A 1947 Volkswagen Beetle William Hillman South view of Baynard's Castle

South view of Baynard's Castle with boats on the River Thames

Side view of Turret House

Jeremiah Dyson

A scene at the London Museum

A 1947 Volkswagen Beetle William Hillman South view of Baynard's CastleA 1947 Volkswagen Beetle. Ferdinand Porsche produced ancestral KdF wagen prototypes in 1935. Batches of pre production versions followed, before manufacture began in 1939, adapted for military use. Adolf Hitler advised that the Volkswagen People's Car be streamlined to 'look like a beetle'. Post war civilian production was under British military control until 1949, when it reverted to German charge. During the late 1960s the Beetle became a world car.