1975
Eccles Sapphire
As the Eccles brand approached 50 years old in 1969, Caravans International decided to use one of Britain’s oldest brands to create the “caravan of the future”. The designer tasked with creating this was Tom Karen of legendary Ogle Desgin. The result was groundbreaking, introducing lots of features that we take for granted in caravans today. But it wasn’t a hit with the caravan buying public. What went wrong? This is the story of the Ogle and the Eccles.
One thing that I absolutely love about the Mid Century era is the underlying tone of futurism to design. By the end of the 1960s, we’d put man on the moon, flown passengers at supersonic speed and firmly left steam power in the past. It seemed that anything was possible, and designers were not just designing for the moment, but attempting to create things that would last well into the future.
Of course, this was somewhat of a pipe dream, and ultimately, one of the most charming things about the specific late 1960s and early 1970s design period is that all of these designs aged pretty quickly. But half a century on, we look back at some of the vehicles, fashions, and household objects with a smile as we admire their funky form. The pre-requisite for any new mode of transport was that it would have to impress a young teenage boy enough to have a poster of it on his bedroom wall. Beefy muscle-car inspired designs appeared like the Reliant Scimitar. Space-age “ray gun” exhausts were fitted to the BSA Rocket 3 motorcycle. Even motability cars like the Reliant Robin and Bond Bug got an angular rocket-shaped makeover. And just when teenage boys (and girls) up and down the country hankered after these cool designs, Raleigh launched the very cool Chopper BMX bike, which was one of the most sought-after toys of the 1970s.
It is quite deliberate that I picked these examples of retro futurism because they all share the same designer: Tom Karen of Ogle Design. But many people do not know that Ogle handled a daring futuristic design for Caravans International before they created any of these 1970s design icons. This is the story of the Ogle and the Eccles.
The story begins at the turn of the 1960s, with Sprite Caravans founder Sam Alper buying the Eccles brand in July 1960. Eccles famously were the oldest proprietary caravan manufacturer in the world, setting up shop in 1919. Their co-founder, Bill Riley, was secretly in poor health following the unexpected death of his only son, so the sale of the business seemed shocking to the caravan industry at the time. Sprite were really appearing triumphant with their brand of cheap lightweight caravans by the late 1950s. The boxy hardboard-clad Streamlite Sprite in 1950 seemed a whole universe away from the smart late-1950s designs of the Ariel, Alpine and the famous swan-neck roofed Musketeer. These up-to-the-minute designs were not only desirable in the eyes of caravanners, but actually ahead of what other manufacturers within the industry were offering at the time, at a mass produced price that others couldn’t compete with. Sprite were well on their way to market domination.
The genius move on Sam Alper’s part was to employ actual designers to come up with something that would reflect both interior design trends on the inside and motoring trends on the outside. It would be then up to Sprite’s in-house engineers to turn these ideas into a working model that could be produced within a tight budget. Two-tone exterior paintwork, angled kitchen units and bright colourful upholstery patters all conspired to make a caravan that was cheerful and bright – or “gay” as they would have probably labelled it at the time!
1970s vehicle design had to be cool enough to be featured on a poster for a teenager’s bedroom wall - exactly what the Raleigh Chopper offered.
By the late 1950s, Sprite had established themselves as one of Britain’s most popular manufacturers, building cheap, lightweight but modern looking caravans.
This presented Sam Alper with a challenge when he bought Eccles, because Eccles had a reputation for tradition and quality. Sprite had a reputation for modern looking cheap touring caravans - the antithesis of what Eccles had established over a 40+ year brand legacy. The decision was made to run down the production at the original Eccles factory in Birmingham and make the very bold decision to move the brand lock, stock and barrel to Newmarket to join Sprite – but crucially into an adjacent factory as opposed to the same factory that Sprite caravans were built in. Eccles would have to maintain their reputation for quality caravans, but now with a new factory, new workforce and new design team. What the latest generation of Eccles models would look like in the 1960s would surprise absolutely everyone.
