VW Campers history right on our doorstep. We are based only 9 miles from where the original company which was started by Jack White. Working in a garden shed in Sidmouth he started trading as J P WHITE. Jack was a carpenter/builder with a passion for Volkswagens. He began producing the ‘caravette’ from his shed before moving into a former gasworks site at Sidmouth. The site then had it’s own railway sidings in 1960. At it’s height it employed 75 local tradesmen and was producing around 1000 caravettes a year.
A family friend approached me with the original brochure of which they had a copy. The little girl in the photo’s was in my classes at school!. What a small world it is. You can view the original Devon brochure Here
The company was sold on by Jacks wife to the Renwick, Wilton & Dobson Group. They took on most of the staff and continued to trade under the J P White (Sidmouth) Ltd. name until June 1971 when it was renamed Devon Conversions Ltd.
By 1972 the company was the official VW converter for the UK and were selling 3,500 campervans per year. The company moved to Exeter in 1981 and went into voluntary liquidation in 1985. The end of a great era in British campervan history.
Our Monty has his own Devon Conversion label, tucked up in the roof. VW campers history on our doorstep.
See more of Monty Here
