MONOPOD AUTOMOTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY, ART AND CULTURE
Pendine Sands Hot Rod Races | 1960s F1 | Canadian Road Trip Harewood Speed Hillclimb | Paris 1919 | Bugatti Man Les Grandes Heures Automobiles
EDITION 03
Front cover: Abandoned Plymouth Belvedere, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia. Image: Philip Newsome
MONOPOD AUTOMOTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY, ART AND CULTURE
Edition 03 Summer 2019
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EDITOR Philip Newsome EDITOR-AT-LARGE Guy Loveridge MANAGING EDITOR Siobhan Owen EDITORIAL BOARD William Furniss Tim Beavis
PUBLISHER Blue Flag Press Ltd Level 19, Two International Finance Centre 8 Finance Street Central Hong Kong
Edition 03 Summer 2019
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine, no responsibility can be accepted by the publisher for errors or omissions, and in particular no responsibility can be accepted for the quality of goods and services supplied by advertisers, prices quoted or printers’ errors. All material, unless specifically stated otherwise is copyright of Blue Flag Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part either electronially or conventionally without the permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. ISSN 2518-6957
David Brazell’s stunning Jaguar. XK 120C Image: Philip Newsome
Editor’s letter
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any years ago a very well known and highly respected motorsport photographer once told me that the best way to improve any photograph was to wait three decades and then look at it again. While I knew what he was getting at I didn’t fully grasp the real meaning of what he was saying until I found a box of Kodachrome slides from the 1983 European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. I did not have a press pass or anything approaching one but nevertheless I was able to stroll through the paddock and photograph what was happening with amazing ease. The stars of the day were wandering around and the cars were sitting there for everyone to examine closely. The aloofness and secrecy so prevalent at modern Grands Prix was notable by its absence. At the time I did not think that these images were anything special but revisiting them, some 35 years later, every little detail stands out. Imagine then how you would feel discovering previously unpublished images from a further twenty years back. Tim Beavis’ archive featured on page 10 is a window into a world of motorsport when access was even more unrestricted. E.V. Starr’s photographs are so remarkable because they illustrate just how close a member of the public was able to get to the big names of the day. As the great Robert Capa once observed “If your photographs aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough”. Access alone, however, does not always guarantee a great photograph, you still require the skill and ability to judge that decisive moment, even more so at a time when colour film was a precious commodity. A ‘mere’ member of the public he may have been but Mr Starr certainly knew how to take a great photograph. The idea of an everyman capturing on film significant moments of history is certainly the theme of this month’s piece about my great uncle, Bob Cooper. Finding himself in Paris in 1919 at the very heart of the post-war Peace Conference, Bob was able to record everyday moments from a period in history which would shape the world for decades to come. While we may not have been there to bear witness to these events ourselves Bob’s images, taken on the simplest of cameras, convey far more than words ever could the very palpable energy surrounding the Peace Conference. Photography, as much if not more than any other media, possesses a distinct ability to transport us back to a particular moment in time. The photographs of British Columbia presented in this Edition represent a very personal homage to this amazing place and I hope, in some small way, convey the thrill of being well and truly on the road. The question is though will people look back on these images one hundred years from now and think ‘What a time it was to have been alive back then!” Maybe not, but a little part of me hopes that they just might. Happy shooting. Philip Newsome
Ford GT40 under braking at L’autodrome de Linas-MontlhÊry. Image: Philip Newsome
The open road, British Columbia. Image: Philip Newsome
TABLE OF CONTENTS 10
EYE WITNESS
18 PENDINE SANDS 42 ROAD TRIP BRITISH COLUMBIA 92 AUTOGRAMMER 94 PARIS 1919 100 THE ART OF THE AUTOMOBILE 106 HAREWOOD SPEED HILLCLIMB 116 BUGATTI MAN 130 MONTLHÉRY MAGIC
- 10 Richie Ginther hitches a ride back to the pits on the back of Graham Hill’s BRM. Daily Express International Trophy Meeting, Silverstone, 1963.
Eye Witness Tim Beavis explains how he came to curate the evocative photographs of E.V. Starr.
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he late great Tommy Cooper used to crack the following joke “I went up into the attic and found a Stradivarius and a Rembrandt. Unfortunately, Stradivarius was a terrible painter and Rembrandt made lousy violins”. We all dream of finding a masterpiece or a rare treasure but for most of us it remains just that, a dream. But one day in July 2004 I was that one in a million person. I did find that gilt-edged needle in the haystack. I was attending the Charterhouse auction in Sherborne and had noticed up for sale in the catalogue a box of photographs taken by an amateur photographer, E.V. Starr. I decided that I would go check it out. When I got there and saw just what was in the box my heart began to race. It was full of transparencies, images of drivers, cars and scenes starting back in the 1960s but also including events in the 1970s and ‘80s. I was trying hard to suppress a strong temptation to start jumping for joy so as to not attract attention and more importantly other potential bidders. In the end, the item came up halfway through the auction, attracted little interest and without minimal fuss the box was mine.