The same team that was responsible for the enormously successful redesign of Sprite caravans in the late 1950s were employed to take on the new Eccles. The exterior was given a profile like nothing else in the industry before or since. A rhomboid shape that was longer at the top than it was at the bottom – or “a loaf of bread” as one caravan magazine mused at the time. There was a nod to tradition with a built-in bay window at the front, which had been a hallmark of Eccles caravans in the 1920s and 1930s. To save costs and improve performance, the new Eccles would ride on the same chassis that Sprite were using, manufactured by their in-house Harrison Steel company, it would also share exterior fittings such as door handles, road lights and interior appliances.
In a bold move, Sam Alper forbid his design team to look at other caravans for inspiration, instead, he sent them off to the Ideal Home Exhibition in London. The result was spectacular: The Eccles’ interior was upmarket and plush, but the styling was as modern as it got at the time. Practical wipe-clean hard-wearing PVC coatings were used on the interior wall panels, which engulfed interior walls, seat bases and wardrobes. Doors were picked out in dark afromosia wood as a stark contrast to the light coloured walls and furniture. A dark green leaf-pattern linoleum floor covering was also used to gently hue the interior with nature. Seat base fronts were pulled back slightly, so that more floor covering would be exposed to give a better illusion of interior space. Even the kitchen unit floated above the floor, resting on a tapered leg which concealed the waste water pipe from the sink.
The new Eccles range for 1962 was a groundbreaking leap forward for caravan design. Caravans International would be formed the following year.
The design was an instant hit all over Europe. Eccles launched the 16ft Sapphire and 13ft Moonstone in late 1962, and soon a few Moonstone layout variants, a large 22ft Emerald towable static model and a tiny 10ft GT304 based on a Sprite 400 would join the range in 1963. Despite its bonkers left-field design, it really struck a chord with caravanners and those in the industry alike, carrying on production into the 1960s with minimal changes other than updating soft furnishings and exterior fittings as trends evolved.
Emboldened with this success, Sam Alper enlisted the services of Ogle Design around 1967/68. This design house was established in the mid-1950s by David Ogle. Their main notoriety by the time of Ogle’s untimely death in 1962 was designing and producing the Ogle SX1000 kit car based on a Riley 1.5 chassis with a BMC B-series 1500cc engine. A young designer called Tom Karen took over Ogle in 1962. He was particularly experienced with both car design and household appliance design, spending time at Ford, Hotpoint and Philips. By the mid-1960s, Ogle had designed the popular Bush TR82 portable radio, the Reliant Scimitar sports coupe and a series of trucks for Leyland. Their designs were trendy, forward thinking and eye catching, which must have been what Sam Alper saw when he enlisted Tom Karen to help reinvent Eccles caravans for the second time.
1969 would be the 50th anniversary of Eccles. Despite the takeover by Sprite in 1960, later incorporated into Caravans International in 1963, Eccles worked hard to maintain their legacy and promote their own brand identity. So it was decided that they’d work on “the caravan of the future”, which was a several year long endeavour to design and bring into production. The new Eccles didn’t just push caravan design to the limit, but also the manufacturing process, bringing with it a fresh palette of building materials which would prove to be the shape of things to come within the caravan industry.
The all-new Eccles Amethyst in 1969 was a radical departure from normal caravan design, thanks in part to the Ogle design company.
Tom Karen’s initial idea for the Eccles was to make it amphibious and combine two popular leisure activities of boating and caravanning. Complete with a rear opening hatch and sun deck, this was perhaps a little too ambitious to say the least. It’s not known exactly how far Sam Alper considered this proposal, but a highly publicised stunt was carried out in 1968 by turning a Sprite Musketeer into a hovercraft, so who knows!
