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The arrival of an ice cream van was once as much a part of a summer evening as a schedule of television programmes that you would generally avoid. The average Briton was in dire need of 99 Flake with chopped nuts after enduring Mike & Bernie Winters in Seaside Special. It was debatable whether the cones tasted better than your average tub of Sainsbury’s vanilla and the vendors in my part of the world also sold very obscure brands of ice lollies not found in any local shop. However, what the brightly decorated Bedford CF did offer, in addition to the raspberry sauce, was a sense of occasion.

Mobile ice cream vendors have a long history in the UK; the famous Walls tricycles - “Stop Me and Buy One” – date from 1923. The 1950s saw the heyday of the van, with the Morris as the marque of choice for many firms. A 1952 article in Commercial Motor reflected ‘A high degree of manoeuvrability is a useful asset to an ice-cream dispensing vehicle, and this feature the J-type van possesses to a greater degree than many other types’.

At that time few British households owned a refrigerator - in 1956 less than 10% of kitchens featured such a device. A local dairy might prepare a batch of ice cream in the early hours of the morning before transferring it to the Morris’s insulated cool box. This was surrounded by eutectic plates that had been stored in a freezer overnight.

And it was the 1950s that saw the introduction of a van that revolutionised the market. The “Mister Softee” brand dates from 1956 when the Conway Brothers of Philadelphia developed that latest in ice cream. Horace Hayman of the Gateshead firm Smith’s Delivery Vehicles acquired the UK rights in partnership with Lyons.

The pink and white Commer Karrier BFs starred in the 1958 Commercial Motor Show, where several visitors were amazed at their price. £3,200 was more than twice as much as than a Wolseley 6/90 - and more than four times the price of a standard petrol-engine model. However, what these new wagons offered the ambitious operator was a mobile factory with a power plant and refrigeration system – so no more preparing several gallons at 4 am.

Trials took place in late 1958 before sales officially commenced in April 1959. The first franchise was in south-west London, and by the early 1960s, the duotone vans were fast becoming a familiar sight. The Karrier may have been approximately seven times more expensive than a conventional unit, but they produced the new “soft-scoop” cream. Older readers may also recall this fine product was also available in Wimpy Bars under the not terribly appetising name of “Tastee-Freeze”.

At the end of the decade, Softee’s main rivals were “Mister Whippy” and Tonibell. At that time home refrigerators were fast becoming the norm but some 30,000 vans still plying for trade during the 1960s. Even during the 1970s, when a domestic deep-freeze was still a comparative rarity, the figure was still around 25,000. Sadly, just 5,000 ice cream vans were still in use by 2016.

Today, any surviving example of a Mister Softee Commer is guaranteed to cause a minor sensation at any classic gathering. As well as their innate charm they are also reminder of an era of regular visits from mobile shops. And so, in tribute, here is a Pathe Newsreel celebrating this splendid confection.

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