I couldn’t wait to get home and have a proper look at just what was inside. When I did start to go through the images I could hardly believe my eyes. The unmistakable London Rowing Club colours on Graham Hill’s helmet, Jim Clark chatting to Colin Chapman. There were hundreds of captivating images from the golden age of motorsport, a small selection of which is reproduced here. The task of identifying people and places, cataloguing and scanning the images has taken many months of hard, but utterly enjoyable, work. As for the photographer, Mr Starr remains something of a mystery, he was clearly a motor racing fan, lived nearby in Yeovil at some point, and seemingly took all of these photographs without any official press accreditation or affiliation. Apart from that I know little else about him. What the images do so strikingly illustrate is the sheer approachability of drivers and teams back then. Members of the public could mingle at ease with the biggest names in the sport. Mr Starr certainly did make the most of this accessibility and boy are we grateful he did.
These and other unpublished gems from the archive are soon to be seen in a book ‘Admission 7/6 - E.V. Starr snaps the ‘60s speed merchants’ by Tim Beavis and Guy Loveridge and published by Douglas Loveridge Publications.
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1. Richie Ginther gives feedback to Sochiro Honda. 2. Jo Bonnier, the then President of the GDPA, Silverstone, 1963. 3. Jacky Ickx in conversation with renowned lensman Bernard Cahier, Silverstone, 1968.
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- 15 Jim Clark and Graham Hill deep in conversation, raceday 1967 British Grand Prix. In the background Tony Brooks chats with Denis Jenkinson watched by Hill’s wife Bette (white headscarf) while a somewhat distracted Damon Hill leans across the barrier.
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Ferrari works team in the Silverstone Paddock, 1960s.
Pendine Sands
7th VHRA Hot Rod Races
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Words and Images: Philip Newsome
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the beach. The event was a great success, winning the Motoring Event of the Year at the International Historic Motoring Awards. The Association quickly decided to make it an annual event with hot rodders from all over the world invited to take part.
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The event is run as an old fashioned time trial, in which cars and drivers are sent down the beach one by one, going flat out to break a class record, or to find their way into the elusive 100 mph club. None of the cars are newer than 1948, with some going back to as far as the 1910s. Most of the cars are old Fords, but there are Chevrolets, Plymouths and much more. While the Ford flathead V8 is one of the more popular engine choices, there are cars powered by the famous Chrysler hemi and Chevrolet’s small block. Many cars are fitted with exotic sounding speed equipment from the pioneers of hot rodding, Navaro, Edelbrock, Winfield, and Iskenderian. Period correctness, stance and patina are everything here, super styling and an eye for period detail is absolutely essential to stand out from the crowd.
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ituated on the south coast of Wales, Pendine Sands is a mythical, magical place. Seven glorious miles of hard sandy beach stretch as far as the eye can see, almost to the point where you begin to believe you can see the curve of the earth on the horizon. With the sun shining there’s a glare off the sand and you can easily imagine that you are on Daytona Beach or even the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats. What really makes Pendine special though is its place in motoring history. The first motor cycle races were held here in 1905 and from 1924 to 1927 it was used for attempts on the world land speed record. On the 24th September 1924, Malcolm Campbell set a record of 146.16mph in his 350 bhp V12 Sunbeam, Blue Bird. Over the next three years the record swapped hands between Campbell and his arch rival John Parry-Thomas. In 1926 and behind the wheel of his seven litre V12 Liberty aero-engined Higham Special Parry-Thomas smashed Campbell’s record with a run of 171.02mph.
Determined not to be undone, Campbell returned to Pendine in the all new Napier-Campbell Blue Bird and on the 4th February 1927 established a new record of 174.883mph. Parry-Thomas returned just a month later to reclaim his title. Sadly, the attempt ended in disaster when a wheel collapsed at over 100mph. The car rolled and Parry-Thomas was fatally injured. The crash marked the end of land speed record attempts on the Pendine Sands and although motorsport continued on the beach it gradually dwindled away over time. Nowadays though, the beach has regained its mojo and once again is rumbling to the sound of Ford Flathead and Chrysler V8s. The clocks are turned back to an indeterminate time somewhere in the middle of the last century, when as many as 200 hot rods and custom cars take to the beach in the Vintage Hot Rod Association’s (VHRA) Hot Rod Races. The locals at Pendine are keen to revive the motorsport connections and in 2013 they invited the VHRA to hold speed trials on
Pendine is rather a long way from anywhere but the effort of getting there is handsomely rewarded and for 2019 the VHRA yet again put on a superb event. As the tide starts to recede the course is marked out and with the rising sun cars slowly begin to gather on the beach. Racing lasts for around five hours, basically until the tide chases everyone from the beach. Friendly but fierce competition is the order of the day. Getting traction on the sand is difficult at the start and as the cars gather speed they dance and drift off into the distance on the soft surface. It is not for the faint hearted and courage is needed to get into the ‘100 mph club’. King of the Beach at this year’s event with an impressive 121.70mph was Marcus Bennett in his beautifully prepared Model A roadster. In truth, everyone is a winner, participants and observers alike at this most special event.
