Father and son team take on the world in an Aston Martin
How many of us have dreamt of escaping on a long drive, ride or flight? Heading off for days or weeks or even months at a time to explore new corners of the world and simply enjoy being ‘away from it’? I know I have and it’s an idea that appeals even more looking out on the gloomy skies as I type this. For Phil and Will Churchill, that dream is about to become a reality as this father and son team set off in their Aston Martin Vantage.
What makes their trip all the more alluring is they have divided it into bite-sized chunks to fit in with their lives. Seventeen-year old Will is still in full-time education, so he can only get away during his holidays. It’s a clever way of achieving this dream and one all of us at Brookland wish them the very best with.
Of course, you don’t need to be away for months to enjoy a great road trip and this year’s centenary of the Le Mans 24 Hours race is as good an excuse as many will need to strike out. There are many drivers who competed at Brooklands who also took part in, and won, Le Mans. Find out more in the superb feature in this issue. And however long your next trip is, enjoy the journey.
Alisdair Suttie Editor Brooklands Bulletin
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For full details of membership benefits, contact the Members Administrator, Sarah Dover 01932 857381 ext 226; or wwwbrooklandsmembers.co.uk where you can find the latest news on Brooklands.
Front Cover photo: Mike Venables
Easter excitement
The Easter Classic Gathering proved such a big hit last year that it’s back for 2023. Run along the same lines as the huge New Year’s Day Classic Gathering, the Easter event takes place on Saturday 8 April and the gates open from 9am. The Museum will open from 10am-5pm as usual.
As well as the wide variety of machinery to take in, we’ll also have live music and a barbeque, plus other food outlets around the site. Wherever you are, there will be plenty of vehicles to look at as you enjoy a bite to eat and something to drink.
All types of car, motorcycles, and other vehicles are welcome to park onsite at the Easter Classic Gathering that were registered pre31 July 1993. Multiple gates will be open to avoid congestion, so please read the parking directions before arriving at Brooklands.
Vauxhall celebrates its 100th birthday at Brooklands Driving Tests
The Vauxhall 30-98 of Annabel Jones marked its 100th birthday at the Vintage Sports-Car Club’s (VSCC) New Year Driving Tests at Brooklands. The car ‘OE19’ was delivered brand new to the circuit in April 1923 for a track day and running-in prior to its first drive to the south of France.
Looking back 100 years, the VSCC roadbook noted that in 1923 the Brooklands Clubhouse was improved and re-painted, paralleling work carried out on the building this winter. Fresh concrete was also poured on the banking 100 years ago.
Monte-Carlo or bust
The big Vauxhall was a splendid sight this year, but to succeed in driving tests something lighter and more manoeuvrable is required. Peter Batty was once again overall winner in the 1929 Ford T, completing a hattrick of wins at Brooklands. Jack Harvey shared the car and finished second overall, illustrating the suitability of the Ford. Among several Austin 7 variants, Richard Lance’s Nippy hit the right tone and was rewarded with third in class. Notable entrants in the Touring Cars class included Tim Britnell’s De Dion Bouton IS 3/5 and the Frazer Nash BMW 315 of Denise Evans, a product of the 1930s partnership between the British and German manufacturers.
The Driving Tests attracted some interesting non-competing cars in the Paddock. The wonderful Wolverhampton-built Star was a rarity, its six-pointed radiator badge (above) competing with the Triumph Vitesse’s for unofficial mascot of the day. The French Salmson was another treat alongside the twin-engined Ballard Special displaying British and American flags on its radiator hood.
Gareth Tarr
Brooklands was one of five international starting points for the Rally Monte-Carlo Historique. Competitors were waved off from the Museum on 25 January at the beginning of their 1800-mile adventure.
Five teams headed off from Brooklands in a mixture of classic cars, including a Lancia Stratos, Ford Escort and Cortina, an Austin A40 Farina, and a Volkswagen Golf GTi. The teams faced a drive through France to the Alps and then special stages around the principality of Monaco.
As well as the teams that gathered at Brooklands, several other classic cars arrived with their owners to see them off. Among them was an MGA that competed in the 1960 Monte-Carlo Rally.
The 2023 Rally Monte-Carlo Historique was won by a Swiss crew in a Lancia Fulvia Coupe, with the Ford Escort team of Andy Wolfe and Simon Russell the highest placed UK starters in 37th place overall.
Best of British for Coronation weekend Ex-Barnato Bentley at Rétromobile
Brooklands is celebrating the coronation of King Charles III with the Best of British weekend, and we need you to bring your cars. From Alvis to Wolseley, we want every possible make and type of British vehicle to be here on Sunday 7 May.
As well as a huge array of cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles, we’ll have a special display of MGs to mark the company’s 100th anniversary. Visitors to the Best of British event are also being encouraged to wear clothes to fit the theme, so it’s a great opportunity to put on your glad rags.
For some of our younger visitors, and slightly older fans of Michael Bond’s cartoons, Paddington Bear is all set to make a guest appearance. We’ll also have a brass band playing throughout the day and Great British food will be available from several outlets around the site.
Many of the British makes will be on car club displays, and the famous Test Hill will also be used to show the cars and motorcycles in action.
Message from Members’ Chairman
This is traditionally the quietest time of the year for both the Museum and the Members Committee, but I am pleased to report that there is a lot happening behind the scenes to prepare for what we hope will be an exciting 2023 season at Brooklands.
David Brockington-Hill has taken the lead on Members’ Events from Angela Hume and is planning a varied programme which I am sure will be popular. Prior to Covid, Angela always tried to arrange an overseas tour and David is continuing that with a trip to The Netherlands, including a visit to the Louwman Museum in The Hague. I visited the Louwman just before Covid struck and thought it was one of, if not the, best motor museum that I had visited, and believe me, I have visited a lot! I thoroughly recommend that you join David on this trip and urge you to contact him for details. David’s contact details are on page 50.
One of Woolf Barnato’s 8-Litre Bentleys was a star of the recent 2023 Rétromobile exhibition in Paris.
One hundred Bentley 8-Litres were built and chassis YR5095 with the registration GP 401 is one of 35 shorter chassis versions. It was fitted with a two-door, fourseater Sports Tourer body by Vanden Plas and delivered to Barnato in June 1931. In 1932, on the occasion of Woolf’s second marriage to Jacqueline Quealy, the daughter of a US coal magnate, the car was shipped to the USA for the couple’s honeymoon.
The following year, Barnato sold the car as owning three 8-Litres was too much. He said: ‘That one I use, that one my wife uses for shopping, the third I am selling.’ Flight Lieutenant Reginald Clarence Presland purchased the car, which he ran in the 1936 RAC 1000 Miles Rally and later that year was filmed lapping Brooklands at more than 100mph in the Autocar Festival of Speed. The car remained with the Presland family for over 71 years and now forms part of a private collection.
Hilda Hewlett correction
Due to a proofing error, the feature on Hilda Hewlett in the January-February issue of the Bulletin was missing the end of the final line of the story. It should have read: She died on 21 August, 1943 and was buried at sea. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Harry Sherrard has booked a full programme of Talks throughout 2023, and looking through the list, I think there genuinely is something for everyone. Bookings are now via the Eventbrite portal and, as space is limited, I urge you to book as soon as the talk you are interested in is announced.
You will be pleased to know that the Clubhouse lift should be installed by the end of March. The project has been affected by supply chain and post-Brexit delays, but we are hopeful the end is now in sight. It is worth reminding you that as Members we made a significant contribution to the cost of this project, and I know that it will be particularly appreciated by those attending the Members
Bar and events in the Napier and Bluebird Rooms. In my first year as your Chairman, I welcomed our then President, Stirling Moss, in the Paddock and escorted him upstairs to the Napier Room, where he was to be our guest of honour at the annual dinner. We seated him in the chairlift, pressed all the right buttons and waited… and waited. The chairlift made an incredibly slow ascent as far as the first corner, when it slowed even more. Stirling asked to be handed his sticks and made the rest of the ascent himself. I won’t repeat the language here, but suffice to say it was funny but nevertheless embarrassing for all of us. Damon, our current President, is extremely fit and doesn’t need the lift, but there are many Members and guests who do, so the completion of this project cannot come soon enough.
Debbie Crawt, who leads our Outreach Team, has agreed a list of events at the Museum at which the team will be available to meet Members this year, and is looking at other venues off-site where it might be a good idea to be represented. If you see our gazebo either at Brooklands or elsewhere, please stop by and have a chat with one of the Outreach Team. They always welcome interaction with Members, and comments or suggestions are always fed back to the Committee.
Did I say this was the quiet time of year? Well, it isn’t quiet at all! I look forward to catching up with you throughout the season, when hopefully we will be enjoying sunshine and blue skies!
Neil Bailey
Gareth Tarr
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MUSEUM updates
Chief Executive’s Message
Did you come to Brooklands for the New Year’s Day Classic Gathering? If you did, you’ll know what a fantastic day it was. We were all very happy to be able to see in the New Year in motoring style after the hiatus caused by Covid. We are looking forward to a similar turn out in warmer conditions on Easter Saturday for the Easter Classic Gathering, which returns after proving so popular in 2022.
The first couple of months of each year is always about getting the site and collections ready for the busy year ahead. That has been particularly true these past two months as we’ve been finishing off the renovation works to the Clubhouse. The scaffolding came down in January and revealed the restored Clubhouse tower, now structurally sound and looking better than it has in decades. The work required turned out to be much more extensive than first thought, but has been completed within the overall budget. The south balcony has also been completely renovated and a smart, slate roof installed in place of the patched and leaking roof which was there before. Many of the windows have been repaired or replaced, and inside the new lift, providing access to the first floor, has nearly finished installation. While this has been a substantial investment, it is one that was essential to protect the site’s most iconic building and we are extremely grateful to the government’s Museum Estate and Development Fund and
Outreach Team
We want to recruit some more volunteers for this exciting opportunity. To volunteer for the Outreach Team, you need to be both flexible and have a good knowledge of Brooklands’ attractions and history as talking to the public is our main objective.
We are involved in on-site and off-site events which can involve some physical input, such as erecting gazebos and tables. We also need help at both ends of the day, so the work can be long but very rewarding. The aim of the Outreach Team is to sign up new Members and spread the Brooklands message. Importantly, we are a happy group and would welcome any extra help.
Please contact David Norfolk on: 01372 373929 or 07496 501157. Alternatively, please email David on: David.norfolk@outlook.com
Elmbridge Borough Council, who contributed a large proportion of the overall costs along with the funds from Members.
Parallel to this, other work has been continuing, including the repainting of the outdoor aircraft, reopening the Brooklands Darkest Hour exhibition about the tragic air raid on the aircraft factories here in 1940, and improving lighting and surfaces in a number of areas to make things more comfortable for our visitors. Concorde Signature Events have re-started and we’ve been delighted to give people the chance to pilot this iconic aircraft on the Concorde simulator for the first time in many months following the works in that area.
