Brooklands Bulletin Issue 74 March/April 2022

MARCH-APRIL 2022

brooklands bulletin

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contents

brooklands bulletin

The Journal of Brooklands Members

Welcome

Have you seen it? Of course, I’m referring to the new series of Secrets of the Transport Museum, which started at the beginning of February. It was such a pleasure to see Brooklands back on television. What always amazes me with the series is the passion of everyone, whether it’s the many Volunteers, the dedicated staff, or the hugely knowledgeable Members, everyone has a desire to improve the site and the experience of all those who visit. Little wonder that Middlechild, the television production company behind the programme, found it so easy to create a second series.

It’s also wonderful to see the Museum opening up again and a full calendar of events planned out for 2022. There really is something for everyone at Brooklands this year and I’m looking forward to attending some of the events. Hopefully, after the past couple of years of disruption because of ‘you know what’, we shall get to meet in person.

It’s one of the great privileges of editing the Bulletin that I am able to talk with so many Members. Your enthusiasm for everything to do with Brooklands is inspiring.

Many such conversations are the starting point for the features that appear in the Bulletin. If you think you have an idea for a feature, please do get in touch as often what can seem like a small, passing curiosity turns out to be of huge interest to many Members. Take the story in this edition about the spectator tunnels, which resulted from a small mention in a previous issue. Who knows, your idea could end up as part of a television series!

Alisdair Suttie Editor Brooklands Bulletin Front Cover photo: Brooklands Museum Collection

Become a Member Brooklands Members is the official support organisation for Brooklands Museum and is dedicated to raising funds for the preservation of the historic Brooklands site.

Members receive the Bulletin six times per year and enjoy free admission to the Museum, except when major events are taking place, in which case additional charges may apply. Club Level Members have access to the Clubhouse Bar on Thursday, Friday and Sunday lunchtimes.

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.

17 22

28 REGULARS

FEATURES

News.....................................4

An innovative year...............17

Museum Updates...................7 Letters.................................12 Forthcoming Events.............15

Flying first............................22 The hole story......................28

Members’ Matters...............42

Filming secrets at

Reviews...............................49

Brooklands...........................34

Around the Collection..........50

Varsity challenge..................36

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36 MARCH - APRIL 2022 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

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news New Secrets of the Transport Museum revealed

Brooklands is back on television with a brand-new series of Secrets of the Transport Museum (SOTTM). The 10-part series takes another peek behind the scenes to find out what makes the Museum tick.

There are unique insights into the history of Brooklands and the people from its past and present. Each new episode goes out at 9pm on Tuesday evenings on the Yesterday channel.

The second series started on 1 February, and you can catch up on the first few episodes on UKTV Play for free if you missed any.

You can also catch up on the first series of SOTTM on UKTV Play.

Among the fascinating stories told in the new series are how a Sopwith Camel is made flight-ready, how the McLaren exhibition came together, and a head-to-head contest between the NapierRailton and Brough Superior motorcycle.

There’s plenty more action as Brooklands Volunteers take John Surtees’ sidecar outfit for a ride, and we meet Adrian Ward who has put together a painstaking replica of the Jappic car that competed at Brooklands.

Brooklands Museum CEO Tamalie Newbery said: ‘Secrets of the Transport Museum has provided us with a wonderful opportunity to show the world some of the dedicated volunteers we have at the Museum, and celebrate the unique stories of British innovation, endeavour and entrepreneurship at Brooklands, both past and present.’

A full list of what’s featured in each episode is available at: www.brooklandsmuseum.com/explore/secrets-of-the-transportmuseum/secrets-of-the-transport-museum-episode-guide

Vintage Sports-Car Club Driving Tests

The organisers of the 2022 Vintage SportsCar Club’s (VSCC) New Year’s Driving Tests couldn’t have booked a better day thanks to a clear blue sky and mild temperatures.