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1. Cars gather on the beach with Pendine village in the background. 2. Tony Devey passes Pendine ‘City Limits’ in his majestic 1948 Pontiac Coupe.
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1,2 & 3. The hot rods on display at Pendine are a glorious reminder of another time. 4. Tara Harvey’s 1941 beautifully patinated Ford Pickup.
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As the early morning tide recedes, the cars make their way across the beach to the startline.
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1. Jon Foster brings his 1928 Ford Model A back to the paddock afer a run down the strip. 2. An interested observer peers into a 1930 Ford Model A. 3. Stefan Marjoram captures the scene in beautifully observed pen and ink drawings. 4. Bamber Johnson fettles his 1928 Ford pick-up. 5. Hiroko Murakami and Aki Kojima get into the swing of things in period outfits.
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1. & 2. Steve Jones gets help with his 1939 Ford-Sawin.
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1. Gary Bust chats with an admirer of his 1930 Ford Model A. 2. Sarah Bradley radiates sunshine before taking on the sands. 3. Tony Devey is a picture of concentration before his run.
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1 3 2 1. Ian Wray on the startline in the 1927 Ford Model T. Starter Glen Fulcher and flag waver Scarlett Devey get him on his way in style. 2. Keve Catell kicks up the sand in his 1930 Ford Model A boat tail roadster. 3. Scarlett Devey steals the show with her joyous and enthusiastic startline flag waving.
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1 3 2 1. No words needed. 2. The Beaters. 3. Bamber Johnson.
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uncan Tamplin tells the story of the incredible Streamliner: “The car was built by the ‘Balls Cross Billys’ a long-established car club on the vintage hot rod scene in West Sussex UK. It was fabricated by using ‘leftover’ parts from previous builds. The engine, for example, is a 1928 four cylinder Ford Model A engine that has been ‘hopped up’ using a different head and intake manifold with twin Stromberg carbs. The bodywork is fabricated from a 1950s all-aluminium aviation fuel/drop tank which has been drastically altered to get it down to an in-scale size. The canopy was designed to give the appearance of a WW2 fighter (think P47 Razorback Thunderbolt). The four exhausts are genuine Merlin engine stubs and even the numbers are in US Navy aircraft font. Due to the fact that club members were still working to get it finished early Friday morning, the Streamliner’s first test runs were only done on Pendine Beach on Saturday morning. I can report that the race car ran straight and true with very little vibration and was a blast to pilot/drive. Hopefully we will return with the car next year with some better gears in the rear, we literally ran out of gears this year. We may even get close to 100mph!”
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ll of the images opposite and on this page were taken using an iPhone 8 Plus and adjusted using Google’s professional photo editor Snapseed. Somebody once said “The best camera is the one that is with you” and I think this is truer and more relevant than ever. You can have the best camera in the world but if it is so big, bulky and complicated to use then you are likely to be missing out on some amazing shots. A photographer is no longer defined by the tools they use or the method by which they shoot, instead it all comes down to the image. There is, of course, a long way to go before we might consider the iPhone and any other mobile phone camera as a replacement for the traditional camera but there is a growing realisation that it doesn’t take a whole mountain of megapixels or elaborate equipment to make a photographer.
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Road Trip British Columbia 2018 Words and Images: Philip Newsome
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he sheer magnitude of British Columbia (BC) is simply breathtaking. While only Canada’s third-largest province, it is nevertheless four times the size of Great Britain, two and a half times larger than Japan and larger than every U.S. state except Alaska. Two-thirds of BC’s land base, an area larger than France, is forest land, more than half of which has had little or no human contact. The province is dominated by its mountain ranges, valleys and spectacular coastline. Put all of this together and it means that British Columbia makes the perfect setting for a road trip par excellence. In reality, our own particular adventure along the highways and byways of BC barely scratched the surface of this amazing corner of the world. It took us inland from the urban landscape of Vancouver to Princeton and the Okanagan vinyards, north to Whistler and across the water to Victoria Island. There is, however, so much more to see and explore but hopefully this photographic essay allows a small glimpse into the multitude of treasures British Columbia has to offer.
Vancouver W
hen it comes to annual rankings of the world’s most ‘liveable’ cities, Vancouver is always somewhere near the top of the list. For example, The Economist Intelligence Unit recently placed it third in its most recent report, behind Melbourne and Vienna. Such surveys take into account factors such as safety, health care, educational resources, infrastructure and the environment. While these aren’t exactly essential for overseas visitors, staying in a thriving, happy city is usually far more enjoyable than staying in a down-at-heel one.
Vancouver is one of North America’s most cosmopolitan cities, many places in one. In his brilliant Vancouver book, City of Glass, Douglas Coupland describes a ‘Parallel Universe’ map, where the city and its surrounding regions are divided into global doppelgangers. So you get Denver and Dallas, Auckland and Vermont, Bavaria and Liverpool, and a couple of dozen more places, all within the confines of the greater Vancouver area. You can set off from Singapore for lunch in San Francisco, then stroll over to Sydney. Or, in the real world, a two-minute boat trip from False Creek to Granville Island, then a short cab-ride over to Gastown.