Earlier in February, we held a gathering to thank our Volunteers led by Sir Gerry Acher, celebrate everything that was achieved in 2022, and look ahead at what is planned for 2023. There is certainly a lot to look forward to. One highlight will be a new exhibition about Barnes Wallis, which is being created in the north part of the Stratosphere Chamber, one of Wallis’ visionary initiatives. This is being made possible by all of you who bought tickets for the 2022 Members’ Raffle and will be opened on 16 May, the 80th anniversary of the Dambusters’ Raid that deployed the Bouncing Bomb, developed by Barnes Wallis. We will be looking at his whole life and the many areas in which this remarkable, innovative man brought his ingenuity to bear.
Another new addition to the Museum will be an outdoor playground, opening this summer opposite Concorde. A grant from Elmbridge Borough Council is providing half of the costs. The play equipment will be aviation themed and designed to allow disabled and able bodied children to play together. Although we will be starting relatively small with this, we look forward to expanding it when we deliver the next stage of the Masterplan for the site.
Tamalie Newbery
David Norfolk
When Hilda met Gustave
Dear Sir,
I did enjoy your article in the Bulletin about Hilda Hewlett, that remarkable woman whose extraordinary life would make a fascinating film, I would have thought. I must though question one aspect of your
Barnes record
Dear Sir,
piece, and that is where you say that Hilda visited the 1909 Blackpool Air Show with her husband Maurice, and didn’t meet Gustave Blondeau until she travelled later to Mourmelon.
Gail Hewlett makes it pretty clear in Old Bird that Hilda (or ‘Billy’ as she always calls Hilda) travelled to Blackpool with Blondeau and that Maurice, having decided not to go, had agreed to her being accompanied on the journey as he did not want her to travel alone in her car, which he referred to as ‘The Coffin’.
Frustratingly, I have been unable to discover just how Hilda made Blondeau’s acquaintance in the first place. Gail says he just ‘mysteriously appears in her memoir’. Nor is it ever actually clear whether the relationship between Hewlett and Blondeau was more than a professional one. We shall probably never know!
Best wishes, Nigel Spooner
I found your recent article on AV Ebblewhite (Ebby) very interesting - thank you. You refer to his timing and handicapping activities before he came to Brooklands and this prompted me to look out a reference to him in my book about George Barnes (my wife’s great, great uncle).
George Barnes was a racing cyclist and motorcyclist before turning his hand to building motorcycles and cars, and then to aviation where in October 1909 he almost won the prize for the first Englishman to fly a one mile round trip in an all-English machine.
Barnes’ first encounter with Ebby was when he handicapped and timed tandem cycling events at Crystal Palace in 1901, and later he timed several of Barnes’ one-hour motorcycle record attempts. One of these prompted an item in the Motorcycle, which looks as if it was written by Ebby himself:
‘Time 4.30pm Monday 30th. Telephone rings. “Hello!” “Is that you Ebblewhite? I’m Barnes; I am going to have a try for the hour.” “Is your machine ready?” “Yes, going well.” “Have you got your permit from Straight?” “Yes.” “What time are you going?” Six o’clock sharp.” “All right; will be there.”
At 6pm on arriving at Canning Town track, not a soul was to be seen, but guided by snatches of comic songs to one of the small dressing rooms, on opening the door and getting used to the atmosphere of smoke, I discover Barnes, with his two mechanics, fitting a new pair of front forks of heavier gauge, as those taken off were found to whip on the banking. The three men were working against time, and it appeared to my unaccustomed ears that a sort of verbal contest was in progress between them as they slaved away in an apartment six feet square.
Racing 7s
Dear Sir,
I’m writing regarding the article on p50 of the November-December issue of the Bulletin.
The Austin 7 Speedy did take part in the 1935 Le Mans event, but didn’t win the Brooklands 500-Mile; that was the Ulster shown in the picture with SCH Davis and Lord March sat on the car.
Regards, Andy Lowe
Apologies for any confusion and thank you for the correction - Editor
At 7pm the machine was declared ready, and on a trial lap showing on the watch to be 20 1/5s, Barnes was about to start when the front wheel bearing was discovered to be loose, owing to the hurried change of forks. More compliments passed whilst adjustments were made, and at 7.20pm Barnes started. Riding to a stable of 1m 4s to 1m 5s to a mile, and keeping this rate, he was inside the record at 28 miles by 33s, and continued to improve on each succeeding mile to 55 miles, rode 54 miles 1,620 yards in the hour.
It will be noticed from the times given in the table that the pace generally slowed in the last twenty minutes, this being caused by darkness, as the ride did not finish until 8.20, and in the last fifteen miles the supply of lubricating oil ran out.
What an exhibition of British grit and devilment, motoring in the darkness at fifty odd miles an hour on an un-illuminated track. It is a weird and uncanny sight to see the flames from the two exhausts circling round and round in the dark, and the group of spectators hanging over the railings, silent and fascinated at the sight, only finding their tongues to shout when the ride finished.
The machine ridden was fitted with a two cylinder Alcyon engine, 85mm x 90mm, and it is worthy of note that ordinary 2¼ inch roadster Dunlop motor tyres were used.’
A V Ebblewhite
Barnes went on to get his flying certificate (number 16) at Brooklands in 1910.
Kind regards David Snow
Fast landing
Dear Sir,
I don’t think Graham Chisnall is quite correct in his assertion that the landing strip flight test on 16 October saw the ‘first aircraft to land on the Runway since the Vickers Vanguard landed on 17 October 1996.’ I landed my Jodel on that runway on 1 May, 1999 on what was billed as the ‘Last Brooklands Fly-in’, but even that was overtaken by a similar event in 2003. YouTube has memorable film of the last event.
I may have one claim to fame, however, as I may have been the last pilot (so far) to land on the Northerly runway 01. Mine was the first aircraft to arrive at the 1999 Fly-In and I was asked to check for a possible tailwind. On landing, I discovered the tailwind was more than ‘possible’ as things happened rather fast, and the track’s Banking and many large pieces of metal loomed very quickly and very large in my windscreen before I managed to stop. The landing runway was quickly changed to the Southerly 19 and remained so for the rest of the day. The 2003 film shows runway 19 in use on that day too. Has anyone else landed on runway 01 these last 24 years?
Yours sincerely, Graham Perry
Line of sight
Dear Sir,
Recently I’ve read somewhere there is a painted marker line which helped the faster drivers place their cars accurately especially on the bankings and the line can still be seen. Frustratingly, I cannot remember where I read about this.
Might anyone know how I can find this line? It would be wonderful to take some pictures to add to my archive of Brooklands photographs. On the one hand, it seems unlikely that the painted line can have survived all these years, but on the other hand I’m a born optimist!
Regarding the article by Keith Jennings in the September-October Bulletin about his time at Vickers, my mother Betty McCulloch (née Hancock) also worked in the Progress Department at Vickers in connection with Wellington production, and also my father Ted McCulloch. My mother described herself as a Zone Chief and joked that she was senior to my father! I have already supplied a copy of the attached photo to your archives and, although there does not seem to be a Jennings in it, I wondered if you might forward it on as it might be of interest to the family.
Best wishes, Ian McCulloch
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forthcoming events
2023 Museum Events
The Events List is subject to change, so please check the website: www.brooklandsmuseum.com. Email events@brooklandsmuseum.com or telephone the Museum on: 01932 857381 for information. Test Hill, car rides and engine runs are subject to operational conditions.
26 March
March Mini Day. Whether your Mini is old, new, classic or modified, every shape and model is welcome at Mini Day. There’s a special celebration to mark the 60th anniversary of the Mini Cooper S, and Test Hill will be in action from 12.30pm. We’ll also have trade stands, various food outlets, and more Minis than you can think of.
8 April
Easter Gathering. This event was such a huge hit last year, it’s back for more in 2023 with hundreds of classic vehicles displayed around the Brooklands site. As you stroll, you can enjoy live music, barbeque food and additional food stalls, as well as a bustling trade village.
1-16 April
Ready to Race. It’s back to the track at Brooklands for the Easter Holidays with two weeks of fun, including a Family Workshop to make Downhill Racers. You can also explore the secrets of Brooklands, take a Concorde Supersonic Walkthrough, or take in the sights, smells and sounds on a London Bus Museum ride. We’ve also got costume characters and the ever-popular Pedal Planes and Cars.
March
26 Mini Day. Small cars make a big impression when hundreds of Minis of all ages and types gather at Brooklands to celebrate this iconic model.
April
1-16 Ready to Race. Make the most of the Easter Holidays at Brooklands.
8 Easter Gathering. Come and show your classic vehicle, or just mingle among hundreds of amazing machines.
16 London Bus Museum Spring Gathering. The biggest and best bus show in South East England.
23 Drive It Day. Get out in your classic wheels and make Brooklands your destination.
Best of British. Whatever make of British car, motorcycle, van, truck or other type of vehicle, you’re likely to see one at this event on the same weekend as King Charles III’s Coronation. There will be a special display of MG cars, and Paddington Bear is coming to meet and greet visitors of all ages! 7 May
29 Italian Car Day. Come and indulge in all things Italian with an engine at Brooklands.
May
7 Best of British. A celebration of all British makes on two, three, four and more wheels.
28 Mopar Muscle. Everything with a potent Mopar engine in it is welcome at this UScentred day.
Brooklands Members Talks: update
The Talks programme for 2023 is well under way now and our next event is on 30 March when the author of At the Greatest Speed Patrick Lynch gives a talk on Gordon Bennett, the father of international motor racing.
Following on from this fascinating evening, we take to the skies on 20 April with Philip Hogge and his talk on BOAC and the Golden Age of Flying. Philip has been a pilot since he was still at school and has flown all manner of aircraft from Brooklands-built VC10s to 747 Jumbo Jets. He joined BOAC in 1962 and Philip has many stories from this gilded period of aviation.
A different kind of aviation forms our next talk on 16 May to mark the 80th anniversary of Operation Chastise that became known as the Dam Busters Raid. Presented by the Talks Team, this evening will look at how effective the raids were and was the 1955 film accurate?
These Talks will all be on BM.tv Livestream for those who cannot attend in person. Previous talks can be viewed on our BM.tv channel. You can find a link on the BM.tv section of the Museum website. Talks can be booked online at: www.brooklandsmuseum.com/brooklands-members/Members-Area/member-events. The Talks email address is: talks@brooklandsmembers.co.uk
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Harry Sherrard and The Talks Team
A CLASSIC GATHERING
We had to wait a long time for the traditional New Year’s Day Classic Gathering to return, but it was well worth it. More than 1000 classic vehicles of all makes and types converged on Brooklands on 1 January, packing every
inch of the Museum site with a wonderful array of sights, colour, smells and noises. There were simply too many to show in our photos, so here are some highlights. If your favourite isn’t here, come along to the Easter Classic Gathering on 8 April and you’ll have the chance to see it again.