The harsh low winter sun did present competitors with an additional challenge to those already set by Clerk of the Course Kevin Lee, who named the individual tests after 1922 Brooklands events, such as The Amazing AC. Peter Batty is becoming something of a Brooklands maestro, following up his October victory with top spot again and scoring 437.6 points. Peter’s Ford Model T, which he shared with Jack Harvey, is clearly the type of car to go for in these events as it’s light, wieldy and with good acceleration.

It was running in the Modified Sports Car Class. The six runners who scored less than 500 points all came from this class, while Annabel Jones in her Frazer Nash Boulogne Vitesse in the Standard Sports Class just missed out with 500.9 points.

4

The Driving Tests are not just about fierce competition, and the likes of Leslie Searle in the impressive Lagonda V12 and Sir Gerald Acher, the Brooklands Trustees’ Chairman, in his Ford Model A were having just as much fun trying to avoid the all too easy to hit traffic cone markers. If you have an exotic such as Alex Pilkington’s Zagato-bodied Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 or Mark Davenport’s Aston Martin Mk2, it was a great day to stretch its legs. Andrew Howe-

BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

Davis in his modestly powered Peugeot Quadrilette, the only left-hand drive car in competition, was having as much enjoyment as anyone.

It was also pleasing to see many period cars in the Paddock, as well as those in competition. You can see action from the VSCC Driving Tests on BM.tv at: www.vimeopro.com/brooklands members/vscc Gareth Tarr

news Message from Members’ Chairman It was disappointing that our popular New Year’s Day event had to be postponed due to Covid, but you will be pleased to know the event will now be held on Saturday 16 April, renamed the Easter Classic Gathering, and I look forward to seeing you there.

You can find out more details in the news story here.

On 13 January, we were able to hold the first of our 2022 Talks Programme in the Napier Room, to hear Tiff Needell in conversation with the new Head of our Talks Team, Harry Sherrard. It was an enjoyable and very entertaining event, and it was good to see so many Members and guests enjoying the unique atmosphere in our Clubhouse again.

We also had a record number of Members joining the livestream service, which I am sure will continue to be popular, especially in the winter months with Members who live further away. It was the first talk that I had attended in person for several months and it gave me the opportunity to see the very impressive equipment that we have purchased to facilitate our digital output in action, and to chat to the equally impressive and professional team that make it all happen. Although the event was held under Plan B Covid restrictions, these have now been lifted, so future talks will be much more like the events that we enjoyed pre-Covid. Of course, we all appreciate the need for great care and caution, good ventilation, and above all a sensible and proportionate transition to the ‘new normal’.

Over the past year, it has become apparent that a significant number of Members are not receiving their newsletter, and it seems there are two reasons for this, both of which can easily be rectified.

Firstly, please check your spam or junk email folders, or ‘Promotions’ if you use Gmail, and if you find your newsletter residing there, move it to your inbox and confirm that it is not spam. Secondly, please check that the email that you provided when joining or renewing is still current, as our superb administrator Sarah Dover does a brilliant job, but is not telepathic, so please let her know if your email has changed.

Still on the subject of communication, please regularly check our social media posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter if you use those networks. Our social media presence is managed by Tim Morris, who as many of you will be aware was our Membership Administrator until his retirement in 2019. Tim also hosts a programme on Brooklands Radio (www.brooklandsradio.co.uk) every month. The programme is called The Track and is broadcast at 1pm on the last Thursday of each month, repeated on the first Wednesday of the following month at 7pm. The programme can be accessed via the website above, together with a catch-up service to listen to previous episodes, and all episodes can be heard on BM.tv’s podcast channel: www.soundcloud.com/brooklandsmembers/sets/ the-track. Or, you can ask Alexa (other smart speakers are available) to ‘play Brooklands Radio’. Please be clear when you speak, as ‘Brooklyn Radio’ sounds very similar, but unsurprisingly the content is rather different! Tim has worked hard to produce a varied and interesting programme, which I think you will enjoy, so I recommend you try it and hear for yourself.

I’m looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible during the full and exciting programme of events at the Museum throughout 2022, and hopefully with no disruptions this year!