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The first thing you notice, flying into Vancouver, is the surrounding water. Creeks and inlets penetrate deep inland. In the airport itself back-lit cascades splash within the arrivals concourse and the air is heavy with ozone. From every downtown street you glimpse an arm of the Pacific. Stanley Park, as big as the whole of Downtown itself and adjacent to it, is completely encircled. Snow-capped peaks ring the horizon. This is one of the world’s great scenic cities. No wonder Greenpeace started here, you learn to value the physical world when it comes as lovely as this.
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1. Disciple on a bicycle, Coal Harbour. 2. Coffee shop philosopher, Gastown.
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Orange classics old and new, Robson Street.
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1. Industrial architecture on Granville Island. 2. The Lightshed was created by Vancouver artist Liz Magor and installed in 2004. This crooked structure is a model of the freight sheds that were common along the waterfront when it was an industrial hub.
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1. Street musician, Gastown. 2. Standing to attention, Gastown.
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- 53 Sea-front cargo train, White Rock.
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1 Sunday cruise, White Rock. 2 3
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Whistler “You have to be a little crazy to be a downhill skier.� Lindsey Vonn
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1. The Lions Gate Bridge, opened in 1938, officially known as the First Narrows Bridge, crosses the first narrows of Burrard Inlet and connects the City of Vancouver to the North Shore municipalities. 2. High up on Whistler Mountain.
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Whistler in the summer is a mecca for freestyle mountain bikers. 1
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1. “Downhill mountain biking, more addictive than crack cocaine, and twice as expensive.” 2. Advertisement, Mogul’s Coffee Shop.
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1. Medevac mountain rescue helicopter. 2. Cycling on the top of the world.
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1. Midway along the 3 km span of the staggering Peak 2 Peak Gondola linking Whistler Mountain’s Roundhouse Lodge with Blackcomb Mountain’s Rendezvous Lodge. 2. Electricity box graffiti.
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The Interior “Every Canadian has a complicated relationship with the United States, whereas Americans think of Canada simply as the place where the weather comes from.� Margaret Atwood
- 67 The Princeton-Kamloops Highway.
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The Princeton-Kamloops Highway continued. A rather forlorn early 1960s Chrysler 300. Overleaf: Bullet-riddled International R195 truck.
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1. Gas station in the town of Hope. 2. Bridge over the Tulameen River, Princeton.
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Wine tasting in the Okanagan Valley. 1
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- 77 Fruit and vegetable store, Similkameen Valley.
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Vancouver Island “A wild majesty that beckons hobbits and pixies and elves and dreamers.� Shannon Mullen
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Dylan Willows, radio presenter The Zone FM.
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1.The road to Tofino. 2. Beware of tsunamis.
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That certain Tofino vibe. 1
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Fallen by the wayside.
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Like a true Nature’s child, we were born, born to be wild. Steppenwolf
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The Howard Johnson Motel, Nanaimo. 1
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- 91 Surf’s Up, MacKenzie Beach.
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Autogrammer @roseatalante
L
ong before I was on this planet my parents found a Bugatti Atalante standing on blocks in a barn in France. This is where my story starts, because I am named after that same Atalante. For most of my life I was busy with just 1 horsepower, but I still went along with my dad to nice rallies, concourses and exhibitions of mostly French vintage cars. Those cars have a special place in my heart since I grew up with them. Then, once upon a time my dad and I went to Arts & Elegance in Chantilly, a superb and young concours near Paris. We drove to Chantilly in our Delahaye 135M Henri Chapron cabrio. This event changed my life. It felt like I was living my dream, something I wanted to experience every day. On our way back home I had a good father-daughter conversation about the future. I decided to sell my horses, except my first Arabian horse and completely switch over to cars, vintage cars. I started CRANKHANDLEBLOG and many great things followed. I wrote for automotive magazines and now own my own bolide. I go to as many cool events as possible, and I do that with my Amilcar CGS from 1925, named Amillion. When I started my search for the right car I was not quite sure what to look for, all I knew is that I wanted a Bugatti. However, during one meeting a well-known Bugatti expert told me to look for a poor man’s Bugatti. After a long search while learning my lessons I found the ONE. A dear Bugattist friend sent told me about the car in Austria, he also came up with the name Amillioncar. Directly I raced to Austria and the rest is history. Bon route!
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1. L’Église St. Germain-en-Laye. 2.Bob Cooper on the balcony of David Lloyd George’s Parisian apartment.