The eventual final design kept the futuristic square look of the initial prototypes, which was another radical departure from the norm. The construction method too was all-new: A series of specially cut roof supports held the entire back half of the caravan up, with the chassis finishing at the axle. This allowed the floor to drop between the chassis members at the front, allowing Eccles to reduce the overall height of the caravan to improve towing performance. Groundbreaking use of plastics really pushed caravan design to the limit too. There were PVC panels formed using a thermoplastic moulding process, which not only gave the caravan a unique profile, but reduced weight and strengthened the front end. The roof was coated in a giant one-piece sheet of PVC to eliminate any water entry points, even going so far as to not fit any skylights, instead using a groundbreaking fully adjustable built in ventilation system dubbed “crossflow”. Curved sidewalls had been around on caravans since the early 1900s, but usually reserved for upmarket models due to the extra expense of producing this design. Eccles would incorporate these into the new model, thanks to production costs being reduced by the use of pre-finished PVC panels in the construction. Pre-painted aluminium panels were used for the side panels too, which was another novelty at the time, soon to become the industry standard.
Aside from the construction, there were practical considerations too. The gas bottle storage was moved from its traditional place on the A-frame to a dedicated locker above the axle to reduce noseweight. It sounds like an obvious idea now, but the new Eccles was the first touring caravan to feature this specific configuration. Large front and rear windows allowed decent see-through vision when towing to improve safety, and the new Eccles came supplied with rear warning triangle reflectors, something that wouldn’t be enshrined into law until three years later, again, putting them ahead of the curve. A finishing touch was to provide anodised aluminium window frames, which were usually reserved for premium caravans, as these would retain their shiny appearance for much longer than ordinary aluminium frames.
The Eccles redesign incorporated a lot of groundbreaking ideas, many of which have gone on to be standard design practices for the caravan industry today.
“The Sparkling New Amethyst” campaign ran throughout late 1969 and early 1970, with the rest of the traditionally styled Eccles range running alongside it. Unusually, Caravans International didn’t plan any daring publicity stunts for the new model, as it was perceived that it was interesting enough on its own. Initial feedback from the press was astounding, heralding a new era in caravan design. ‘Caravan’ magazine reported that you could tow the new Amethyst with a smaller than average car for a 15ft caravan due to its lower overall height and well-balanced layout, giving it excellent towing characteristics. Sales soon followed, and this emboldened Caravans International to roll out the new design across the rest of the Eccles range for 1971. The range now consisted of the 12ft Topaz two and four berth, 15ft Amethyst and the 16.5ft Sapphire, the latter remaining in the older style bodyshell. Further improvements included switching to a new B&B chassis, which featured rubber torsion suspension – another futuristic design detail that would become the industry norm by the early 1980s.
But things quickly came crashing to a halt. As these new experimental models hit the road, serious defects were found with the unusual half-chassis arrangement whereby the bodyshell on some models would start to crack and break apart after a short space of time. Models that didn’t experience severe compromises to the integrity certainly suffered water ingress, and the “caravan of the future” quickly turned into a damp squib – literally.
Interiors were modern, clean and bright, combining new materials and pioneering plastic injection moulding in the caravan industry.
Down but not out, Caravans International went back to the drawing board and mid-1971 reintroduced the range, now with a solid wood floor and riding on a conventional chassis as used on other CI group products such as Sprite, Europa and Fairholme. For the 1972 season, the interiors were refreshed and the flagship Sapphire model was now given a bodyshell to match the rest of the range. Eccles made a big fuss of this, with an elaborate PR advertising campaign and a big display at the Caravan Show at Earls Court. The Sapphire name was now expanded to two models – the Sapphire EK sharing the traditional layout for this model and the new Sapphire CK, featuring a double dinette layout with a central washroom and kitchen. The CK also featured a second entrance door on the offside into the rear dinette area. Both Sapphire models were elongated to 17ft. Costs were saved by reverting the curved sidewall design to traditional flat panels, moving the gas bottle storage back onto the A-frame and reverting to a traditional aluminium skinned roof. The range carried over into 1973, now with a modified front panel to make it stronger and less prone to cracking. But the Eccles models were still suffering with a reputation for water ingress, which to be fair, had plagued them since the days of the initial brand overhaul back in 1962.