Thank you to everyone who turned up in their classic cars, motorcycles, customs, supercars, vans and every other vehicle. And thank you to everyone who came along to spectate and make the New Year’s Day Classic Gathering the perfect start to 2023 at Brooklands.
Photos: Julian Nowell, Gareth Tarr, Mike Venables
All the family got in on the act at the New Year’s Day Classic Gathering, including this perfect scale version of a Jaguar SS100.
One of the earliest cars to attend the New Year’ Day Classic Gathering was this 1921 Ford Model T complete with wooden-spoke wheels.
The diversity of cars at the Classic Gathering and the number of visitors is clear to see in this photograph.
A Panhard Dyna and Ford Thunderbird couldn’t be more different, but they sit perfectly together at Brooklands’ Classic Gathering.
This handsome 1923 Bentley was one of several WO Bentley-era models to arrive for the Classic Gathering.
A stunning Ferrari 275 GTB parked up alongside a Jaguar E-type, Porsche 944, Ferrari
Hot rods add to the variety at Brooklands and this Ford
was one of the stand-out cars on display.
among the many cars from the 1920s and 1930s.
Coupe
An immaculate 1966 Volkswagen Beetle stood out in the cold weather thanks to its bright red paintwork and whitewall tyres.
This superb glass bonnet mascot was one of several on display
There was no missing this bright green Nova kit car, which is based on the slightly more humble Volkswagen Beetle.
Plenty of lights on the imposing front of this Rolls- Royce Phantom III, but they were not needed to find the way to Brooklands on 1 January.
The Nissan Sera shows you don’t have to own a supercar to enjoy scissor doors and this car was very popular with visitors.
Mondial, Aston Martin DB6, and Concorde.
VANTAGE POINT
Words: Al Suttie Photos: Mike Venables, Aston Martin
What
better way to see the world than drive around it in an Aston Martin? That’s exactly what Brooklands Volunteer Will Churchill and his dad Phil are doing.
Many of us have watched television travel programmes and dreamed of following in their footsteps, but father and son team Phil and Will Churchill have gone a lot further. They took inspiration from watching and reading about roundthe-world adventures and have made their own unique journey a reality.
‘The inspiration started during the covid lockdown when I began to read more travel books and watch things like Charley
Boorman’s Long Way Down series,’ said Phil. ‘That led me to Jupiter’s Travels by Ted Simon, who went round the world on a Triumph motorcycle. I caught the car bug from my Dad and Will has got it from me, and I used to race a Porsche Boxster, and we’d been thinking about doing some sort of adventure in a car together. We hadn’t really planned out what it was going to be but had thought about the car. We wanted something with left-hand drive, manual gearbox, limited-
slip differential, raised suspension, and underbody protection.
This is a very particular set of requirements, especially when you want something a bit different to the usual Land Rovers and Toyota Land Cruisers most overland travellers choose. Fate played into the pair’s hands, as 17-year old Brooklands Volunteer Will explained: ‘We went to a Duke of London evening event for Porsches and out of the corner of my eye I spotted this Aston Martin. At first, I thought it was
Will and Phil Churchill enjoying the calm at Brooklands before they head off on the start of their round the world adventure.
a courtesy car, and then Dad and I went over for a look. When we got home, we checked it out and realised the car had done a lot in its lifetime.’
Phil added: ‘That led us to buying the car and it built from there as this car had everything on our wish list. Aston Martin raised the suspension in 2007 when it drove from Tokyo to London. We met Richard Meredith, who was the main driver of the car then. Before that, it had been Aston Martin’s boss at the time Ulrich Bez’s company car and had covered 30,000 miles in its first year criss-crossing from the company’s headquarters at Gaydon to Mr Bez’s home in Germany. It was used harder in that year than most Astons do in five or six years. Then it was used to drive 30,000 miles in a month as part of Project 30,000 to mark Aston Martin’s 30,000th car being
Phil, foreground, came up with the idea for the Vantage World Tour during lockdown and his son Will was just as keen.
This is no ordinary Aston Martin V8 Vantage but one that has already covered an amazing 133,500 miles before it sets off on this 25,000-mile trip.
built. Thirty Aston Martin employees took turns to drive it, starting at the Nürburgring where the company had just been competing in a race. The car ended up on Aston’s stand at that year’s British Motor Show alongside the car that had been racing at the Nürburgring. It’s now just pushed through 133,500 miles.’
With the car sorted, the rest of Phil and Will’s adventure should have been simple to organise, however it wasn’t as plain sailing as jumping in the car and heading off into the blue yonder. ‘I got chatting to a chap called Ben Coombs, who wrote a book called Pub2Pub about his adventures in a TVR,’ said Phil. ‘This was Christmas 2021 and he gave us the confidence this sort of trip could be achieved. Our plan was to head east through Europe, Russia, Mongolia, China, but all of that went by the wayside with the war in Ukraine. Then I tried to find a way through the Middle East and found a ferry that ran from Venice, and we could head through Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and then a boat across to Pakistan. Unfortunately, that roll-on, roll-off ferry stopped operating and curtailed that route. Then my wife said “I’ve been telling you for months, go west.” I should have listened to my wife, of course, and realised it was a much better plan.’
Now heading in the opposite direction to the one they originally intended, the Churchill duo could begin to make plans. Phil said: ‘I’ve always wanted to see a NASCAR race, so we decided to head for Richmond, Virginia in the US. This was the first thing that went down on the itinerary, so everything else has been worked out from there!
‘We leave from the RAC Club on Pall Mall on Sunday 26 February. I’ve been calling this a bit of a false start as the original idea was to get into Europe and do
The car Phil and Will are using was originally owned by Ulrich Bez, former boss of Aston Martin, who used it to commute between the UK and Germany.
Richard Meredith, on the left, used the same car to drive from Tokyo to London, which was when the Aston received its raised suspension and underbody protection.
The Churchill duo have had help from an Aston Martin specialist to put together a spares package to take with them around the world.
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some proper driving. The new route takes us four hours up to Liverpool and then the car is loaded on to a boat. A friend suggested we call this section a prologue before the car arrives in New York and we pick up the Aston at the end of March. Will is still in full-time education, so this fits in with the Easter break and we’re going to head south to Chicago, Indianapolis where we hope to drive a couple of laps of the track there, and Richmond.’
Some of you may be wondering how Will can find time off from his studies to drive around the world with his dad, and this is the clever part of the Vantage World Tour. Rather than tackling the whole trip in one chunk. Phil and Will are planning it in bite-sized sections to fit in with Will’s education. They plan to make it to Mexico before leaving their prized Aston Martin in a free zone to avoid paying import taxes. They will then head back out to Mexico in October to complete the next stage of their epic trip. Phil said: ‘We’ll pick up the car from Mexico when Will is on his October holiday, and we’ll drive on through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and finish at the Panama Canal. Then, in 2024, Will has his exams and after that we’ll collect the car to complete the rest
Seventeen-year old Will is a Volunteer at Brooklands and still in full-time education, and he’s fitting in this epic trip around school.
Phil is a car enthusiast through and through. Seen here with Razor Blade, he’d always wanted an Aston Martin and now he’s driving one round the world.
A 4.3-litre V8 super coupe with 380bhp is not the most obvious choice of car for this trip, but it jumped out to Phil and Will at a Duke of London event.
Phil is keen for Will to pass his driving test so the pair can share the driving on their global journey.
years to do the whole thing, but we’re up for the challenge.’
Part of the Vantage World Tour challenge is to raise at least £24,901 for a mental health charity. If that sounds like a very precise amount of money, Phil has the answer: ‘We’re raising money for CALM, which is the Campaign Against Living Miserably that raises awareness of men’s suicide. I first heard about the charity when I was racing my Porsche Boxster when the series sponsored CALM through the championship. When I heard the statistics about male suicide, I thought we could raise some money for them. This is where the idea for the amount came from as it’s 24,901 miles around the Equator, so our target is to cover at least that mileage so we can legitimately say we’ve driven round the world.’
Given the Churchill’s Aston Martin has already covered many times that distance in its busy life, the pair are confident it will be up to the job. Even so, Phil has spent a lot of time putting together a spares package to carry in the car with help from a local specialist garage. They have also looked at every detail of the logistics and Phil added: ‘Will is the co-driver but he hadn’t passed his test yet at the beginning of 2023. His test will be on the Isle of Wight as it was
the first place we could get a test as early as possible. He’s very keen to drive and, from a practical point of view, it will give me a break from all of the driving. We’re trying to find something fun to do on each day rather than just cover lots of miles, so we’ll aim to drive around 250 miles per day. I’d also like to stay in a hotel whenever possible for a bit of comfort.’
While some might dream of driving off around the globe and not coming back till they catch their tail, Phil and Will Churchill have a different outlook with the
Vantage World Tour. Phil said: ‘By taking on the trip in the way we are, it means we don’t have to put the rest of our lives on hold. It also means we can plan the next leg as it comes up rather than having to think about the whole journey in one go. The trip will have its moments, good and bad, but we just have to keep the bigger picture in mind.’
To find out more about the Vantage World Tour and to support Phil and Will’s amazing adventure, visit: www.vantageworldtour.com
Few Aston Martins have covered as many miles as this one. When it returns to Brooklands it will have at least another 24,901 miles on the clock and raised many thousands of pounds for charity.
The Churchill’s overland-prepared Aston Martin gets a pre-trip shakedown on the Brooklands Banking.
Rolls-Royce Phantom III 1937
Sports Saloon by Gurney Nutting
Restored to a very high standard with recent maintenance by P & A Wood. Designed by the legendary John Blatchley and one of only 3 made
Bentley 3½ Litre 1934
Drophead Coupé by Barker
Very good well-maintained condition with extensive history. One of very few made.
Bentley S1 Continental 1958
4 door Sports Saloon by James Young
Very rare and desirable model with only 16 built. Exceptionally elegant coachwork.
Rolls-Royce Ghost. June 2022
Special order colour Blue Ice with Seashell and Navy contrast with Burr Walnut veneer. High specification.
Rolls-Royce Phantom V 1966 LHD
Touring Limousine by James Young (PV23 Design)
Exceptionally elegant coachwork and in excellent, original condition with very low mileage. Considered by many as the most desirable Phantom V model.
Bentley 4¼ Litre MR Series 1938
Semi Razor Edge Saloon by Park Ward
Rare and attractive coachwork. Desirable overdrive series car.
Rolls-Royce Corniche III Convertible by Mulliner Park Ward. January 1990
Excellent condition with only 41,000 miles. Known to P & A Wood for many years.
Black Kirsch with Silver Satin
Ghost. June 2017
and Seashell leather
Piano
9.500 miles from new with one owner and full Rolls-Royce service history.
Rolls-Royce
bonnet
with
Black veneer.
LOCAL HERO
Words: Colin Russell Photos: Brooklands Museum Collection, Colin Russell archive
Sir Barnes Wallis was a generous fundraiser and philanthropist for many local causes, as Colin Russell remembers from his time at school and as a VickersArmstrongs apprentice.