Neil Bailey

Easter Classic Gathering The unique Easter Classic Gathering will be held on Saturday 16 April and more than 1000 classic cars and vehicles are expected to attend.

All pre-31 July 1992 cars are invited to park on site and multiple gates will be open on the day, so please check which one you require and follow the parking direction guide.

As well as the vast array of classic cars, motorcycles and other vehicles at the Easter Classic Gathering, there will be live music and a barbeque. Other food outlets will also be available to cater for all tastes on the day.

Gates will open to all vehicles at 9am on 16 April and the Museum buildings and displays will be open as normal from 10am to 5pm. The Members’ Restaurant will be open from 9am, with pre-booking required for lunches.

Members enjoy free entry to the Easter Classic Gathering, while tickets for non-Members cost the same as normal Museum admission prices. For more information, check the website at: www.brooklandsmuseum.com

Autocar Award for Steve Clarke

Brooklands Member and former Talks organiser Steve Clarke has been recognised in the prestigious Autocar Awards for his work to promote Brooklands.

Autocar’s Group Editor Steve Cropley said: ‘Steve has organised and fronted talks, shows, events and displays for the Brooklands Members. His 140 events have attracted more than 17,000 people to the Museum over the years. Steve also put in sterling work as Members’ Administrator.’

Others paid tribute to Steve winning the award and Peter Selby said: ‘It is great to see Steve’s efforts rewarded by Autocar. For us, Steve is a “national heritage icon” and we’re all very happy to have helped Steve with his work.’

Steve is certainly keeping exalted company with the other winners, who included Professor Gordon Murray, Jim Farley, Claire Williams, and Baron Montagu of Beaulieu.

Brooklands Member Tim Morris added: ‘This is seriously welldeserved recognition for Steve.’

Collings correction In the January-February issue, we incorrectly identified the driver of the Blitzen Benz. It should have read Ben Collings as the driver, the noted historic restorer and racing driver. Our apologies to Mr Collings and to Members for any confusion.

Editor MARCH - APRIL 2022 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

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BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

MUSEUM updates Chairman’s Message When I penned my message six months ago, I reflected that the previous 18 months had been an absolute roller coaster for us all. Little did I know that this would continue with a vengeance. Last spring we were made aware that, because of Covid, our catering contractor could not continue to offer the previous extremely beneficial financial terms and we had to rapidly bring the service in house. This was done in full recognition that while long-term this would give us greater flexibility, short-term the timing could not have been worse, immediately before our busiest season since 2019. But Amanda Squires, our Chief Operating Officer, rose to the challenge and we are already seeing the benefits as hospitality income is critical to our operation.

We have had an excellent summer and autumn where numbers and yields were up on the comparable periods in 2019. Just as we were gearing up for an exciting New Year’s Day, the tsunami of Omicron descended on us. With increasing staff sickness, contractors withdrawing, and the Government requirement to check everyone entering the site for a valid covid passport, the event, tragically, had to be postponed until Easter Saturday.

So, as I look forward post-Covid, we are emerging stronger and more confident than we could ever have imagined. We owe a debt of gratitude to government and to our loyal members and supporters and, having received more than £2m in grants and donations, the financial impact of Covid has been massively blunted.

Our master-plan work will hold us in good stead, while the partnerships that Museum CEO Tamalie Newbery has commenced are bearing fruit. The work with Heritage Skills Academy, McLaren Automotive, and the Bourne Education Trust goes from strength to strength and underpins the refocussing of the Museum’s agenda to being strongly STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) based. We are working with Lord Andrew Mawson and Professor Brian Cox to deliver a year-round programme for 400 secondary school students to culminate in a one-day event at Brooklands in the autumn.

This exciting development will bring science and engineering to youngsters at an earlier age and this will be the first tranche of a threeyear partnership. We shall also be strongly supported by commercial

partners such as Cargill and McLaren Automotive.