Paris 1919 A collection of 100-year old photographs show the 1919 Paris Peace Conference through the eyes of a young chauffeur. Words: Philip Newsome and Guy Loveridge
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The Conference was the world’s most important business, the peacemakers the world’s most powerful people. They met day after day. They argued, debated, quarrelled and made it up again. They dined together and went to the theatre together. They made deals, signed treaties, creating a new international order, the consequences of which continue to shape our modern world. New countries and organisations appeared from the ashes of the First World War. Iraq for example, a British invention, was born 100 years ago in a Parisian drawing room. For nine months, between January and September, Paris was at once the world’s government, its court of appeal and parliament, the focus of all its hopes and fears. Implausibly, at the very heart of all this was a young man, not yet twenty one years of age, Bob Cooper. Bob (right) was born in 1898 in Heckmondwike, a small but thriving mill town deep in the heart of West Yorkshire’s Heavy Woollen District. Just like so many patriotic young men of his generation Bob was keen to do his bit
for the war effort and in 1916, at the age of 18 years and 34 days, joined the queues to enrol. He stated his occupation as ‘driver’ and was duly assigned to the Army Service Corps and asked to sign a piece of paper containing the following statement “I understand that, in the event of my
the influence of alcohol”. Battlefield rum was in plentiful supply and administered not only as ‘Dutch courage’ but also as a treatment for everything from shellshock to wounds to exhaustion, hypothermia and even the deadly flu. This did not find favour everywhere and while not a teetotaller himself, British PM Lloyd George observed that “Britain was Fighting Germany, Austria and Drink, and as far as I can see the greatest of these three deadly foes is Drink”.
not qualifying as a motor driver within a reasonable time (such time to be fixed by the military authorities) I may be posted to some other branch of the Army Service Corps”. It wasn’t too difficult to read between the lines and understandably Bob did not relish the idea being posted ‘elsewhere’ so put everything he had into passing the requisite tests.
Despite this blip it seems that Bob performed his duties diligently and proficiently and come the end of hostilities was called upon, along with a select few others, to act as a driver for the British delegation being sent to Paris for the Peace Conference. The major players at the Conference were known as the ‘Big Four’ namely, Prime Ministers David Lloyd George of Great Britain, Vittorio Orlando of Italy, Georges Clemenceau of France, and President Woodrow Wilson of America. Wilson sought to create an egalitarian system that would prevent a catastrophic conflict similar to World War I from ever occurring again. Clemenceau was adamant that Germany had to pay heavily and never be a threat to France in the future. He was not easily swayed by Wilson’s idealism. Lloyd George favoured creating a balance of powers but was adamant that Germany pay reparations. The Italians were quickly and effectively shut out of any serious decision making.
Having satisfied the powers-that-be of his driving skills Bob was soon hard at work in Northern France. He quickly found himself in trouble though and was docked two days pay for “driving in charge of a Ford Ambulance while under
Dozens of meetings were held at the Quai d’Orsay on the left bank of the Seine as well at many other locations in and around Paris. Bob evidently had enough free time to wander the Parisian boulevards and avenues and take photographs of many
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ne hundred years ago Paris was the de facto capital of the world. The 1919 Peace Conference would see the leaders of Britain, France, Italy and the United States attempt to decide the outcome of the ‘War to end all Wars’ they had just won against the Central Powers. They faced a Herculean task. In the course of the Great War of 1914-18, four old multinational empires had fallen: the Russian, Austro-Hungarian, German and Ottoman. The fate of hundreds of millions of people, from Strasbourg to Baghdad, from Hamburg to Aqaba, was unclear.
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Diplomatic cars lined up outside L’Église de St Germain-en-Laye and the nearby café.
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of the City’s famous sights including the Grand Palais and the Eiffel Tower. He was also clearly very proud of the RollsRoyce he had been assigned to chauffeur a variety of dignitaries around town. The exact history of the car is at this stage something of a mystery. It carries Army number M-17133 and according to well know Rolls-Royce authority Tom Clarke it is a Barker D-front Landaulette, most likely on a 1913 chassis and unusual in having Rudge-Whitworth pointed wheel discs. It was probably a car ‘loaned’ to the country
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by a local UK patriot or one brought across to France specifically for the Peace Conference. One possible pointer to this being a European owned car is the presence of bonnet louvres, not usually seen on cars sold in the UK. Tom reports “This car has a smaller diameter front crossmember, with later added diagonal stays (these being bolted to the crossmember horizontally, proof stays added later). Both of these features means this car is a small brake model - the bigger crossmember and integral diagonal stays were standardised in late 1913 on all big brake cars and these
had chassis numbers with two letters after a 2-digit number, it therefore is just a 4-digit chassis number, no letters. And it has to be in the 2100-2699 series (cantilever rear springs being standardised at chassis 2100)”. Sadly, even though we keep looking, we have yet to be able to trace which exact Rolls-Royce it is. The dignitaries being ferried around Paris included none other than Lloyd George himself and Winston Churchill the then Secretary of State for War, as well as Britain’s Senior Civil Servant at the Confer-
Bob clearly had time to take photographs of Parisian monuments, including this tank-themed war memorial close to the Grand Palais.
