PLATEPETER writes from Austria:
I found this car last week and could recherche (I found) that an Austrian citizen used this Austrian unregistered car for the last five years with this historical British import-plate. He parked and drove in Vienna without a driving licence and also had some troubles with police in respect of alcohol, but the discrepancy of the faked British registration never came to light… QK is a circa 1964 issue!

In 1964, when QK was a current issue, this new Mercedes was purchased in England for subsequent export, and so was issued with a ‘Q’ plate for it’s temporary stay in UK.

The ‘Q’ series had a long history in Britain, starting in 1921. Another use for them was to temporarily register a visiting car from a country which did not subscribe to the international conventions. Thus they were unable to circulate using their foreign registration plates. This vehicle entered GB for a rally in 1932, and the Automobile Association issued it this QE 475 tag for the duration. The AA and the RAC were authorised to allocate these plates on behalf of the State, to facilitate motor tourism, as all the complex services were offered by those two venerable Clubs.

The international settlement of Tangiers, the enclave in (former) Spanish Morocco, was among the territories which required local plates in many of the countries they might visit. Here is a Standard 14(?) just pre- or post-war, using QC 8825 for a visit to Britain in about 1948. Pemberton archive
DOUBLE-CLICK to enlarge any image