1974 saw the last overhaul of the Eccles range in its Ogle design era. The complex curves of the roof were simplified, the front window fixed in place (as opposed to an opening type), the side trims simplified and the use of experimental PVC panels limited to just the front panel. But the cost saving was re-addressed by significantly upgrading the interior. The 1974/5 Eccles range reverted to a more traditionally styled interior with real wood used for the cabinetry and more luxurious soft furnishings. Practical improvements were made such as adding a full stainless steel kitchen sink/cooker, a sliding rail to make the main table easily adjustable and a full vanity unit fitted in every washroom, incorporating a mirror, 12v light and specially moulded storage for toothbrushes and soap etc… Although arguably the plainest looking Ogle era Eccles design by Ogle Eccles era standards, the last iteration of the Ogle Eccles was by far the most practical – and still looked absolutely nothing like anything else on the road.
Unfortunately, it was a case of too little, too late. The 1974/5 range was marketed as a sensible upmarket caravan for older customers, as opposed to a trendy but expensive caravan for younger people. Eccles dropped the Sapphire CK layout for 1974, adding an Amethyst EK which featured very similar layout to the 17ft Sapphire, but in a 15ft bodyshell – a layout that was very popular in upmarket – co called “clubman” – caravans at the time. But this did little to entice buyers, and a major market research project was underway by Caravans International to establish just what it was exactly what customers wanted. It turned out, customers for the Eccles longed for traditional looking caravans. Their design ideals were based on the old streamlined designs of the 1930s, with curved roof lines, copious amounts of wood grain inside and earthly hues for the interior soft furnishings.
By 1975, the Ogle designed Eccles received its final overhaul before the design was abandoned.
Sadly, Eccles relented and the 1976 range was a clean slate approach, now in a curved bodyshell with a boat shaped roof, a dark interior with fake wood grain everywhere and old-fashioned styled upholstery. All the innovations that made the Ogle era Eccles great were now gone, save for a lower stone guard on the front panel made from plastic. Ironically, sales picked up immediately, and by the turn of the 1980s, this Eccles range was one of Caravans International’s best sellers!
Sam Alper had lost heart, the caravan buying public no longer wanted progression and innovation. They wanted the old fashioned romantic idea of a caravan, with as many creature comforts as possible. Soon, the Eccles range would be fitted with a shower, fridge, mains electric, hot water and central heating as standard. The days of taking a risk on an unconventional design were long gone. Ogle design would go onto much bigger things in the 1970s, designing iconic vehicles such as the Reliant Robin Mk2, Bond Bug and even Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder from the Star Wars film franchise. They’d also design the iconic 1970s children’s game the Marble Run, but the design they’re most known for is the Rayleigh Chopper BMX bike. By extension, the Eccles of 1969-1975 is an iconic part of 1970s design history, making it the only caravan range in the history of the British caravan industry to be designed by such a high profile design house.
For 1976, the Eccles range was completely redesigned to suit more conservative tastes. It went on to be a huge sales success for Caravans International.
As someone who’s always been interested in caravan design, the Ogle era Eccles models have always intrigued me. Due to their rarity – for all the reasons highlighted above – I’d never been able to find one until a rather sad looking 1975 Sapphire model turned up on Facebook Marketplace. It looked all original and complete, and crucially it was only £50! I hop-footed it to go and view it, only to get the shock of my life when I turned up and the entire front end had been stripped out of it. The seat bases, wall panels and cupboards had all been taken out and the owner attempted to repair various leaks with clear silicone and duct tape… My heart wasn’t in it, I was annoyed that I’d seen photos of a seemingly complete caravan and had travelled to view it only to be greeted by something else entirely. To make matters worse, said owner had cracked the kitchen window by pushing on it (really?!) and cracked the front panel by pushing on that in various places too. It was now a MAJOR restoration project.
