In Memory of Mr Roy Clark 1960s Powerboat Pioneer Roy Clark was a founding member of the Southend Motor Boat Club, which was granted permission to use the lake at Grange Farm (Grangewaters), South Ockenden. At the time this was not straightforward as Thurrock Council refused the planning application, forcing the club to apply to the Government Minister, Mr Richard Crossman. Roy and the other club members were a tenacious bunch and after applying to the minister, he overturned the council’s decision as long as certain conditions were met. Roy and fellow members of the Southend Club joined those other great early ambassadors of the sport; Cyril and Peter Benstead, Len and Edie Britnell and Charlie Sheppard. All put the love of the sport first and anyone who had talked to Roy would have been instantly aware of how much the sport had meant to him.
This was 1965; for many the beginning of that great period in circuit powerboat racing, which culminated during the late 1970s and saw its heyday throughout the 1980s. The club had to do a lot of work to make the lake area usable for racing, including constructing a control building, shower block and toilets.
Roy raced during the period of two-up boats, where the second crew member acted as a counterweight much like in motorcycle sidecar racing. This was a risky business and Roy had some great stories from his day’s racing, including the incident where his 9
