Sheffield classic car collector auctions 1976 Jaguar to raise money for Ukraine appeal

A Sheffield classic car collector says childhood memories of the Blitz have moved him to sell one of his vehicles for the Ukraine appeal.
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Roy Hatfield, aged 85, feels so moved by the plight of Ukrainian children he’s decided to auction his 1976 Jaguar XJ-C 4.2 to raise funds for the beleaguered country’s youngest citizens.

All the money raised will go to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

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Roy Hatfield, 85, from Sheffield, is auctioning his 1976 Jaguar XJ-C 4.2 to raise funds for Ukrainian chlidren.Roy Hatfield, 85, from Sheffield, is auctioning his 1976 Jaguar XJ-C 4.2 to raise funds for Ukrainian chlidren.
Roy Hatfield, 85, from Sheffield, is auctioning his 1976 Jaguar XJ-C 4.2 to raise funds for Ukrainian chlidren.
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He says having lived in Sheffield through WW2 as a child himself, he well understands the trauma Ukrainian children are experiencing.

The prized Jaguar will be sold at the next H&H Classics sale at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, on June 22.

A top condition model of the car was sold in March 2022 for £18,700.

Roy, born and bred in Sheffield, created a hugely successful energy and recycling business that bears his name well before the term recycling was a commonly understood concept. The company was awarded the Queens Award to Industry in 2014.

Roy says his childhood memories of the Sheffield Blitz and taking his gas mask to school have come to the surface after seeing the the plight of people caught in the Ukraine invasion.Roy says his childhood memories of the Sheffield Blitz and taking his gas mask to school have come to the surface after seeing the the plight of people caught in the Ukraine invasion.
Roy says his childhood memories of the Sheffield Blitz and taking his gas mask to school have come to the surface after seeing the the plight of people caught in the Ukraine invasion.
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His vehicle collection over the years has included Bentleys, Healeys, Lagondas and E-Type Jaguars, with the Jaguar XJ-C being one he is very fond of.

Roy says he was motivated to sell his car for Ukraine by his memories of going to school with gas masks and having to use air raid shelters in Sheffield during WW2, which saw the centre of the city decimated.

He says: “I am very depressed by what I am seeing on TV. We seem to have learned nothing about the horrors of war. So I hope that in some small way the sale of this car will do some good in the Ukraine, and the person who buys the car gets as much pleasure out of it as I have these past four years.”

The car is one of only 2,606 Jaguar XJ-C 4.2s made to right-hand drive specification, with a pillarless coupe design and a gloss black paintwork offset by Rich Red leather upholstery.

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A keen rally and race driver over the years, Roy has raced a Jaguar E-Type Lightweight and Healeys in the UK and Europe and taken part in rallies in Asia, Africa, Vietnam, Cambodia and Jordan, as well as competing 11 times in The Classic Marathon and travelling through South Africa twice in a 1929 Bentley.

He no longer races but still takes part in classic car rallies.

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