We all know Sir Barnes Wallis as a brilliant engineer and inventor, most famously as the ‘Dam Buster’. Many will know of his airships, the Wellesley, Wellington aircraft, big bombs and variable geometry, but there is much more to his life that is less well known.
I was born in July 1943, just two months after 617 Squadron successfully destroyed the Möhne and Eder dams using Sir Barnes’ bouncing bomb, and I knew nothing of his brilliance until I entered Christ’s Hospital school in 1954. Two of my classmates in 1954, Roger and Nigel, wore very distinctive badges on their Bluecoats as they were presented by the RAF Foundationers’ Trust. The significance of that charitable institution was revealed to me later that year when Sir Barnes arranged a special showing of the recently premiered The Dam Busters film at our school, which he had attended from 1900 until 1904.
Sir Barnes is recognised as one of the great engineers of the 20th century with a professional career starting just after the Wright Brothers first flight and still working when Concorde first flew.
His time at Christ’s Hospital spanned its move from Newgate Street in the City of London, where it was founded in the old Greyfriars monastery in 1552, to Horsham in Sussex. His first term was inauspicious, doing well in mathematics and history but failing completely in Latin. He quickly overcame that poor start when he consistently came top in mathematics,
A young Barnes Wallis in around 1902. His school housemaster at Christ’s Hospital told him to ‘Get on, boy, get on.’
first or second in English and French. In later life he attributed his ability to think and solve problems to the grounding he received in the science subjects. He was encouraged by the head of science to become the school’s first to
at university, though he was very conscious of the family
finances that would soon have to support his older brother, John, at university. Consequently, at the age of 17, Barnes became an indentured apprentice at the Thames Engineering Works and became involved in the design and build of the engines for the last battleship to be built on the Thames at nearby Deptford. He managed to transfer his indentures to John Samuel White’s shipbuilders at Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1908, the same year that the Wright Brothers made demonstration flights in Europe and Samuel Cody made the first official powered flight in England at Farnborough. However, it would be another five years before Barnes switched from shipbuilding to aviation.
Hartley Blyth Pratt was a draughtsman at Vickers in Barrow and was a casualty of the Government’s indecision on airships, fortuitously appearing at the adjacent drawing board to Barnes in Cowes. They became good friends and in 1913 when the Government had another change of heart on airships, Pratt was summoned back to Vickers as Chief Draughtsman. He wrote to Barnes offering the post of his assistant at the Vickers’ London offices
in Victoria Street, which allowed him to live with his family in New Cross. So began a long period of detailed work on airships, culminating in the successful R80 and R100.
A forced hiatus
Between the R80 and R90 projects, there was a hiatus in Vickers’ airship endeavours and they closed the department in 1921. Barnes was effectively redundant, but used this break to quickly complete an external degree in engineering with London University before taking a post teaching mathematics at Chillon College in Switzerland. Early in 1923, he was invited
The RAF Foundationers’ badge with the same motto that Sir Barnes adopted for his own coat of arms when he was knighted.
Barnes Wallis was encouraged to go to university but took an apprenticeship instead as he was aware of the financial burden for his parents.
A painting of Sir Barnes Wallis in his role as Treasurer and Chairman of The Council of Almoners of Christ’s Hospital, where he had attended as a pupil.
The coat of arms designed by Sir Barnes when he was knighted in 1968. Many felt this honour was too long in being awarded.
to return to Vickers as Chief Designer of a new airship.
This period of his career gave Barnes early exposure to the frustrations of government indecision, inter-site rivalry within Vickers, and the professional jealousy of supposed equals in the company hierarchy. It stood him in good stead later in life as he fought for his ideas and designs with civil servants, the military, and company directors.
As the R100 project came to fruition, Sir Robert McLean, Chairman of Vickers Aviation, recognised the originality and zeal demonstrated by Barnes and wanted
to add him to the team he already had at Weybridge where RK Pierson was the Chief Designer. In 1928, Vickers had a team of three Chief Designers with Pierson and Wallis at Weybridge and RJ Mitchell at Supermarine. Wallis remained intimately involved with the R100, but at the same time he was assisting both Pierson and Mitchell with structural issues on their current projects. He had acquired considerable experience with the use of aluminium structures in airships when both Weybridge and Southampton were still using wood and metal.
Early in the 1930s, Barnes created biplane and monoplane designs to fulfil a particular Air Ministry requirement, and he persuaded Vickers to make prototypes. The Air Ministry stuck to the familiar and in 1935 ordered 150 biplanes. However, Sir Robert McLean championed the monoplane, eventually achieving a reversal of their choice and an order for 96 monoplane medium bombers, which was Barnes first complete aircraft design and eventually named the Wellesley. This single-engined aircraft proved a useful demonstrator of the advantages of Barnes’ geodetic structure, which establishes structural strength within the outer envelope, thus freeing a wing’s internal space from traditional longerons, allowing more room for fuel tanks. A flight of Wellesleys established a non-stop flight record of 7157 miles from Egypt to Darwin, a record that stood for eight years. An Air Ministry specification issued in 1932 for a twin engined bomber and further use of his geodetic principles in the whole structure led to the design of the Wellington and an initial contract in 1933. The success of the initial design and its many developments eventually led to a total of 11,461 being built by the end of 1945.
The Brooklands Clubhouse in the 1980s much as it was when Barnes took it on as his offices after the Second World War.
The Manual Training School at Christ’s Hospital offered a chance to learn fundamental scientific facts with hands-on teaching.
At the premiere of The Dam Busters, Barnes introduces Bill Shreeves to HRH Princess Margaret.
Following a paper he wrote, Barnes was asked in 1941 to set up a committee to consider the destruction of German dams. From that moment until the actual raid on the dams in 1943, Sir Barnes’ workload must have become unimaginably intense, made more so by consistent opposition to his ideas from some civil servants, military officers and particularly his superiors at Vickers.
The details of the unique bomb and its testing, the formation of 617 Squadron, their rapid training, modification of 20 Lancasters, the raid, and the heavy losses are well documented. Despite the success of the operation, the effect on Sir Barnes of the loss of 56 crew from the 133 who took off from Scampton was devastating. When it was suggested to him after the war that he should apply to the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors for monetary recognition of his work on the dams’ bomb, he initially rejected the idea. However, he eventually realized the money could be put to good use in memory of
the lost aircrew. An award by the Royal Commission was initially opposed by civil servants, but his application was supported by many prominent friends. Eventually, a disappointingly low amount of £10,000 was agreed rather than the £20,000 that had been predicted.
The RAF Benevolent Fund was already involved in the education of children from RAF families at various schools including Christ’s Hospital. Sir Barnes had been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1945 and it traditionally held a place on the Council of Almoners of Christ’s Hospital, so Sir Barnes inherited a role held in the past by luminaries such as Isaac Newton. In that position, he envisaged a way to enhance the goals of the RAF Benevolent Fund and to use his Inventors award. The two resources were combined to establish the RAF Foundationers’ Trust in 1951 and, since then, 152 children have benefitted from a Christ’s Hospital education, each of them wearing the unique shoulder badge designed by Sir Barnes.
A new role
With the end of the war, Vickers reorganised its design department, with Rex Pierson as Chief Engineer, George Edwards as Chief Designer, and Barnes as Chief of Research and Development. He was given the Brooklands Clubhouse and its ancillary buildings to create his department. From its inception, Brooklands Museum had the benefit of Norman ‘Spud’ Boorer as a consultant as he had been Barnes Wallis’ assistant for many years before becoming Executive Assistant to Sir George Edwards, the Chairman, until his retirement in 1981. His personal reflection on Sir Barnes’ work is available in the Museum and was a valuable source for this article. He covered Barnes’ post-war work on supersonics and hypersonics. Barnes came up with a concept for a hypersonic air vehicle in 1960.
National recognition of Barnes as one of Britain’s greatest engineers and innovators was slow in coming. He declined the offer of an OBE in 1941 and was
Author Colin Russell using a Boxford lathe at Christ’s Hospital school. Health and safety was not a great concern then!
consoled to some extent by wide recognition from his peers with Fellowship of the Royal Society, six honorary doctorates, a Royal Designer for Industry, and a Fellowship of Churchill College, Cambridge together with many other such honours. Rather belatedly in 1968, he was offered a knighthood and had great pleasure in designing his own coat of arms, just as he had designed the shoulder badge for the RAF Foundationers’ Trust.
In 1957, having already been on the Council of Almoners of Christ’s Hospital for 11 years, he became the Treasurer and Chairman of the Council. This was no sinecure as he was now responsible for two great schools (boys in Horsham and girls in Hertford), vast properties and a huge portfolio of investments. They had to generate sufficient income to maintain the schools and to provide bursaries for about three quarters
of the 900 pupils in the schools. Christ’s Hospital is unique in this respect, currently providing nearly 20% of all the bursary support in UK independent schools. Barnes remained in that post for almost 13 years and put his full energies into improving the school. At the start of his tenure, the buildings were identical to those he moved into in 1902 and when I arrived in 1954. He prepared detailed drawings for multiple modifications, even down to the details of the heating system. I am sure his legacy contributed to the two prestigious awards won this year by the now merged boys and girls schools at Horsham. Christ’s Hospital has been named
the Independent School of the Year with a special mention of its contribution to social mobility and the School of the Year at the UK Social Mobility awards. As Treasurer, we saw quite a lot of him at the school in both his formal role and less formally when he gave lectures on his projects such as the Swallow. He also arranged a visit to Brooklands for us sixth form scientists.
In 1961, I had already decided to study aeronautical engineering and considered an apprenticeship at either VickersArmstrongs Aircraft or Rolls-Royce, Derby. I was offered both but opted for Weybridge as complete aircraft seemed
A letter from Barnes Wallis to Colin Russell’s father offering a full set of tools for when Colin started his apprenticeship at Vickers-Armstrongs.
more alluring than mere powerplants. In May that year, my father received a letter from Barnes asking if he might provide me with the set of tools that apprentices need and not long afterwards we visited his office in the Brooklands Clubhouse. Before we were taken on a tour of the works, my father and he had a lively discussion on the ability of British engineers to envisage projects using the metric system. My engineer father had worked for many years in metric and disputed our hosts’ support of the imperial system.
I discovered more examples of his generosity at Christ’s Hospital when I attended metal working classes in the Manual Training School. With great foresight, this facility was incorporated in the 1902 Horsham buildings to give basic training in skills such as carpentry, metalwork, forge, and foundry work. It was felt that manual skills supported the modern philosophy of the Science School where pupils were encouraged to discover scientific facts rather than just be taught them. ‘A child’s mind is not a vessel to be filled but
a fire to be kindled’ was the oft repeated quotation from Plutarch. Sir Barnes’ work is an example of a kindled fire and Brooklands Museum provides a valuable asset to such education.
The Manual Training School’s 1910 era machinery was driven by an imposing gas engine with a complex system of overhead belt drives. In the early 1950s, Sir Barnes organised the replacement of the original lathes with modern equivalents, which I was able to make good use of. The picture of me at one of the lathes suggests that health and safety was not a prime concern as we just removed our full length Bluecoats and got on with our project.