ence, Sir Eyre Crowe. Soon after the turn of the century Crowe had warned of Germany’s growing military threat. Initially, these concerns were dismissed but as his fears were realised his influence grew. By the time the peace Conference got underway he was a very big fish indeed. Many of Bob’s photographs were taken at St Germain-en-Laye, situated twelve miles west of Paris. This was the venue of the meetings between the Allies and representatives of Austria, ultimately resulting in the Treaty of St Germain signed on September 10th 1919 at the Château St Germain-en-Laye. The treaty officially registered the breakup of the Habsburg empire, recognizing the independence of Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary. Bob
was there on the day the Treaty was signed having ferried the British representatives from their base at the Hotel Majestic on Avenue Kléber to St Germain-en-Laye. He photographed delegates from both sides entering and leaving the Château as well as the impressive rows of cars lined up in the main square. One particularly evocative photograph shows both Churchill and Lloyd George deep in conversation in a forest clearing at Château-Thierry a mere thirty seven miles east of Paris. This was the scene of one of the American’s first engagements with the enemy and is now seen as a major turning point in the war. The Battle of Château-Thierry was fought between the 3rd and 4th of June 1918 and was part
of the Allied response to the Aisne offensive. That offensive had seen the Germans advance thirteen miles on the first day, the largest single day advance since 1914. Over the next few days the Germans reached the Marne at Château-Thierry. The American forces repelled the German army who were forced to retreat and from that point on the German hierarchy could see that the writing was very much on the wall. Perhaps the fact that Churchill’s mother was American prompted a visit to this hugely significant location, who knows, but Bob was certainly there to record it.
The Peace Conference came to an end leaving an uncertain world which, within two decades, would again descend into chaos. The four major Treaties signed in Paris, St Germain, Trianon, Neuilly and most famously Versailles, ultimately satisfied nobody which is hardly surprising given that the agendas of the main players were largely at odds with each other. Some time later Lloyd George was asked how he thought he had fared at the Conference. His reply was telling “Not badly, considering I was seated between Napolean and Jesus Christ”. In the view 1 2 Delegates present at the signing of the Treaty of St Germain-en-Laye which took place on September 10th 1919.
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Bob was undoubtedly a highly thought of and indeed trusted member of Lloyd George’s staff. The Prime Minister was married at the time but was conducting a secret affair with his secretary Frances Stevenson who accompanied him to Paris. Bob was most likely aware of this but like a good chauffeur kept quiet. Accordingly and rather inconceivably he found himself at the very heart of the British mission. A couple of quite remarkable photographs were taken at Lloyd George’s apartment at 23 Rue Nitot (since renamed Rue de l’Amiral-d’Estaing). One shows staff members on the apartment balcony smiling down at Bob taking the photograph from street level, while another sees Bob standing proudly on the same balcony which opened out from Lloyd George’s drawing room, the scene of many private discussions and meetings.
of many the Treaties comprised a witches’ brew inevitably sowing the seeds of Europe’s next disastrous conflagration. While the Treaty of Versailles left Germany scourged, humilated and resentful it was, in the end, by no means fatal. And we all know what happened next.
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For Bob the winding up of the Peace Conference coincided with the conclusion of his Army career. He soon found himself back in civvy street armed with an elegantly written letter of recommendation from Sir Eyre Crowe. He would go on to become an engineer and his love of cars stayed with him throughout his life, his pride and joy in later life being a blue Bristol 400, by no means a common sight on the highways and byways of West Yorkshire. He died peacefully in 1975 taking his magical memories of Paris 1919 with him to the grave. Thankfully, his evocative photographs remain and exactly one hundred years on are a poignant reminder of a time when the world teetered on the cusp of massive and ultimately disastrous change.
Bob poses proudly with the Rolls-Royce.
Letter of recommendation from Sir Eyre Crowe.
Lloyd George (centre, light coloured suit) in discussion with Winston Churchill (right) in the forest at Château-Thierry.
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Bob’s fellow drivers congregate outside the British delegation garage.
Tony Crampton
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The Art of the Automobile
H
ong Kong based artist Tony Crampton is the creative force behind The Art of the Automobile, a collection of paintings that depict motorsport and automotive icons doing what they do best, namely going fast and looking awesome. A strong flair for design permeates each of his works with the use of bold colours, shapes and lines along with paint drips and imperfections to produce a retro feel doing justice to the powerful aesthetics of the cars he loves. His attention to detail and eye for composition gives the cars presence and captures a wonderful sense of movement, purpose and stance. There isn’t just design skill at play here. Crampton moves through different aesthetics in each work in the series, referencing advertising, photography, design and film.
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1. Tony Crampton at work in his Hong Kong studio. 2. 2015 Macau GP winner, Theodore/Prema Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist/Dallara. 3. Pit stop, 2009 Le Mans. Matthew Marsh/Lola.
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- 103 Ferrari 512M overtakes Porsche 917K on Le Mans’ Mulsanne Straight.
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1. Maserati 6CM. 2. Porsche 356 Coupe. 3. Ferrari Daytona. 4. Grey Porsche IX VI IV. The Modern Classic.
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Harewood Speed Hillclimb June 2019 Words and Images: Philip Newsome
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Chris Williams blasts his fearsome Napier-Bentley through the Harewood foliage.
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H
arewood speed Hillclimb is situated near the village of Harewood in West Yorkshire. Around 11 meetings are organised between April and September each year by the British Automobile Racing Club Yorkshire Centre. We were there on a rather wet June day to witness Round 3 of the VSCC Speed Championship.
