“I was a little surprised (when I received the email) as I haven’t been at the BCA long and I was curious to see whether our archives would have any information about the Kombi” Mr Bridge said.

“They did and what I found interesting was the list of people who donated towards it – there was quite a number of what appeared to be stations, so they obviously valued the service.”

Mr Perry told the Sunday Mail he bought the van about 12 years ago from a man in the UK and discovered the BCA lettering under paintwork during the restoration process.

“The story began in 2003, when I was looking for a Kombi to purchase,” he said.

“In a local second-hand cars magazine, I came across an advert with a 1955 ambulance for sale.

“I went to have a look and found it was sitting in a shed in a sorry state but I knew it was meant to be.

“The guy who had it was in the business of buying and selling anything VW. He had got it from Australia where there were more available, as it was getting harder to find these treasures in the UK.

“It was different to all the rest and, being a right-hand drive model, was perfect. It had been stripped of all its equipment.”

Mr Perry said he plans to use the Kombi for surfing holidays and trips to France with his family.

Do you know how the Kombi made its way from Australia to the UK? Tell us at advertiser.com.au

Originally published as How did a 1955 Volkswagen Kombi used by the Bush Church Aid Society’s Flying Medical Service in Ceduna turn up in the UK?