In 1930, as his role moved him from Howden to Brooklands, Barnes and his wife Molly found a house they liked under construction in Beech Avenue, Effingham overlooking the 17th fairway of the golf club. From 1933 to April 1941, when he resigned because of his war work, he was Secretary and Vice Chair of the Parochial Church Council and played a major role in fundraising for church repairs. In 1936,
he joined a committee to raise funds to purchase 31 acres of land for a village playing field and he was one of seven trustees who bought the land in 1938 and became a member of the King George V Playing Fields Committee. He had a good singing voice and as a member of the Bookham Choral Society he sang at the Leith Hill Music Festival under the baton of Vaughan Williams.
Early in the war, Molly’s older sister and brother-in-law were killed in one of the earliest bombing raids on Epsom, orphaning their two sons. Barnes and Molly brought them to Effingham and adopted them. Barnes also joined the Local Defence Volunteers, later the Home Guard, to undertake fire watch duties. He also designed a system of large trestles for the golf course fairways as a defence against airborne landings.
Sir Barnes died on 30 October, 1979 at the age of 92 and he is buried in the south-east corner of St Lawrence churchyard together with Molly. The following year, on 27 February, Christ’s Hospital organised a Service of Thanksgiving for his life at St Pauls’ Cathedral in the presence of HRH Prince Charles, which I attended. The school choirs, orchestra and band provided a very moving service finishing with the band playing Eric Coates’ Dam Busters March. The address was given by Sir Barnes’ Old Blue biographer, Professor Jack Morpurgo.
The Christ’s Hospital Foundationers’ badge and his Armorial Bearings, both designed by Sir Barnes, bear an extract from an ode by Horace, which reads ‘Spernit humum fugiente penna’ and may be translated appropriately as ‘spurns the earth on soaring wings’. Appropriately, it can also be seen on his headstone in St Lawrence churchyard.
Colin Russell, CEng, FRAeS , RCDS, was a Vickers-Armstrongs apprentice in 1961 and rose to become a British Aerospace Vice President, Defence Marketing. Here, he remembers Sir Barnes Wallis’ career and the lesser known aspects of his generosity and philanthropy. Colin attended Christ’s Hospital, as did Sir Barnes, and is now one of its Governors.
Sir Barnes Wallis’ home life and the depth of his involvement in Effingham were chronicled in detail in 2019 by Vivien White, the Chairman of Effingham Residents Association to mark the 40th year after his death. Colin has used this comprehensive source for these aspects of this article. Vivien was also pivotal in organising two comprehensive exhibitions about Sir Barnes in 2019 and recently in 2022 in the impressive Tithe Barn in Effingham.
Barnes Wallis, standing between Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Lloyd and Flight-Lieutenant Eric Littlefield, as they meet RAF Foundationers at Christ’s Hospital
Sir Barnes Wallis at his desk in his house at Effingham where he was involved in fundraising for the local church and playing fields.
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GRAND PRIX D’ENDURANCE
Words: Gareth Tarr Photos: Bentley, Brooklands Museum Collection, Gareth Tarr
The sole Bentley 3-Litre that entered the first Le Mans 24-hour endurance race in 1923 was driven by John Duff and Frank Clement.
2023 marks the centenary of the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race. We look at that first race and the only British marque to enter, as well as the drivers from Brooklands who took on this challenge.
When John Duff heard of a new 24-hour non-stop motor race to be held in France in May 1923, he instinctively knew it was for him. He approached Walter Owen Bentley with his proposal to enter the ‘Grand Prix D’Endurance’ but got a less than enthusiastic reply. ‘I think the whole thing’s crazy. Nobody’ll finish,’ was WO’s riposte, unwilling to risk the reputation of his young company. Duff wasn’t so easily deterred having served as a captain on the Western Front during the First World War and been injured at Ypres. He had started racing at Brooklands in a pre-war S61 Fiat Grand Prix before moving to a 3-Litre Bentley in 1922 with which he set the Double-Twelve record at Brooklands, covering 2082 miles at an average speed of 86.79mph.
Duff’s persistence paid off, WO finally agreeing the works’ experimental department would prepare the car, supply two mechanics, and allow company test driver Frank Clement to partner Duff in the race. By 1923, the ancient city of Le Mans already had a significant connection with motor racing. In June 1906, on a triangular circuit on roads to the east of the city, the first ever Grand Prix was held, spread over two days. The winning Renault of Ferenc Szisz took 12 hours 14 minutes to complete 12 laps of the 64-mile circuit. The 1921 French Grand Prix, the first to be held after the war, was held on a 10.16-mile circuit to the south of the city, the same lap that was to be used 2 years later for the 24 hours.
The idea for a twice round-the-clock race was initiated at the 1922 Paris Motor Show during a meeting between the country’s leading motoring journalist, Charles Faroux, and the secretary-general of the Automobile Club de L’Ouest (ACO), Georges Durand. They obtained a guarantee of 100,000
francs sponsorship from Emile Coquille, the French concessionaire of British motorcycle component manufacturer Rudge-Whitworth. Rules devised by Faroux were published the following February for the event that was conceived as a reliability trial.
The initial Grand Prix D’Endurance was scheduled for 26-27 May. A few days before the race, the Bentley team set off for Le Mans. This consisted of the race car in which were the two drivers, Duff and Clement, the two mechanics, Arthur Saunders and Jack Bessant, and the few tools and spare parts they had space for. Duff had been convinced the Lionel Rapson-developed high-endurance tyre would last the race, so the Bentley carried no replacements. Meanwhile, WO remained in London, determined to show no interest, but by Friday morning his curiosity got the best of him. He picked up Sales Manager Arthur Hillstead and the pair caught a late afternoon train to Newhaven for the overnight boat to Dieppe. The rest of the journey by train via Paris was miserable as there were no refreshments available and the pair were relieved to be greeted by Duff and Clement at Le Mans railway station.
Thirty five cars were entered for the initial Le Mans race, although this was reduced by two at the start, the two Voisins having been scratched at the last minute. Apart from the sole Bentley, two Belgian Excelsiors were the only other non-French entries and they had the largest engines in the field at 5.3-litres. Next largest were three Lorraine-Dietrichs at 3.5-litres. Like the Bentley, entrants driving Chenard et Walcker, Berliet, Brasier, Rolland-Pilain, Corre La Licorne, Delage, and Ford-Montier cars had 3-litre engines. Cars with smaller than 1.1-litre engines were permitted twoseater bodywork and five cars competed
By the late 1920s, Bentley had adapted its cars to suit the Le Mans race and scored outright wins from 1927 to 1930. The supercharged ‘Blower’ version never won Le Mans, but one later set the Outer Circuit record at Brooklands.
in this class: a pair each from SARA and Salmson, plus a single Amilcar. The rest of the field came from Bignan, Georges Irat, Rolland-Pilain, Corre-La-Licorne, VinotDeguingand, and Bugatti. A hundred years on, only two of these marques are on sale today, although a revival of the Delage name is currently under way.
The race started at 4pm in a hailstorm
that soon gave way to rain that lasted four hours and none of the contestants had windscreen wipers. Although the Excelsiors started at the front, the lead soon became a battle between the two Chenard et Walckers of Lagache and Dauvergne, and Duff’s Bentley. By 7pm, the first driver changes began to take place, Duff giving way to Clement an hour later. Despite the
Glen Kidston, left, and Woolf Barnato, right, in the Bentley they drove to victory in the 1930 race.
Bentley quickly learned to fit stone guards to the headlights, fuel tank and radiator of its cars to help them survive at Le Mans.
The Bugatti Type 57 C nicknamed ‘The Tank’ that won the 1939 race driven by Pierre Veyron and Jean-Pierre Wimille. Veyron’s name was adopted for Bugatti’s 2005 hypercar.
Jaguar took over from Bentley as the pre-eminent British team at Le Mans, winning the race five times in the 1950s. This is the Flockhart/Sanderson D-type that won in 1956.
Ford GT40s line up for the traditional start at Le Mans in 1966. The Ford cars won the event four times in succession.
conditions, neither driver wore headgear or goggles. The rain returned during the night, making driving treacherous. Bentley was to suffer a setback when a stone smashed a headlight and later Duff narrowly missed Paul Gros’s Bignan when the French car burst a tyre.
Twelve hours in, the Bentley trailed the leading Chenard et Walcker by two laps, approximately 20 miles. Despite these
traumas, back in the pits WO Bentley was convinced this was exactly the type of race his cars should compete in. As dawn broke, the weather improved and the track began to dry out, the improved vision enabling the Bentley to increase speed, pulling one lap back and establishing new lap records, first Duff at 64.7mph and then Clement at 66.69mph. These prodigious speeds soon exposed one of the Cricklewood car’s main
weaknesses. It only had rear wheel brakes and on one occasion Duff had to use the escape road at the end of the Mulsanne Straight.
Shortly before midday, disaster struck. Another stone pierced a hole in the fuel tank, the Bentley stopping out on the circuit and Frank Clement had to run back to the pits. He picked up two bidons of petrol and a wooden plug, and borrowed a gendarme’s bicycle to return to his stricken car, scarily riding against the race traffic. After limping back to the pits and effecting a more permanent repair, the Bentley had lost 2 ½ hours but was able to complete the remainder of the race without drama.
The Lagache/Léonard Chenard et Walcker was the winner and WO was delighted to see his car home fourth. Lessons had been learned and the following year a new 3-Litre Bentley was prepared for Duff and Clement with brakes on all wheels and guarding for the lights, radiator and fuel tank. It was the only non-French car, but despite several difficulties which included attempted sabotage, the British car came home first ahead of a 5-litre LorraineDietrich. It was the beginning of the Bentley Boys era, a group of wealthy amateur drivers
Members President Damon Hill’s father Graham won Le Mans in 1972 with Henri Pescarolo in this Matra-Simca.
who partied hard and brought glamour and daring to Le Mans and Brooklands. The green cars won every 24 hours between 1927 and 1930, prompting Ettore Bugatti to dub them ‘Le camion le plus vite du monde’ – the fastest lorry in the world.
If Bentley dominated the early years of Le Mans, the 1930s were to see four consecutive wins for Alfa Romeo and 1935 was a surprise success for Lagonda. The following year, the race was cancelled due to national strikes in France and the decade ended with three home wins, Delahaye’s success in 1938 sandwiched between two for Bugatti. It took until 1949 before the race recommenced, a year notable for the first of nine Ferrari wins. One of the successful drivers in that comeback year, Luigi Chinetti, holds the unique distinction of having won the race both sides of the Second World War conflict, and he was an Italian citizen for the 1932 and 1934 drives but an American by the end of the war.