The first speed hillclimb on the Stockton Farm course took place on September 16th 1962. The farm was owned by motor sport fan Arnold Burton who gave the club the right to improve the farm road and use it for hillclimbs. The fastest time at that first event was set by Tony Lanfranchi in an Elva Mk 6. According to a report in the Yorkshire Post Mr Lanfranchi ‘in a very spirited ascent’ stopped the clock at 51.61 seconds, so setting a mark and winning a race drivers would aspire to repeat in the ensuing years. One hundred drivers contested the first Harewood Hill Climb, and according to the programme prizes for the top three drivers in each class, plus an award for the leading lady driver, were presented at the Annual Dinner Dance of the Yorkshire BARC, which was held on December 13, 1962, at the Queens Hotel in Leeds. The event still represents the very best of British grass roots motorsport, competitive but always friendly, it is the taking part which matters the most.
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The track begins on the flat bottom of Wharfedale and then winds its way up the valley side, passing through Stockton Farm and on to the finishing line.
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John Barton lives, eats and breathes Bugatti. If you cut him his blood runs French racing blue.
Bugatti Man Words: Guy Loveridge Photography: Philip Newsome
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was brought up in a family where Bugattis were worshiped from afar. I was taken to the Schlumpf collection in the early 1980s on a family holiday, and was more shocked by the photograph of the workers burning an Austin Seven than impressed by the ranks of Bugatti motor cars lined up under cast iron posts and with gravel laid out. I also seem to remember a mechanical fairground organ playing, but that might be my memory playing tricks. Bugattis then played a part in my life only as other vintage cars – through books, articles, racing and commentating. My Dad, however, has been a long standing member of the Bugatti Trust and so we go and see things and discuss things, but, in 2018, the planets aligned:
I then met John on Facebook where he was asking if anyone knew a publisher who could work on his Bugatti book. I said yes: Me. We swapped many messages and emails, met up at Prescott in early 2018 and shook hands on a deal which will see his Bugatti Book out soon. It tells how Bugatti managed to survive the Second World War, return to car making, develop an 8 cylinder, transverse, rear engined Grand Prix car and soldier on into the 1960s, on apparently just seven sales of Type 101s post 1945. It will be a fascinating and enlightening read, as fascinating as the visit paid to his workshops in September 2018. I was in France working on Les Grandes Heures Automobile at Montlhéry, as reported on in Monopod Edition 02, and decided, with Philip Newsome, to go down and visit John. Not just to collect material for the book, but also to see what he had in his ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ of a premises. The drive down from the channel ports was long and hot, but it was absolutely worth it as we were shown the many projects that John has ‘on the go’ – not just Bugatti-related but also Facel-Vega, another passion of mine (John owns the Facel company) and engineering problems to which he was now working out solutions that had eluded the technicians up in Alsace in period. John is certainly ‘Bugatti Bonkers’ but, thank God that he is. The man is as fascinating to talk to as this photographic tour of his workshops, stores, storage and ‘project shops’ bears testament. The book will be out in Douglas Loveridge Publications before too long.
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I had given a talk at the First Pan European Conference on Motoring History at Mulhouse in May 2017. One of the co-speakers was a slightly eccentric Englishman named John Barton. He was presenting on the Bugatti T 251 Grand Prix car; its links with Gioachino Colombo and the disc brake they had devised in-house. He also brought along a 90 something year old gentleman who had worked with Colombo and Bugatti on the project in the 1950s. I was impressed and listened attentively, trying to translate as best my ‘O-level’ failure French would allow.
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John Barton’s workshop in the middle of the French countryside is a Bugatti aficionado’s dream. Nearest the camera is a Type 251 replica, in the centre an original Type 73C chassis number 73C 004 and at the rear a replica Type 252 with original engine number 1.
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1. The walls are adorned with shelves replete with spare parts, tools and endless Bugatti paraphernalia. 2. Seriously, is there anything cooler than a vintage Bugatti vice!
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Facel Vega Facellia restoration project.
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1. Down the years John has acquired the original wooden mouldings for an enormous range of Bugatti mechanicals. 2. To say John has an in-depth knowledge of Bugattis is like saying Picasso knew something about painting.
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- 128 The Type 251 replica in all its exposed glory. The paper pinned to the wall in the background is the original factory blueprint.
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Montlhéry Magic Les Grandes Heures Automobiles 2018 Words: Tim Beavis Images: Tim Beavis & Philip Newsome.