Meanwhile, Brooklands Members are now close to precovid numbers with new memberships accelerating well. Steve Clarke has now handed over the very successful Talks programme to Harry Sherrard. I’d personally like to thank Steve for all he has done over recent years in bringing our talks to such a high standard. We wish Harry every success in his new role. Covid resulted in us advancing our streaming capabilities and Tiff Needell’s recent excellent talk was watched physically by some 200 members and a further 75 remotely. BM.tv under Mark Jarman has made massive strides during Covid with people all over the world now watching our YouTube channel.

We are still far from being out of the Covid woods. The government has helped us over the last two years but, in 2022, non-event visitors will not return to their previous levels overnight. We must develop a far stronger financial resilience than we have demonstrated in the past. So, our events programme this year is going to be more packed than usual with the return of most of our favourite events, but bigger and better than usual. In 2022, we shall be celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Sunbeam Land Speed Record, the Jaguar centenary, and welcoming a large gathering of Aston Martins in August.

I’d like to close by thanking you all for your support over the last difficult two years, as well as the support of Tamalie and her staff, Neil Bailey and his committee, and all our Volunteers. May the sun shine on us all this year!

Sir Gerald Acher

MARCH - APRIL 2022 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

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museum updates Ford 10 CLK 179 has been owned by a Weybridge family since 1937 and the car was donated to the Museum in 1990 by Miss Steadman, whose Father bought the vehicle when it was just nine months old. The Museum decided that having an everyday car like the Ford 10 Model C would represent an event in 1939 when the Ford Motor Company held its Gymkhana at Brooklands.

By all accounts, it was a great success and a very well attended event.

As CLK 179 has been quietly sitting on display, it was decided that visitors might appreciate some of the cars running around the site and showing their abilities. After the 2020 lockdown, the Motoring Team chose the Ford 10 and several other static exhibits, the Morris 8 among them, to run on a regular basis. With her tyres pumped up, battery replaced, and fresh fuel in its tank, the Ford was started and test run.

However, it was obvious that all was not well, with the clutch and steering proving to be difficult. This is where the Museum joined the Ford Y and C Model Register, a well-run owners club and great source of expertise.

Regular readers will know that an amount of tinkering has been done to this car over the years to bring her back to running order, but the clutch has always proved to be challenging and the steering vague. After some discussion and advice,

it was decided that access to the clutch could be obtained by removal of the engine and gearbox. The alternative would require the rear wheels, back axle, and prop shaft to be removed. As it turned out, once the engine and gearbox had come out, and the radiator and grille dismantled, the cause of the problems were obvious. The clutch friction plate was covered in grease, due to excessive filling of the grease point over a number of years we think. New clutch parts were fitted and the whole area given a thorough clean.

Ford designed the front steering and suspension on a solid cross axle, held in place by an A-frame. This frame was secured in position at each end and under the gearbox by a simple rubber ball. Our

BE Mercury Tug ‘Sid’ The little tug was removed from the poly tunnel in November 2021 as part of the re-evaluation and reorganisation project that was designed to bring as many of the vehicles appropriate to Brooklands into view, and to house the remainder in better, weather-resistant conditions. The tug has spent some years in the poly tunnel awaiting the correct colour of paint to be found, so when ‘Sid’ emerged with the previously ‘paint prepared’ surface, it was showing signs of rust and the four small tyres were very flat.

Preparing the surface of the metal has commenced as the paint is now available, though this will be slow and steady progress as winter is not the best time for applying paint of any kind. As for the tyres, which are well past their best, hopefully we can find the correct replacements

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BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

ball had disintegrated into a sticky, black mess allowing everything to move. The whole area was cleaned and the rubber ball clamp plate removed. The replacement ball was attached to the A-frame, the assembly offered up and clamped. However, the process proved tricky and advice was sought from David Tanner, the Y and C club technical advisor.

With the engine and gearbox cleaned and bolted back together, it was reinstated back in the car. The engine was run up before refitting the radiator and grille. The clutch is now a dream and the steering positive and safe, so the little Ford is showing off her best abilities to the public at every opportunity.