To make matters worse, the “towable” caravan was still on its original tyres. It didn’t make sense – why was it in such bad condition when it had been photographed looking so good? The owner elaborated that it belonged to his school friends’ parents. They’d bought it new, and knowing that these Eccles models had a reputation for leaking, they had a purpose built garage commissioned for it! The closer I looked, the more I could see truth in this. The chassis was absolutely perfect and even the paintwork appeared shiny when I noticed that it had a thin layer of grimey dust all over it and cleared some with my hand. The final ‘sign’ that I should buy it came when I found the original optional extra OBI awning in the wardrobe – complete with poles still in their original cardboard box and a full set of curtains for it which were neatly bunched up with elastic bands neatly pairing them up. Clearly, at some point in its life, this caravan was well loved.
I saved this 1975 Eccles Sapphire in June 2024
Against better judgement, I bought the Eccles, figuring that it was worth it for the awning alone. I had to go and get some tyres fitted and it rolled rather effortlessly towards the car. Amazingly, all the original road lights worked too! It wasn’t a long journey home, which was just as well because the hitch damper was completely shot, and at some point it fully applied the brakes and they didn’t release properly on the offside, causing the wheel to heat up. This was partly my fault, as I’d spun the wheel hubs by hand when I was fitting the new wheels/tyres and I just assumed that everything was fine. Luckily, there was no damage done, but it could have been worse. Life’s little reminder that I need to strip the wheel hub down every time I pick up a project caravan, no matter how short the journey home is with it.
Leaving the wheel to cool down, I was able to remove all the loose wood and fittings inside and give the Eccles a good clean inside and out. I stopped cleaning the outside when I realised that three trims were missing and the panel gaps had been filled with duct tape and clear silicone - water was pouring in! With “before” photos successfully taken, I rolled the Eccles into my workshop for assessment. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that pretty much all of the interior wall boards and framework had been replaced and/or repaired before, again, confirming the myth that these caravans were notorious for water ingress issues. Only the washroom and kitchen appeared to have their original wall boards in tact. The roof had leaked badly, presumably because the garage it was stored in had leaked, leading to heavy aluminium oxidisation on the roof, and the aluminium had completely worn through in some places. With the internal roof structure stripped back, I could see the extent of the damage and apply aluminium patches from inside, ready to skim over with flexible epoxy filler on the outside when it came to re-painting the exterior.
How the Eccles was advertised (Left) versus what it actually looked like when I got to view it! (Right).
The wallboards were surprisingly easy to cut and fit, partly due to the fact that the original material was hardboard, which even if it’s suffered moisture damage, it can be dried out enough to remove in one piece and use it as a template for a new panel. It was also an easy job thanks to the square profile of the Eccles, meaning that there were minimal curves to cut and mostly angular straight lines. I committed to replacing everything apart from the washroom and kitchen wall panels, which were still bone dry and free from imperfections. They were also showing their original suitably 1970s style patterns, including a rather loud floral design in the washroom, so it felt important to try and preserve them. This still meant carefully removing most of the interior to strip the Eccles back to its bare bones. With the framework exposed and any necessary repairs carried out, I took the opportunity to upgrade the insulation to modern 25mm polystyrene, which not only will help keep the caravan’s internal temperature consistent throughout the year but also add strength to the structure. I found some obvious design flaws along the way, such as barely any bracing in the middle of the front plastic panel and thin timber sections used in the roof structure. I beefed up the replacement timber here, also being mindful of not increasing the weight too much, as clearly this built in flimsiness had contributed to both cracking on the front panel and the leak in the roof joint respectively.
With the walls replaced in original spec oil-tempered hardboard, I finished it off with eggshell oil based paint which will not only protect the boards internally from condensation, but also not allow mould to grow. I should point out, for those following for restoration advice, you should NEVER use acrylic based paint on wood. It’s so easy to be tempted to stock up on emulsion paint from your local hardware store, but this is going to harbour mould, be prone to flaking and look grubby after a very short amount of time. Eggshell paint – either water based or oil based – is the only paint to use. Originally, the Eccles had been wallpapered throughout, but I couldn’t find any suitable 1970s wallpaper that I felt was anywhere near a close match for the original, which was a subtle textured pattern. I had to carry out various repairs to furniture where it had been badly removed by the previous owner, but amazingly, I found just about every single panel, fitting, and length of timber that had been removed previously. As I was putting the wardrobe back together, I ran a concealed wire into the roof to enable me to fit a solar panel later on.