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ver the past two years I have become increasingly aware of friends attending Les Grandes Heures Automobiles at the mythical L’autodrome Linas-Montlhéry and coming home full of praise for it. In 2018 one of this band of intrepid motorsport travellers, who also commentated at this event, asked if I wished to join him and make my debut on the microphone, naturally it wasn’t a tough decision to make. I headed down on the drive to Linas-Montlhéry from rural Dorset with the third member of the commentary team who lives nearby. We travelled by ferry to Cherbourg and then drove down through Northern France with some typically wonderful rural scenery. Our one small error in judgement was that not being avid followers of golf, we failed to realise that the Ryder Cup was being played near our destination, this caused us a small traffic issue close to the circuit. The Monthléry circuit lies 26km South of Paris and began life as a pure speed bowl with steeply raked banking in 1924. A further road section was added a year later. The first race to be held on it was the French Grand Prix of 1925, sadly that race was marred by the death of Antonio Ascari in his Alfa Romeo P2. Currently it is owned by the PSA group and has just had an autonomous vehicle test facility completed
which no doubt will feature in this year’s 5th running of the event whilst celebrating Citroen’s 100th birthday. The promise of interesting and unique cars was met in oh so many ways. An Alpine reunion saw a plethora of curvaceous French Blue rally cars, two Ferrari 156 ‘Sharknose’ evocations and one of the late great Barry Sheene’s motorcycles. Being a Lancia fan, I could not help but enter motoring nirvana with a number of Stratos ready to be demonstrated. As a first timer you could sense the history of the circuit and the excitement of those who had travelled to take part in the demonstration runs on the banked circuit, even running into the night with flame spitting from the Group B rally cars heading out onto the speed bowl. My duties were explained, my branded clothing handed to me to signify me as one of l’établissement, and early Saturday morning on the 29th September 2018 I spoke my first words in motorsport commentary. A little nervous to begin with, but soon I warmed into the role. One thing that calmed my nerves was the appearance of the former F1 and Sportscar great Arturo Merzario peddling one of the two Sharknose evocations. Having been involved with historic motorsports more recently, and specifically Alfa Romeo events, I was
not a stranger to ‘Little Ar’” and his racing history. This then gave me confidence speaking about his days on the Targo Florio and his own foray into F1 team ownership alongside his Ferrari works drives, indeed he and I have shared a track at Monza in Scuderia Del Portello events held there. The whole feel of the event was relaxed and informal, the crowds mingled with the cars and drivers and were free to talk and get up close and personal to the ‘stars”’of the event. Many car clubs had assembled in a large area of both new car displays and classic cars, some of these clubs were from the UK, most notably the Club Peugeot UK. Whilst most attendees were French, there were many English speaking visitors, hence our work to help them enjoy the event more, with commentary geared to them. The sheer diversity of the entry list was a joy to behold for any true ‘Petrol head’ from single-seaters to saloons to classic Group B rally cars, F1 and Le Mans entrants, even NASCAR and Formula E were represented.
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1 2 1. Crowds admire the machines on display, led by the stunning Porsche 917 K-70 (PN) 2. Renault Alpine vs Cobra (PN)
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1. Clouds of exhaust fumes provide an ethereal backdrop for Arturo Merzaro as he prepares to go out on track in the Ferrari 156 Sharknose (PN) 2. Shake and Bake. NASCAR comes to MontlhĂŠry (PN)
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One car in particular grabbed my attention, a very special Jaguar XK120. This was no ordinary XK120, if there is such a thing, as LWK 707 is a world record-breaking car that listed Sir Stirling Moss, Leslie Johnson and Jack Fairman as some of its former drivers. In 1950, this car averaged 107 MPH over 24 hours running on the Montlhéry banking. One year later the team averaged 131 MPH for one hour on the 30 degree banking. The following year, in a feat of both engineering excellence and human endurance, this same car ran for 7 days and 7 nights on the Montlhéry circuit averaging just over 100 MPH. The fixed head coupe was driven by Moss, Hadley, Johnson and Fairman. A suggestion was made that we try some in-car commentary. My two commentating colleagues both looked at me and never one to back down I accepted the challenge. We worked out the limits of our radio mic around the circuit. What better car in which to sit for a British commentator than this XK120, returning to the scene of its greatest exploits. Jaguar Heritage team were in charge of the car with Geoff my pilot. His mechanical sympathy for the car and his comments on both technique and feel when out on track provided invaluable feed back to the onlooking crowd. We tested the plan by using the age old technique of my co-commentators jumping up and down in the pit lane with their thumbs up thus signalling I could be heard. We did however know that one section of the lap was out of range, allowing Geoff to vent his frustration at other drivers and explain things in more ‘agricultural’ language thereby allowing me to describe things in more benign terms on mic. The whole experience of being on-track in this historic machine was an utter privilege, from the faded walnut dash, cracked red leather seats to the brake fade coming off the banking. I came out of the car with a grin as wide at the English Channel. As a first timer to this event I can wholeheartedly recommend it, but if I did that it would be more crowded and that would lead to more rules and regulations. So pass this on at your peril, but make sure you come and witness this gem of an event.
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1. The record beating Jaguar XK120 in action (PN) 2. On board LWK707 (TB) 3. The beautiful Effeffe Berlinetta (PN)
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Characteristic Gallic flair (PN)
EPILOGUE
Pendine Sands. Image: Philip Newsome
“To me, the magic of photography, per se, is that you can capture an instant of a second that couldn’t exist before and couldn’t exist after. It’s almost like a cowboy that draws his gun. You draw a second before or after, you miss and you’re dead, not them. To me, photography is always like that.” Mario Testino
Back cover: Cirencester Classic Car Show. Image: Siobhan Owen