24/06/2022
Sheffield-based Yorkshireman, Roy Hatfield, 85, felt so moved by the current situation in Ukraine that he commissioned H&H Classics to put his beloved 1976 Jaguar XJ-C 4.2 under the hammer at their Imperial
War Museum, Duxford sale on June 22nd 2022 with all proceeds going to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal https://donation.dec.org.uk/ukraine-
The auction house waived its seller’s commission and donated its buyer’s premium to the cause too with the result that some £40,000 was raised for the UHA.
The sleek elegant Jaguar was allocated ‘Lot 1’ and despite a plethora of national and international interest which was expressed in the room and via the internet ended up being bought by a telephone bidder from Yorkshire!
Having survived the trauma of the Sheffield Blitz, Roy Hatfield feels an enormous amount of empathy for the citizens of Ukraine, especially the children.
Roy 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 Queen's Award for Industry in 2014. He has owned some magnificent cars over the years including Bentleys, Healeys, Lagondas and E-Type Jaguars not to mention the lovely Jaguar XJ-C that went under the hammer.
The ‘Big Cat’ was one of just 2,606 RHD examples made and had benefited from much recent and past restoration work. As a pillarless coupe design, it does not want style and cut a real dash with its Gloss Black paintwork offset by Rich Red leather upholstery.
Roy says he was motivated to sell his car for Ukraine by his memories of going to school with gas masks and 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 Ukraine, and the person who buys the car gets as much pleasure out of it as I have these past four years.