AC gets overtaken by pedal car (well, pedal aircraft)

[Old Crock]

AC gets overtaken by boy in pedal car (well, pedal aircraft to be precise) - photo attached!

[Big col]

Judging by the mascot and the way the membership badges are mounted, on the AC, it wouldn't surprise me if the owner was a bit of a character.

[B.P.Bird]

Well what a lovely surprise, bucked me up no end. The picture has so much information in it: I think the No.39 omnibus has Tottenham on its route board and I suppose a real 'bus enthusiast could narrow down the exact location by seeing where the No. 39 route coincided with the No. 29. As to date it must be twenties, given the solid tyres on the open top 'bus and the A.C. model. A bit of a coincidence that both foreground vehicles have two letter and four number registration marks, but again, to a number plate expert, this could also date the picture.
Now if the wee lad survived a somewhat hazardous approach to Road Safety I wonder where he was led by his aviation enthusiasm ? He looks to be no more than six or seven and the helmet and goggles could easily be the real thing from the Great War - did they come from his dad or an uncle who had served in the R.F.C., R.N.A.S. or R.A.F., maybe even an elder brother ? In any event he would have grown up to be in his late teens at about the time that Neville Chamberlain told the country that, "..... no such undertaking has been received and that, consequently, this country is at war......" Did the lad join the R.A.F. and find even more hazards ?
We could speculate endlessly - where is that A.C. now and is our young pilot related to the driver ? The picture does look a little posed.
Finally the obvious question, is there anything written on the back of the print ?
I am sure there is lots more there that I have missed and we all have time on our hands just now so could hear from the 'bus experts, A.C. model experts and the Registration Mark historians ?
Barrie

[Old Crock]

I can answer some of the questions. There is nothing written on the back of the photo. I think it may have been used to produce a postcard, quite common at the time, of everyday London street life.

The AC is a four-cylinder 12/24. Note the lack of door on off-side and the positioning of spare wheel here, which would date the car model around 1923/4. A posting above mentions the mascot; it was known as the 'Speed Nymph', made by A E Lejeune and was available from early 20's. The car's licence plate with letters 'XT' were a short term issue for three months, from April 1924, by Greater London. The lighting I can see is CAV, so taken together, all points to the car being a 1924 four-cylinder 12/24, licenced likely early summer of that year. It no longer survives.

The open-top bus was built using a running-chassis from AEC and the body being built (usually) by London General Omnibus Company. The model was called the 'K', each one was numbered on the bonnet and preceded with the letter 'K'. The bus was operated by LGOC from 1919 and through the '20's. It would have 'General' written on the body side and it is their logo seen on the radiator (and the bus stop on the right of the picture). The driver was under the canopy but otherwise exposed to the elements and sat to the off-side of the engine. The 'LU' number plate on the bus was issued April and May 1919 in NW London.
 
Sorry, can't help with the type of aircraft...

PS I think the second bus is on Route 29A.

[B.P.Bird]

Now that is what I call erudition - now we just need the lad's family to come forward to complete the story. Thank you for so much fascinating detail
Barrie