Who knew there were Citroën Kégresse in the Falkland Islands?

This feature image has generated considerable attention among Citroën Kégresse enthusiasts, collectors, and restoration specialists. The photograph of Jack Felton sitting in the front seat and Dr. Deane in the rear seat of a Citroën Kégresse K1 at Teal Inlet in the Falkland Islands was originally used in the BajanThings post of: Frederick Gustave Ameile Delisle Saphile Wooding Deane.

The photograph was shared by Dr. Deane’s granddaughter, Sarah Jane Card. It was given to her mother, Heather Deane, by her grandmother’s dear friend, Alice Emma Felton, who was the cousin of George “Jack” John Felton. The Deane’s were good friends with the Felton’s. Sarah Jane’s mother, Heather Sewell Wooding Deane, was born on the Falkland Islands about a month after they arrived in 1920. On the rear of the photograph there is a caption: “GJF & Dr. Dean[e]
Going for a days shooting 
at Teal Inlet in the Citroën 
car which had been in a Sahara 
crossing before coming 
to the Falklands!:

The photograph showing Jack Felton and Dr. Deane on a day out shooting at Teal Inlet was probably taken between 1924 and 1928. Motor vehicles were first imported into the Falkland Islands in 1924 and the Deane’s left the Falkland Islands in April 1928.

The Citroën-Kégresse K1 was built to conquer the unforgiving Sahara Desert. On 17th December 1922 five Citroën-Kégresse K1s – nicknamed “Scarabée d’Or” (Golden Scarab), “Croissant d’Argent” (Silver Crescent), “Tortue Volante” (Flying Turtle), “Bœuf Apis”, and “Chenille Rampante” (Creeping Caterpillar) departed the Algerian town of Touggourt and headed into the vast Sahara. On 7th January 1923, after 21 days of travel, the five vehicles having travelled 3,200km across the Sahara Desert, reached their destination: Timbuktu.

This was a monumental public relations coup that established Citroën as an innovator in automotive design. This expedition was a major success for André Citroën, showing that mass produced cars could cross the Sahara Dessert in just 21 days, compared to the 6 – 7 months that it took by camel.

Motor vehicles first arrived in the Falkland Islands in 1924. By 6th January 1926, there were a total of 12 vehicles: five cars, four lorries, and three tractors on the Falkland Islands. One of the cars was a Citroën Kégresse owned by GJ Felton from Teal Inlet. It is likely that this vehicle was brought to the islands between 1924 and 1925. On the rear of the photograph the caption suggests that this vehicle had previously crossed the Sahara Desert before coming to the Falkland Islands – maybe it was one of the five Citroën-Kégresse K1’s that took part in the Citroën expedition to cross the Sahara in 1922?

It appears there may have been more than one Citroën-Kégresse on the Falkland Islands. The one owned by George Bonner who ran the Bonner family farm at San Carlos on the north-west coast of East Falkland appears to be a later Type P4T model whereas the one owned by Jack Felton at Teal Inlet appears to be an earlier Type K1 model (based on the layout of the Kegresse track system).

A question posed by the Citroën Kégresse enthusiasts, collectors and restorers is: are the remains of either the Felton Citroën Kégresse K1 or the Bonner Citroën Kégresse P4T quietly rusting away in some field in the Falklands, a bit like the SS Great Britain that was recovered in 1970 from Sparrow Cove and brought back to Bristol to be restored?

Our thanks go to Peter Burton, co-editor of BajanThings, for bringing the information on these two Citroën Kégresse to our attention, and to Dr. Deane’s granddaughter Sarah Jane Card and to Chloe Anderson-Wheatley the Corporate Records & National Archives Manager at the Jane Cameron National Archives in the Falklands who both helped to uncover the backstory to the Felton Deane Citroën-Kégresse K1 photograph.