Founded in South London in 1905 and established as commercial vehicle manufacturers at its new Luton factory the following year, Commercial Cars Limited did not acquire the now familiar 'Commer' name until 1926 when Humber took control.

Two years later Humber/Commer joined Hillman in Rootes' rapidly expanding empire, the acquisition marking the group's entry into the commercial vehicle market.

Under Rootes' management the Commer range was rationalised and modernised, with smaller models' chassis, engines and running gear shared with Rootes' passenger cars, and in 1932 the firm became the first in the UK to offer diesel engines as an option.

Introduced in 1956, the Cob was a panel van based on the Hillman Husky estate car, itself a derivative of the Hillman Minx saloon, and was powered initially by Rootes' 1,265cc sidevalve engine, which was mated to a four-speed manual gearbox.

The Cob was periodically revised and updated in line with Husky/Minx before being dropped from the range ...