Soggy birthday

It hasn't been the best day for a birthday, being dull to begin with and wet later, so I've been inside most of the day, catching up on Family History bits and pieces. 
 
I have so many family photographs, albums of them, mostly untitled, which is very frustrating now that there's nobody around to identify the people concerned! This group of pictures is part of a collection which came from my grandfather, who took over the family business from his father. 
 
We have a rough idea at least of when and where these were taken - the top left, which is also my thumbnail, shows Bill & Jim - I remember Jim, from much later of course! - holding the Schneider Trophy, which was competed for annually.  It was intended to encourage technical advances in civil aviation, but became a contest for pure speed – only seaplanes and flying boats were eligible to complete.
 
The final race was won by Britain in 1931, we won the trophy outright with a third straight win. The winning seaplane, a Supermarine S.6B flown by John Boothman, recorded 340.08 mph.
 
This photograph was taken outside Park Place at Remenham near Henley-on Thames, which was sold in 2011 for £140 million, making it the most expensive house in the UK.  Just what the Schneider Trophy was doing there and whether it was going in or coming out I really don’t know! Something else to look into!

The other pictures show the lorries in various places; the centre picture was taken in Brecon, in Wales, and the bottom right shows an ancient vehicle on the Woolwich ferry in London.