Chalk Hill residents will always remember the 5th of November for different reasons, as the first day in 40 years that the driveway outside number 42 was empty.

The 1950s Daimler DE36 which stood there since it was purchased, was dragged away after its owner Roy Stewart died last year.

Since then the car has passed on a further two times, and Roy Stewart's ex-wife has contacted the Watford Observer, providing an insight into the car's history, and exactly why Mr Stewart would never sell it.

Now, the complete story of a car which everyone knows something about, but nobody knows everything about, has been revealed.

Stephen Tompkinson, a fast-food van owner from Hemel Hempstead, acquired the Daimler from the executor of Mr Stewart's will, who lived in Portugal, and was eager to sell the house.

The car was then passed on to another man, who shocked Watford Observer readers and Daimler enthusiasts by listing it on auction website eBay, later claiming he only did so to attract more information about the car.

The auction finished having never met its reserve price, despite a final bid of £2,752.

The man, who prefers to remain anonymous, said: “I wanted to give it a good home and see it restored, otherwise it would have ended up being sold for scrap.

“I looked high and low for someone to repair the car, and I ended up finding someone through the Daimler club.”

This week the car has been passed on, to Ben Callow, who runs a classic car hire company in Lincolnsire and wants to return the car to it's former occupation. Mr Callow expects to take delivery tomorrow.

He said: “I've followed the story on the Watford Observer website and on the Daimler forum. I've got another DE36 which I purchased off eBay, and I took three to four years to bring it back to condition.

“Everything just came together with this car, as if it was meant to be. People were happy to invest some money and someone else provided a place for it to stay.

“All of the wood is rotten inside but the panelling is very straight, I've never rebuilt and ash frame but I only pass things on when I'm defeated, and I won't be defeated.”

Mr Callow also put to bed the rumour that the car had appeared on the silver screen.

"At the end of the film 'Hot Enough June' the car pulls up, number plate in full view, and Dirk Bogarde and Robert Morley step out."

Callow's car are all given names, such as “Bonnie and Clyde” for his two pre-war cars, and “The Golden Goddess” for the existing DE36.

Mr Callow added that the Chalk Hill DE36 “has been named "Bushey" as we couldn't think of anything more fitting.”

Coincidentally, on Tuesday this week Jill Lynch emailed the Watford Observer saying she was married to original owner Roy Stewart, who bought the car as a romantic gesture for her.

She said: “The Daimler took Roy and I from The Holy Innocents Church in Kingsbury to our Wedding reception in Kenton, replacing a car which had broken down.

“It was then owned by Kingsbury Car Hire, which was based in the Arcade, Kingsbury High Street. They had bought the car from a film company after it stared in several films.

“It did need some work done on the engine, and when they decided the car was going to cost too much to repair, Roy purchased the car as a romantic gesture for me.

“He was going to restore it but never actually got round to it. We had many offers for the car but Roy said he would never sell it as it was for me and that one day he would restore it, but of course that day never came. A man offered a £1000 cash one Sunday afternoon in about 1972, which was a lot of money in those days, but still Roy refused. We had such a row about it, I couldn't believe he'd turned down such a good offer, I didn't talk to him for three days.”

“The marriage went wrong and I left Chalk Hill in April 1977, and we finally divorced in May 1980.

“We always remained friends and he always insisted it was still my car. I remarried and Roy offered the car to my late husband, but he declined.

“I spoke to him a few days before his death from cancer and I asked after the "old girl". He said it always had been and always would be my car.”

Mr Callow added: “I would love to hear from anyone local or anyone with a story about the car, if anyone wants to contact me they can.

“We will have a page on our website, hopefully up and running next week, showing the car's progress."