The Alexander ‘Alex’ Tanner Collection

Born in Shalford, Essex, in the house he was to occupy his entire life, Alexander George Tanner (1942-2022) showed a remarkable passion for motorised transport from a very young age. A tall child, he had learned to drive a car at the age of just seven and, before moving on to King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford, he could already control a lorry and had a working knowledge of the internal combustion engine.

^{A Bentley from the Alexander 'Alex' Tanner Collection}

Even in romance, the car was the star. He gave his first childhood sweetheart, Angela, a toy car as a gift, prompting friends to quip, when they finally tied the knot in 1985, that she could not claim to having been unaware of his primary interest!

^{Cars from the Alexander 'Alex' Tanner Collection}

With cars so very much in his blood, Alex’s excellent commercial intellect allowed him to indulge his passion for vehicles. During his lifetime, he built an enviable collection of 64 cars and it had been his ambition to own at least two cars from each decade of the motor car. He was a Lifetime Member of the Veteran Car Club, and a passion for the Bentley and Rolls-Royce marques saw him join the Bentley Drivers’ Club and the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club in 1974. He later served as Bentley Drivers’ Club Chairman from 2008 to 2011.

At one time or another, he owned at least one model of every vintage Bentley, and many of the British marque’s finest later models.

^{Cars from the Alexander 'Alex' Tanner Collection}

Alex was the truest of enthusiasts, never fixated with a single marque or a fashion. He genuinely loved cars - from the earliest brass-era examples to the finest new models - but most of all, he simply loved driving.

On behalf of the executors of his estate, we are selling the Alexander (‘Alex’) Tanner Collection. This superb single-owner motoring compilation comprises 54 lots – 12 pre-war, classic and modern cars, and 42 lots of highly sought-after automobilia. 

For further information about our Wednesday 21 June sale, please contact Luke Macdonald | cars@sworder.co.uk