Repairing the interior turned into a huge job!
The chassis took a surprisingly long time to restore to say that it visually appeared in such good condition. The brake actuator on the offside was completely stuck, which I managed to clean up and get working properly again, at least this explained the sticking brakes on the trip home with the Eccles. It’s very satisfying stripping the wheel hubs down and cleaning all the individual parts, it’s a job that comes together very quickly. The biggest issue was that the grease was clearly as old as the caravan and had gone hard over time, so everything needed cleaning down thoroughly with white spirit and carefully drying off. The wheel bearings were also replaced, as were the seals. Top tip: old bearings will have a reference number on them, quote this to a wheel bearing specialist to find replacements and I’m yet to come across one on an old caravan that’s not still available, as there’s a huge crossover with the classic car world. They’re usually very cheap too, I replaced both on the Eccles for less than £30. I assessed the suspension but the shock absorbers still appeared to work just fine. I’ll keep an eye on this as I use the caravan again, but for now I decided to leave them alone. I managed to secure a replacement B&B Sigma hitch damper on eBay, so the hitch now works smoothly again. The rare original Harrison jockeywheel with its notoriously flimsy plastic handle (used on all Ci caravans from 1974-5 only) was in amazing condition, benefitting from not being exposed to sunlight too much for the last 50 years, so I was able to carefully strip this down, clean it up and re-use it and it still works perfectly. The hitch unit wasn’t as easy to strip down, mostly due to a few sticking bolts and having to carefully remove what was left of the original plastic moulded hitch shroud to hopefully have this repaired or recreated at a later date. Again, it’s a very satisfying process stripping the hitch and re-painting each part. It was made all the better for the rubber parts still being in good condition (such as the handbrake handle grip and hitch gaiter), which again corroborates the story that the Eccles has been kept inside for most of its life.
Remember the broken kitchen window? The previous owner kindly taped it up with brown parcel tape (sarcasm detected) and this took forever to clean off the aluminium window frame. Luckily, it’s an easy job to replace a broken glass window on a classic caravan. I took it to my local glass company, and they replaced the glass for me for just £36 including fitting and re-sealing the glass in the aluminium frame. I had to unscrew the entire window frame due to the design of these recessed windows, but the job is even easier on most classic caravans, when you can unscrew the securing window stays from the window frame and slide the window out of its hinge bar. So don’t be put off rescuing a classic caravan with a broken window, it’s a very easy job to fix!
Elsewhere, the awning rails were removed, cleaned up, re-sealed and refitted. In the end, I elected to use a special modern day bonding adhesive that’s specific to the leisure and aviation industry. It’s called Teroson 939 and it’s very expensive, but does an amazing job at sealing trims. Be mindful that it sets firmly, and will require extensive work to carefully remove the rails later on if you need to re-seal them down the line. The upside is that they bond trims and awning rails to the bodywork way better than traditional non-setting bedding sealant and they make the structure stronger overall. I don’t recommend using this adhesive for sealing in fixed window frames, as they will need the flexibility that non-setting sealant offers. Part of this restoration process for me is to try and preserve this classic Eccles Sapphire and use modern day materials, sealants and adhesives to help cure problems that these models were known for in its heyday.
I’m at the point with the Eccles Sapphire project that the interior is starting to go back together. I’ve found an amazing retro floor covering, as the original carpet was long gone when I bought the caravan. I’m preserving as much of the originality as I can, in addition to making a few subtle upgrades to make the Eccles more usable and comfortable. I hope to keep the original feel of the interior, in addition to emphasising some of the retro elements of the era in which the Eccles was built. Keep checking back to this blog for updates on the project, and hopefully this classic design relic will be back on the road in time for its 50th birthday in 2025.
