Noel Woodall - obituary - Telegraph His interest began in 1960 when he observed a car with the registration number BB 4 which, he discovered, belonged to a Blackpool bookmaker. Thinking that other people might be interested in tailored car numbers, he started his own number plate trading company, the first in the country. To stimulate interest he posted 2,000 letters to television personalities, town halls, embassies, garages and people listed in Who's Who, asking for personalised number plate stories. Noel Woodall was born on Christmas Eve 1930 at Oldhill, Staffordshire, and educated at Oldbury Technical College and at Birmingham Commercial College, where he studied accountancy, company law, mercantile law, economics, secretarial practice and office management. After three years as a navigator in the RAF, he worked for an early radio and television retailer before forming his own company, Electraders, which specialised in erecting aerials. He continued running the business until moving in 1960 to Blackpool, where he worked for Currys and became interested in car numbers. He eventually published more than 20 books, including Veterans, More Celebrities, Cartoons and a series called Car Numbers, written with Brian Heaton and described by its publishers as "one of the longest running, and most popular publications about vehicle registrations," one which "has amazed generations of readers with the depth of information it contains." By 1971 interest in personalised number plates had reached such a level that a group of dealers, including Woodall, formed the Personalised Number Dealers Association (later the Cherished Numbers Dealers Association (CNDA) to formalise trading standards. Later he became a founder member of the Institute of Registrations Agents and Dealers (MIRAD), serving as chairman for many years, then honorary president until his death. In 1973 Woodall's contribution to the car number industry was recognised by Lord Montagu, who described him in a speech at a car numbers rally as the "uncrowned king of personalised numbers." In the 1970s, as well as running his business, Woodall opened a shop selling high-quality chess, mah-jong and backgammon sets. Later he became secretary of the Hotel & Apartments Social Club in Blackpool, where he continued to work for 30 years. He is survived by his wife, Pat, whom he married in 1998. Noel Woodall, born December 24 1930, died September 29 2013