Tilling (Sussex) and the spring of 1931, in which Emmeline Lucas ("Lucia") and Elizabeth Mapp clashed for the first time, "Lucia's Progress" (1935) and "Trouble for Lucia" (1939). The novelist Susan Leg, the subject of "Secret Lives" (1932), re-appeared in "Trouble for Lucia". The first Lucia book, "Queen Lucia", was published in 1920. It was followed in 1927 by "Lucia in London". Benson's "The Freaks of Mayfair" (1916) provided the genesis of some of the characters of Tilling. Specifically, "Aunt Georgie", a bachelor with a penchant for embroidery, provided the model for George Pillson, who, as with Lucia, with whom he entered
Tilling-Stevens a cheaper steel pressed bonnet and a small diamond-shaped "TSM" badge. Leading up to World War II they specialised in the searchlight trucks for which they are probably still best known today. In 1950, the company was sold to Rootes Group. Complete vehicle production ceased in 1953, as Rootes' own truck brands had developed heavier trucks themselves. The plant continued to produce light commercial engines (particularly the iconic Commer TS3 two-stroke diesel, which had been intended for introduction by Tilling-Stevens in 1954) and vehicle bodies, before finally closing in the 1970s, some years after the group had been acquired by