Much as Bentley had done earlier, Jaguar’s five wins in the 1950s did much to publicise the company’s name. The decade also saw Aston Martin’s sole win in 1959, although it should be said the company has had many class wins over the years. The race’s darkest hour came in 1955 when Levegh’s Mercedes-Benz left the track, killing the driver and more than 80 spectators. In the 1960s, Ford won four times, the 1969 victory for Detroit also being the first of six
for Belgium’s Jacky Ickx, his GT40 beating a Porsche by 100-metres at the line. 1970 witnessed the first of a record 19 wins for Porsche, a year also notable for the filming of Steve McQueen’s epic movie Le Mans
The Group C formula witnessed the ground-effect Porsche 956/962s winning six races and Jaguar a further two. 1988 saw local driver Roger Dorcy achieve a top speed of 405kph (252mph) on the Mulsanne Straight, which spooked the organisers into adding two chicanes on this famous stretch of the Route Nationale 138. In 1991, much improved pits were opened and the year also marked the first Japanese win, Mazda taking the honours and becoming the only car to do so with a rotary engine. The first two decades of the 21st century saw Audi
take 13 wins, including first victories for both diesel and hybrid engines. The most famous Audi driver is Dane Tom Kristensen, who won at La Sarthe a record nine times, which included being a Bentley driver for the marque’s sixth win in 2003.
The 2016 race had one of the most dramatic finishes. The leading Toyota stuttered to a halt with three minutes to go, allowing the Porsche 919 to snatch victory. Recent years have been dominated by Toyota, the only manufacturer in the top class, although new rules will see challenges from the likes of Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, and Porsche in 2023. A special winners’ trophy has been created for this year, where more than a quarter of a million fans will descend on La Sarthe over the weekend of 10-11 June, 2023 and millions more will follow events on TV and the internet. It is true Le Mans has done much to establish the reputation of many car manufacturers, but it’s also true the success of Bentley in the early years did much to confirm the reputation of the Grand Prix D’Endurance. Bon Anniversaire, Le Mans!
The special winners’ trophy that will be awarded to the victors of the centenary Le Mans race that runs in June this year.
Danish driver Tom Kristensen has won a record nine times at Le Mans, including in 2003 with Bentley.
Porsche enjoyed considerable success at Le Mans in the 1980s with the 956 and 962 cars. This is the 1983 race.
LONES STAR
Three was a magic number for Clive Lones when he competed in his Morgan at Brooklands. The same car is now on display at the Museum.
Words: Mike Forbes Photos: Brooklands Museum Collection, Mike Forbes, Motor Cycle, Wheelers
Clive Lones was a highly successful racer in Morgan Three-Wheelers, achieving many of his successes at Brooklands between 1928 and 1936 driving his 1928 Aero model with many different engines, mainly those made by JA Prestwich (JAP). This Morgan has for several decades been owned by Jerry Larke and is on longterm loan to Brooklands Museum, where it is normally on show to the visiting public. Clive Lones was born in Smethwick in 1895. Having ridden motorcycles from the age of 14, he bought a pre-war Morgan in 1920 and then a Blackburne-engined version in 1922. He tuned the side-valve engine so that it was competitive with others such as the 8-valve Anzani-powered cars, entered in competitions with his fiancée as passenger, and was soon succeeding at Brooklands and elsewhere. He was still using the overhead valve Blackburne engines in 1925 when he won
the HFS Morgan cup for the fastest Morgan at the prestigious Madresfield Speed Trial.
During a race at Brooklands in 1927, the tie bar broke on his Aero and both front chassis tubes bent. The more the tubes bent, the faster Lones went, so he reported this to HFS Morgan who immediately experimented and introduced the lowered suspension into his sports models.
Blackburne engines were proving fragile, so in 1928 Lones switched to JAP engines. Also in that year, he replaced the upper tail of his Aero with a canvas ‘hump’ which can still be seen to this day. Using spares from the JAP stores, in 1931 Lones built a water-cooled V-twin JAP engine of 735cc capacity which produced surprisingly good results over the coming years. With
V-twin JAP engines of capacities ranging from 731- to 1096cc, and single JAPs of 498- and 346cc, he took 37 World and class records at Brooklands. The best results were with the JAP JTOR of 996- and 1096cc capacity, for which Lones received a great deal of help and advice from ‘Barry’ Baragwanath, a master JAP tuner. It would be invidious to pick out a few successes in view of the very great wins achieved over
The achievements of Clive Lones and his Morgan 3-Wheeler
Clive Lones’ Morgan 3-Wheeler is on long-term loan to the Museum from owner Jerry Larke. This car was also one of the Morgan team cars that experimented with pits-to-driver radio contact in 1931. During the trial, the loudspeakers were defeated by noise, but the test attracted a great deal of press attention.
During its racing career with Clive Lones, the Morgan won more than 200 first places in speed events. It also won the Light Car Grand Prix three years in succession from 1928 to 1930, as well as taking second place in the 1932 and 1934 events. The car is notable for taking 37 world records at Brooklands in a single season, and it
earned Lones a Brooklands Gold Star for a 100mph lap in a 750cc unsupercharged Morgan. He was one of only two people to be awarded a Gold Star in the 1000cc class, and Lones also recorded a 68mph (109kmh) speed with a 350cc JAP-powered machine.
Clive Lones at the wheel of his Morgan Aero with 500cc engine at the 1929 Brooklands scratch race. His wife, Nel, is standing behind the car.
Lones changed his Morgan to a four-wheeler when three-wheelers were banned from car races in 1936. This photograph is at Prescott Hillclimb in 1938.
Jerry Larke, the Morgan’s current owner, in the driver’s seat with John Coates beside him.
Wednesday
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many years but a summary is given in one of the accompanying panels.
Three-wheelers were being banned from car races from 1936 and specialist sidecar racers were outclassing Morgans, so Lones converted his 1929 Aero into a four-wheeler by bolting an axle to the back. Named ‘Tiger Cat’, this car performed very well in hill climbs.
Around 1948, Lones removed the two rear wheels and restored the original three-wheeled format. He sold the car to an enthusiast who detuned the engine, equipped the car for the road and registered it EKG 505. It changed hands a couple of times and the JTOR JAP engine from the Rhodes Brooklands Morgan was fitted, which is still in place today. Eventually the car was willed to current owner Jerry Larke, who drives it at Brooklands on special occasions.
Lones built another four-wheeled car in which he competed in sprints and hillclimb events with considerable success and pioneered 500cc racing, but that’s a story for another day.
Mike Forbes is Editor of Chocks Away, the online Museum Volunteers magazine This article first appeared in the September 2022 edition of Chocks Away
Morgan Three-Wheelers at Brooklands
Three-wheelers were a popular choice of car in the early days of motoring courtesy of their lower tax rates. Morgan was perhaps the most prominent manufacturer of three-wheeled cars at the time and its cars were developed into fearsomely competitive machines for use at Brooklands and elsewhere.
Morgan made its debut at Brooklands in March 1912 in a cyclecar race run by the British Motor Cycle Racing Club. Entered by Henry Martin, it ran with a passenger tucked down low on the left-hand side of the cockpit to minimise wind resistance. The success of this equipe generated
Gwenda Stewart and Morgan
Gwenda Stewart, who was born Gwenda Glubb, stands as one of the most successful female drivers to compete at Brooklands. Some of this success came at the wheel of Morgan 3-Wheelers and she started this in September 1927 when Gwenda took several class records. Two years later, she set a stunning record of 100 miles at more than 100mph in a Morgan and followed this up with a 12-Hour record at 66mph. During this period, Gwenda was also using the Morgan to great effect at Montlhéry in France, setting many records and earning a name as a driver of considerable talent.
many orders for Morgan and the company followed up with a World 1-Hour Record in November 1912 of more than 55mph with HFS Morgan at the wheel. A few days after this, the same car and driver lifted the record to 59mph.
Gordon McMinnies was another noted Morgan driver and he found extra speed through reducing friction in the gears and increasing the size of the JAP engine’s valves. EB Ware also enjoyed success in a Morgan 3-Wheeler, winning 50-mile and 1-Hour records in the 750cc category. Ware also won a three-lap handicap race in his Morgan by a mere three yards at the finish line, which was as much a testament to the handicapper’s skill as Ware’s excellent driving ability.
The Morgan back in its original three-wheel configuration and on display at the Museum, kindly on loan from Jerry Larke.
The JA Prestwich V-twin engine dominates the front of the Morgan and provided the car with great performance when it competed at Brooklands and elsewhere.
members’ matters
Ralph Hooper 1926-2022
Ralph Spenser Hooper OBE, FREng, DCAe, CEng, MSc, FRAeS, MIMechE was a tall, quietly spoken man with a sharp intellect, dry sense of humour, and a prodigious memory. He was supreme at thinking logically through problems and concisely explaining his arguments and conclusions. After all, designing an aircraft is essentially solving a series problems leading to the configuration that will best satisfy the requirements of the ’customer’. He used to work by putting his thoughts down on whatever piece of scrap paper was to hand with only his last thoughts being typed up, if at all.
Fortunately for us, Ralph was a great keeper of documents of all types from his handwritten thoughts to final reports and drawings. When he retired, he took this collection home and gave it to the Brooklands Museum where it is housed in the Technical Archive. The full story of the design and development of Ralph’s finest creation, the jet V/STOL Hawker P.1127 and its Kestrel and Harrier developments, is preserved.
Ralph was born in Essex on 30 January, 1926 and spent his early years there before his family moved to Hull in 1933. He attended Hymers College, where he became interested in model aeroplanes and used his pocket money to buy balsa wood to create his own. During the war, he was evacuated to Pocklington and then became an engineering apprentice at the Blackburn aircraft company at Brough in January 1942. He gained a Diploma in Aeronautics from University College Hull before joining the new College of Aeronautics at Cranfield in 1946 to study aircraft design under ex-Hawker project engineer Robert Lickley. While there he took up gliding, which became a life-long interest, and went solo on their Tiger Moth in four hours and twenty minutes. He graduated with a Diploma of the College of Aeronautics in Aircraft Design in 1948 and joined Hawker Aircraft Ltd at Kingston Upon Thames, starting in the Experimental Drawing Office as a designer-draughtsman.
Ralph worked on the structural design of the Hawker Hunter fighter and its supersonic successor, the P.1083, until 1952 when he transferred to the Project Office. It was here that the preliminary design of future aircraft was carried out and was therefore the key to success or
failure for the company. In June 1957, Ralph began the work which led to the pioneering vertical and short take-off and landing (V/STOL) Hawker P.1127 fighter and was entirely responsible for originating the unique layout and engineering features of this remarkable vectored thrust design based on the Bristol BE 53 turbofan engine. He worked closely with its designer, Bristol engine’s project engineer Gordon Lewis, proposing twin rotatable exhaust nozzles and contra-rotation of the low and high pressure compressor-turbine shafts.
