Mighty griffin

[Brett]

Can anyone tell me why theres a griffin on the Bedford emblum. 'Almost' true answers are acceptable.

[BlackBedford]

G'day

Here is the truth, the awful truth...

Bedford has the Griffin because of its ties with Vauxhall.

For those that do not know about the Griffin, the mascot of the Bedford:
It is referred to as a gryphon, griffin or griffon. Mythological gryphons appeared in Greek culture as fabulous creatures symbolizing strength and in ancient Egyptian culture as Gods. It is thought that the sphinx was based on the gryphon and that gryphons were carved onto the walls of tombs to protect the occupants inside. Many families even have gryphons on their coat of arms or crest, to symbolize wealth and wisdom. Gryphons are portrayed with a lion's body, an eagle's head, long ears and eagle's claws to indicate one must combine intelligence and strength. They have been portrayed as small as a man or as big as an elephant.

The griffin emblem, which is still in use by Vauxhall, is derived from the coat of arms of Faulke de Breaute, a mercenary soldier who was granted the Manor of Luton for services to King John in the thirteenth century. By marriage, he also gained the rights to an area near London, south of the Thames. The house he built, Fulk's Hall, became known in time as Vauxhall. Vauxhall Iron Works adopted this emblem from the coat of arms to emphasise its links to the local area. When Vauxhall Iron Works moved to Luton in 1905, the griffin emblem coincidentally returned to its ancestral home.

Since the 1920s the griffin has been redesigned and released 9 times. 2008 saw the release of a revised version of the 2005 logo. Bill Parfitt, Vauxhall’s Managing Director, said, "While the new-look Griffin pays homage to our 100 year-plus manufacturing heritage in the UK, it also encapsulates Vauxhall’s fresh design philosophy, first showcased in the current Astra, and set to continue with Insignia."



Regards
Chris

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vauxhall_Motors

[Tweaker]

Wow, you is the man, BlackBedford!

[BlackBedford]

G'day

I think that the whole story of the Griffin and its association with the Bedford CF is pretty cool: mercenary soldiers, symbols of wealth, wisdom, intelligence and strength, etc etc.

Don't tell anyone but I actually have a pet griffin living in one of my old vans. It is about the size of a cat and yes it does bite and scratch. I might, just might try and get a photo of it.

[Tweaker]

Your secret's good with me!

[John Abbott]

Cool Chris...Better than having a yap yap  dog as a pet!!!! cheers...John

[eddy]

yeah johnno hearing you with the yap yap dog, got one of those next door goes off about 2.00 every morning ...... now if I can find one of those griffin things to throw over the fence at it that may solve my sleepless nights problem 

[shaginwagin]

Hi folks, Some considerable time ago I had a 1922 Vauxhall 14/40 tourer. had to restore it from ground up, rebulit the wood frame body and some new panels. Anyhow on top of the radiator sat a very proud Griffen.  I was able to borrow an original one from another member of the Vintage Drivers Club(Victoria) and had one cast.  It is still sitting in the garage (well the griffen is not the Vauxhall sold that but naturally kept the radiator cap) but unfortunately the spear with the flag on it is missing, some unknown person damaged it on a  car run.  Will eventually repair it, and it may end up somewhere in Alien8 in its rebuild.  will take a pic and post it on here.
Julian

[Tweaker]

yeah johnno hearing you with the yap yap dog, got one of those next door goes off about 2.00 every morning ...... now if I can find one of those griffin things to throw over the fence at it that may solve my sleepless nights problem 

I new a bloke a few years back that had the same problem with the neighbours dog barking everytime he (my friend) had a visitor. This friend of mine is an electronics wizz. So he ends up making a special doggy gun out of some tweeters and everytime the dog barked he shot it (with high frequency noise). Needless to say the dog don't bark no more!...........

[shaginwagin]

Ok Here,s the Griffin.





Hope it works
Julian