In 1961, Ralph was appointed P.1127 Project Engineer by Sir Sydney Camm, the Chief Engineer and Managing Director of Hawker. In this role, he was responsible for technical control of the project which resulted in the prototype successfully demonstrating controlled vertical takeoff, hovering flight and vertical landing in October 1959. As Chief Designer (Projects) from 1963, Ralph developed the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGAMk1 (Fighter, Ground Attack) V/STOL fighter which equipped an international evaluation squadron made up of pilots, ground crew and admin personnel from the Royal Air Force, the United States Air Force, Navy and Army, and the Luftwaffe. The Kestrel was the first jet V/ STOL aircraft in the world to be certificated for service use.
In 1961, Ralph initiated Hawker’s work on supersonic V/STOL and his P.1154 project won the NATO international design competition, NBMR 3, against contenders from major manufacturers in the USA and Europe as well as the other UK companies.
The competition collapsed but the P.1154 was adopted by the UK Government for the Royal Air Force. However, with the first aircraft well under construction, the Wilson administration cancelled Hawker Siddeley’s contract, together with TSR.2, for reasons of economy. However, a contract was awarded to develop the Kestrel as a less expensive alternative and Ralph directed this design effort that resulted in the famous Harrier.
Ralph was promoted to Executive Director and Chief Engineer in 1968 and was responsible for the Hawk jet trainer. Through Ralph’s foresight, the Hawk, famous as the Red Arrows’ mount, was a major export success. On the formation of British Aerospace in 1977, Ralph was appointed Technical Director of the Kingston-Brough Division. He led the effort in designing ASTOVL (Advanced Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing) aircraft, the ultimate project being the P.1216 fighter. When British Aerospace was reorganised in 1984, Ralph became Technical Director of the Weybridge Division and he retired in 1985, which he said was a mark of protest against how the company was being reorganised and managed. He contributed to the Joint Strike Fighter ASTOVL project developed in the USA by Lockheed Martin as the F-35, with significant assistance from BAE Systems, the new name for British Aerospace.
Ralph’s aircraft have served in the front line of the RAF for 34 years, with the Royal Navy for 24 years and have trained several generations of pilots, starting in
1976. Ralph joined the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1944 and was made a Fellow in 1970. In 1971, he received the Royal Society’s SG Brown Medal for his work on the development of Vertical Take-Off Strike Aircraft, nominated by IMechE. He was awarded the British Silver Medal for Aeronautics in 1975 and the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Gold Medal in 1986. In 1983 he shared, with colleague John Fozard, the Royal Society’s Mullard Award for significant advances in Britain’s international prestige and economic prosperity, and in 1979 was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. In 2008, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics granted Ralph the FE Newbold V/STOL Achievement Award.
Ralph was an experienced and accomplished glider pilot and a life member and stalwart supporter of the Lasham
Gliding Society where he was part of a syndicate that owned a Slingsby Kite. In the early 1990s, Ralph restored it as a flying vintage glider. He was a founder member of the Hawker Association and supported the Brooklands Museum, not least by donating his papers to the Technical Archive. In his younger days he was a keen skier, walker and mountaineer, even climbing high in the Everest massif. He built scores of plastic model aircraft kits which he never painted as he just wanted to study how other designers solved their problems.
Ralph Hooper was highly respected and admired by those who worked with and for him at Hawker Aircraft, Hawker Siddeley Aviation and British Aerospace, particularly at Kingston, Dunsfold, Brough and Hamble, and by Rolls-Royce colleagues at Filton and Derby together with many others in the Ministries and suppliers. Those who knew Ralph
In Memory of…
personally will have fond memories of him as a friend and colleague. If you visit the Vimy hangar, you can see a full size photograph of him next to the Harrier. Ralph died peacefully in his care home on 12 December, 2022, aged 96. May he rest in peace.
Chris Farara
Postcards from Brooklands
Several years ago my late wife and I were staying with friends in Gloucestershire and we were talking about Motorcycle Day at Brooklands where we are allowed a ride up Test Hill. When our friends said ‘We have some old postcards of Brooklands,’ and they went and got them to show us. I thought they were great and they said as I was a Member of Brooklands I could have them. When I got home, I scanned them and blew them up to A4 to frame them. They now hang in my garage with my classic motorbikes.
John Burch
Sadly, each issue we do lose some of our Members and we would like to pass on the condolences of the Brooklands Members, Chairman, and Committee to the families of the following who we have been notified have recently passed away.
Mr Bruce Hales-Dutton, a long-standing Member and Volunteer, who sadly passed away in December.
Mr Peter Jefferies, an Individual Member for nine years, who sadly passed away recently.
Mr Bryan Hills, an Individual Member for nine years, who died in the summer last year. Bryan loved Brooklands and it was one of his favourite places to visit.
Mrs Jenny Goddard, who was a Club Level Member with her husband Brian. Jenny passed away last year and had many happy times attending classic car events at the Museum.
Mrs Janice Sparrowhawk, a Club Level Member with her husband Gwyn, who passed away last year. Gwyn continues his membership with us.
Mrs Gladys Young, who held a Double Membership with her husband Victor for eight years. Gladys died last year, and Victor continues membership with us.
Mrs Carol Hardyman, a long-standing Double Member with her husband Philip, who sadly passed away at Christmas. Philip continues his membership with us.
Mr Rodney Ramsey, a Club Level Member for nine years, who passed away in March 2022.
Mr Nigel Brecknell, a long serving Member of some 27 years, Life Member for the last five years, and also a Volunteer with the marketing team. Nigel sadly passed away recently.
Get on track in 2023
To start the season on track, the Motorcycle Team has continued to work with Classic Bike Track (CBT) days to have a Brooklands group at their track day at Castle Combe on Saturday 15 April .
The cost for the day is £139, the same as last year, which will give us five track sessions in the Brooklands group, and you can enter more than one bike. We have 18 places in our group, and I anticipate they will go fast. If you want to ride, send me an email on john@int-elect .co.uk and I will send you the details to book a place.
A further development for 2023 is we have the opportunity to ride at CBT events during the year. These are:
15 April - Castle Combe £139
27-28 May - Welsh Classic Motorcycle Festival, Anglesey £239
15-16 July - Suzuki Live, Cadwell Park £229
28 July - Donington Park £189
25 Aug - Castle Combe £139
16-17 Sept - Cadwell Moto @ Cadwell Park £299
We will not have our own group unless 18 people want to attend any one of the events. What will happen is if you want to sign up individually for any days you can do so via the CBT website: https://www. classicbiketrackdays.com/ There is a point in the registration process where you are asked what level of group you want to join. If you indicate the slowest option, then you
Keen cyclist
will be allocated to an appropriate group. These are excellent value as these events have been held at 2022 prices. The Castle Combe day in April is free for spectators. If you have a bike and never ridden it on a racetrack, this is an opportunity to enjoy a unique experience on your bike. These sessions are not races and it is an opportunity to improve your riding capabilities. One of the Motorcycle Team member’s memories was from the first time he rode at Brands Hatch and he said: ‘As a boy, I used to spectate here at all the motorcycle events. I never thought that at nearly 70 years of age I would be able to ride a Manx Norton on this circuit.’
We are also looking for a volunteer to make a film of the day for us so that it can be used by both CBT and ourselves to promote the event in future. Please contact me on the email above.
John Bottomley
I was at my friend’s house talking about the days when we scrambled motor bikes in the 1950s and ’60s when his wife joined us and asked if I had ever heard of John Keen who rode and manufactured Penny Farthing-type bicycles in Surbiton.
Well, I had lived in Surbiton all of my unmarried life and always had an interest in the history of Surbiton, so this was quite a surprise. My friend had a pamphlet called Surbiton - birthplace of the ‘Ordinary’ Bicycle, which she gave me.
On reading the pamphlet, I found out there had been a cycle racing track on the Victoria Recreation Ground where I had often played cricket for a local team. It also surprises me that my Father knew nothing about John Keen as he had lived in Surbiton for 77 years. He had been a motorcyclist in his youth and a timekeeper at Brooklands for motorcycle races.
The photo at the bottom of the pamphlet is in the yard at the rear of The Angel Inn, Thames Ditton, still a popular place for modern day cyclists to meet on a Sunday morning.
John Burch
Times clipping
I came across this clipping from The Times while looking for something else. Who won the competition and what were their correct estimates of the mileage to win the car or motorcycle?
Terry Wright
MOTORCYCLES
If you are interested in selling your car or motorcycle and are looking for a prompt, hassle-free cash buyer! I am always very keen to add to my current stock, so please feel free to contact me for a no obligation discussion about your vehicle.
I am particularly interested in purchasing prestige, sports, classic, vintage, racing and competition cars and motorcycles, as well as any interesting or unusual models.
Complete collections purchased and all conditions considered, from barn-finds to concours. I will travel any distance for the right vehicle/s, and discretion is always assured. I am a cash buyer not an agent.
If you are looking for a specific vehicle then please also get in contact as I may have or could source what you are looking for?
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Nigel Brecknell obituary
Members’ Talks and BM.tv
Nigel would share the Members’ Office once a week on a Thursday, when he would arrive with magazines and newspapers under his arm that people had left in his cubby hole. Each had something of relevance to Brooklands inside and Nigel would cut out these items, then diligently paste them into a large and heavy book for posterity. He had come to Brooklands in 1992 via an organisation called REACH, which placed volunteers with suitable charities. This was ideal for Nigel as he was a classic car enthusiast, owning an Austin Chummy and Triumph Spitfire and latterly a modern classic in the form of a rakish two-seat Fiat Spider.
Prior to joining Brooklands, Nigel worked for Philips Group, beginning as an industrial engineer working on radio valves. He took early retirement as a senior systems analyst to concentrate on his family engineering concern. At Brooklands, he initially worked with Mike Goodall on fundraising and then moved over to marketing with Roger Ramage, where the cutting and pasting began along with a weekly summary sheet noting all appearances of Brooklands in the press and latterly on social media too. This was circulated internally and became what amounted to a weekly update and newsletter for staff.
Alongside his motoring enthusiasm, Nigel was also interested in aviation and photography. Two more interests that he could explore to the full at Brooklands, where he became the resident photographer for many years taking pictures at events and occasions for publication and forming the basis of a modern historical photo record. That included taking ‘mugshots’ of all staff members for circulation to Volunteers. Those archive photos of past staff members still remain and his picture here is one of those mugshots of Nigel himself.
Away from Brooklands, Nigel lived on the banks of the River Thames at Laleham with his wife Katie, who sadly passed away a few years ago. His funeral was at Woking Crematorium on 20 January and was attended by colleagues from Brooklands and family members.
Tim Morris
Members’ Office update
We are currently upgrading our membership systems. As a result, there may be some delays processing your renewals and we ask you to bear with us while this takes place. Thank you for your patience.
From washing cars for a garage to World Champion, Mike Wilds has done it all in motorsport, which made his talk on 19 January truly fascinating. It’s been in his blood for more than 50 years as a hugely successful racing driver and he kept the audience at Brooklands and online rapt with stories of the amazing cars and characters he’s met throughout his career. We also found out what Mike had written on the back wing of the BRM P201 he drove in the 1975 Argentine Grand Prix.
Following this on 16 February, Andy Richardson was as entertaining as he was informative about Britain’s V Bombers. His unique personal experience as a crew member of an Avro Vulcan added to a superb talk that left the whole audience much wiser by the end of what it was like to fly in these cutting edg e aircraft.
If you missed these superb evenings either in person or via video link, you can catch up with them on BM.tv. Also available on BM.tv now are videos from the New Year’s Day Classic Gathering, the start of the Monte Carlo Historique, and the Vintage Sports-Car Club Driving Tests at Brooklands. You can find these films at: www.youtube.com/c/BrooklandsMemberstv/ videos or: www.podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/brooklandsmembers-talks/id1449720627
You will also find a vast back catalogue of videos from Brooklands events to keep you amused, informed, and entertained. Whether you missed the original event or want to revisit a highlight at Brooklands, it’s all there to watch.
Image by Cliff Bolton
Readers may remember that the Brooklands Motoring Group attended the 2022 Jersey International Motoring. For my sins, I volunteered to organise a video of the event and, better late than never, here is the link: www.vimeo.com/787025882
I must thank Mark Jarman for doing all the hard work of putting the video together. I would encourage anybody who wants to do something different with their car or motorcycle this year to go to the Jersey festival. It is a very diverse event, and the locals are friendly and passionate about their motor sport. It is the only event I have been to where the civil authorities welcome noisy cars and motorcycles and expect them to be used in anger for the pleasure of both the entrant and the spectators.
I hope you enjoy the video. The section of the moonlight sprint does not do it justice as it looks quite dry, but in fact the rain was torrential for the whole evening. Thanks to Scenic Car Tours and everyone else who contributed to the video and photos from the event.
John Bottomley
Sarah Dover
Video tour
Chiron in profile
Formula 1 followers will be aware that Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc hails from the principality of Monaco, but he is far from being the first Monegasque to appear at the top level of motorsport. Louis Chiron was a leading driver between the wars and even entered the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix, making him the oldest driver to take part in a Formula 1 race.
His early success was with Bugatti, with whom he became European champion in 1928, but he subsequently raced for Alfa Romeo (Scuderia Ferrari), Mercedes-Benz, Talbot and Delahaye. Chiron’s only appearance at Brooklands was at the 1927 British Grand Prix where he finished fourth, and he also competed in the 1929 Indianapolis 500.
The first thing one should say about Rino Roa’s Chiron biography is that this is an Italian book with English text in parallel, the latter rather clunky (a not uncommon failing in translated car books). If you can get beyond that irritation, there is a detailed biography with more than 300 illustrations of one of the most outstanding drivers of his era. Alongside the story of Chiron’s career, the book goes into some detail of how the regulations changed each year and how that affected the entrants. We also learn about Chiron’s affair the Alice Trobeck, the wife of his entrant Freddy Hoffmann and who later left Chiron to become
True crime
Nobody wants to be the victim of crime, but we are all fascinated by it: just look at the television schedules or bestsellers lists. With its voracious appetite for money and glamorous image, it is no surprise that motor sport is a magnet for those from the wrong side of the tracks. Now in his book Driven to Crime Crispian Besley narrates more than 90 true stories of crime linked to the sport.
As a motor sport enthusiast and with a career of more than 30 years in The City, the author is in a rare position to report some of the corporate scandals that have damaged the sport. Drug dealing, false accounting, and Ponzi schemes are regular themes throughout. To the author’s credit, however, he has spread his remit further. Thus, we read of Fangio’s kidnapping at the 1958 Cuban Grand Prix, a publicity stunt rather than a serious threat to Il Maestro’s life. Then there was David Blakely, the unfortunate murder victim of Ruth Ellis, the last woman in Britain to be hanged; a sad incident for all concerned. You might remember Lord Brocket who hit the headlines when four classic Ferraris were ‘stolen’ from his collection, only to be subsequently found by police broken up in a shipping container in an attempted insurance fraud. The Great Train Robbery has fascinated the British public for decades and racing driver Roy James was one of the gang, and Besley doesn’t miss that one.
Many of the names may be familiar even if the crime story isn’t. Bertrand Gachot, Tomas Scheckter, Adrian Sutil, David Thieme, and Jean Pierre Van Rossem all had brief if notorious fame. In Formula 1 paddocks you will have seen Jos Verstappen, father of double world champion Max, but do you know about his dark past and violent temper? The stories of Bernie Ecclestone, Max Mosely and Colin Chapman are more familiar but worth re-telling.
On the other hand, how many of us knew of the Nazi connections of autocratic former FIA President Jean-Marie Balestre, a story he tried to suppress and explain with an opaque cover
Rudolf Caracciola’s second wife.
Chiron’s legacy is celebrated in the modern Bugatti Chiron and visitors to Monaco will find a bust of the champion on the harbour wall. The author has also written biographies of Rudi Caracciola and Giuseppe Campari, although these are in Italian only.
Gareth Tarr
story. It should be said that not all the names mentioned are the perpetrators of the crime involved, some are often victims, for example team owners who don’t look too closely at the credentials of the ‘millionaires’ who appear by miracle as saviour of their equipe.
Crispian Besley is to be congratulated on an original book. Each story is entertainingly written with a strong balance between telling a good tale and describing interesting detail. Every chapter stands on its own, meaning the book doesn’t have to be read in one take. Indeed, completing the book over an extended period might be beneficial as some stories have a similarity. An ideal book to take on one’s travels then, and one which will appeal to non-motor sport enthusiasts as well as dedicated tifosi.
Gareth Tarr
Driven to Crime by Crispian Besley is priced £40. Published by EVRO Publishing: ISBN 978-1-910505-70-0
Louis Chiron by Rino Rao is priced €49. Published by Asi: ISBN 889-8344-72-4
AROUND THE COLLECTION
Brooklands Members
Members’ Administrator
Sarah Dover 01932 857381 ext 226 Tues-Fri 9am-2pm members@brooklandsmuseum.com
Chairman
Neil Bailey 07970 206778 chairman@brooklandsmembers.co.uk
Clifford Bolton, John Bottomley, John Burch, Burlen Fuel Systems, Sarah Dover, Chris Farara, Mike Forbes, Martin Gegg, Andrew Lewis, Tim Morris, Julian Nowell, Colin Russell, Harry Sherrard, Gareth Tarr, Mike Venables, Terry Wright
Advertising, Design and Production: Hine Marketing, Tel: 01452 730770 Hill Farm Studios, Wainlodes Lane, Bishops Norton Gloucestershire GL2 9LN
E-mail: nick@hinemarketing.co.uk
Address change and Bulletin distribution queries 01932 857381 ext 226 members@brooklandsmuseum.co.uk
Chairman Sir Gerald Acher CBE LVO gerryacher@brooklandsmuseum.com
CEO Tamalie Newbery ext 243
Executive Director, Engagement, Heritage and Operations
Alex Patterson ext 247
Visitor Experience Manager
Jenny Pettit ext 302
Volunteer & HR Manager
Aimee Nelson ext 303
Learning Officer
Laura Barclay ext 257
Curatorial and Archive Enquiries
Andrew Lewis ext 246
Head of Track and Air Events
Steve Castle ext 244
Concorde Bookings ext 266
flyconcorde@brooklandsmuseum.com
Hospitality Sales Manager
Andrew Webber ext 251
hospitality@brooklandsmuseum.com
Marketing Director
Sam Hart ext 225
Email addresses are available on the Museum website www.brooklandsmuseum.com/about/ contact-us
Beatrice Shilling OBE PhD
MSc CEng was a product of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) ambassadors before such things existed. Born in 1909, the daughter of a Waterlooville butcher, her engineering career was possible thanks to two women, Margaret Partridge and Caroline Haslet.
transferred to The Engine Department.
Dame Caroline Harriet Haslett, DBE, JP was a Suffragette and had a passion for engineering. She subsequently qualified as an electrical engineer and became the Organising Secretary for the Women’s Engineering Society (WES). Margaret Partridge BSc, MIEE helped Beatrice with her apprenticeship. Margaret, the founder President of the WES, was a pioneering electrical engineer and responsible for the domestic electrification of many Devon towns and villages. In 1934, she campaigned to change the International Labour Organisation convention on night work for women after Beatrice was found working on her own in a power station at night, contravening the existing regulations.
Margaret persuaded Beatrice to study electrical engineering at the University of Manchester. She received a bachelor’s degree in 1932 and stayed on to get a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering. After the role of Research Assistant, she became Scientific Officer at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). After a spell as a Technical Author, she
Parking arrangements
Most famous for her modification to prevent fuel starvation in the Merlin V12 aero engine, Beatrice also led a team of engineers to modify aircraft at RAF bases and played a pivotal role on many projects, including Blue Streak and the effect of wet runways on braking. Her forthright rejection that women were inferior to men in the field and contempt for bureaucracy often led to an uneasy relationship with management.
Beatrice married fellow RAE employee George Naylor in 1938 and after the war they raced a modified Lagonda Rapier, moving to an Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite, usually at Goodwood Members’ Meetings and scoring a number of third places and a race win. In 1967, Beatrice solved overheating problems with Dan Gurney’s Eagle Mk1 Formula 1 car. After previous poor results, it won the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch and the team’s only championship victory at the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix.
Beatrice is celebrated at locations across Hampshire and, fittingly, the family butcher’s shop is now an electrical retailer.
Martin Gegg
Please note that for all events marked ‘Parking in The Heights’, designated vehicles only can enter via the Campbell Gate, off Brookland’s Road. All other Members including Club level and visitors please park in The Heights or main public car park unless otherwise specified. Members with a Blue Badge may park on-site using the Campbell Gate entrance.
Parking arrnagements for other weekend events are: Club Level Members: entry via Campbell Gate. Period and classic vehicles may park outside the Paddock. Other vehicles to park in the Campbell Car Park adjacent to the Race Bays. Please abide by staff directions..
All other Members and visitors: entry via main public entrance off Brooklands Drive.
This issue of the Brooklands Bulletin (incorporating The Spirit) is published on behalf of Brooklands Members, supporters of Brooklands Museum Trust Ltd, by Hine Marketing, Hill Farm Studios, Wainlodes Lane, Bishops Norton, Gloucestershire GL2 9LN. The statements and opinions expressed in the Bulletin are not necessarily those of the Brooklands Members’ Committee or Brooklands Museum Trust Ltd.
While every effort has been made by the Publishers to include correct information, they are unable to accept responsibility for errors or omissions. The Publishers, Brooklands Members and Brooklands Museum Trust Limited cannot accept responsibility in the event of misinformation or lack of source relating to images supplied by a third party by electronic or other means. Charity number 296661. Please quote this if making donations or requesting them via a funeral director.
Period style seat belts for pre-1973 vehicles, not forgetting your modern classic post-1973
• Seat belts and harnesses supplied and fitted
• Bespoke service • Original belts refurbished
• New original equipment available on certain vehicles