John Philips

museum updates

Morris Minor Aero Engine Testbed Also retrieved from storage as part of the re-evaluation project, the Morris Minor Aero Engine Testbed was assessed. This vehicle has been stored at the back of one of the entrance tunnels. Sadly, since the tunnel’s restoration and opening some years ago, it has deteriorated significantly due to the condition of the Track immediately above and now regularly floods, with up to four inches (10cm) of standing water along half its length.

The Morris is showing the effects of these damp conditions, with numerous rust spots across the bodywork. Paint aside, it is mechanically not too bad. The Motoring Team has got her running, although the radiator requires a minor repair, the brakes need adjusting, and the driver’s door doesn’t close.

The request from the Museum to get her running was made so an aero engine can once again be mounted on the purposebuilt frame at the rear of the vehicle. Julian Aubert, our resident

light aircraft expert, has already mounted a small DAF engine on the frame, but he is fashioning a space plate to give the propeller sufficient clearance before it is bolted in place.

Lagonda The badge adorning the magnificent radiator grille on the front of the Lagonda has been loose for some time, so an investigation was undertaken to find the cause and a possible remedy. Sadly, a pin is missing from the rear of the badge and an initial solution to replace it would involve dismantling much of the front of the car to gain access. A second plan is being hatched that may involve a dab of glue and a stick!

Hillman Aero Minx During recent running, it was discovered the battery isolator switch had failed. This is an important extra on vehicles of this age that suffer from infrequent use as it prevents the battery from draining during storage. The first replacement proved ‘testing’ to fit, until it was found that one of the bolts was fouling the bodywork. A second isolator switch was obtained with a simpler design, which slotted in with ease.

MARCH - APRIL 2022 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

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museum updates Merryweather Fire Engine The last vehicle moved as a result of the re-evaluation effort was the Merryweather Fire Engine. She was also stored in the same entrance tunnel as the Morris Minor, but being immediately behind the doors the Merryweather was often being showered by water from the roof while also standing in water. With access requiring the use of wooden pallets from the Bus Museum and stout Wellington boots, getting her out was becoming increasingly difficult. This was particularly so because of the mud that covered the access road right outside.

We retrieved the Merryweather from the tunnel in October 2021 and, after running around the site and a first drive by yours truly, she was parked outside the Dunlop Mac Shed until a suitable alternative could be found. With the removal of items and the rearranging of the poly tunnel, she just about squeezed inside.

It’s still not an ideal location for access and running, but at least the fire engine is dry and standing on firm ground.

Debbie Crawt

Austin 7 Speedy The little Austin, one of our privately owned vehicles, spent some time parked in the former soft play area, but it was moved recently when work began on the Napier staircase. That gave the team the opportunity to run her for the first time in months. She started and

Antifreeze It seems strange that on 23 December, with the temperature way above the seasonal average at 10-degrees Centigrade, we were checking antifreeze.

However, even with a forecast of more mild weather over the Christmas period, we agreed we should check those vehicles that were outside. We started with the larger exhibits, such as the Bedford Mobile ATC Unit and BMC Bowser, which were checked and found to be okay. Moving on to the smaller vehicles, the BOAC and BEA van, and the Morris Eight were looked over and deemed in good shape, so it was on to the Ford 10 Model C, which required a top up to give it protection to -10-degrees Centigrade. After that, it was back to the workshop to update the vehicle records.

Paul Wheaton

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BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

ran well, but a small adjustment was required to the battery housing to stop the terminals touching the metal of the bonnet. We now look forward to the owner visiting the Museum and driving the car himself.

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letters The name game

Dear Sir, I read with interest the article The name game in the January-February issue of the Bulletin and I am able to add some information.

Page 35: Count Louis Zborowski was able to compete with the Higham Special at Brooklands before his fatal accident at Monza in October 1924. He attended a meeting held at Brooklands on the 24 April, 1924 and entered two races, the 38th 100mph Short Handicap, but retired with a punctured nearside rear tyre, and the second race was the 23rd Lightning Short Handicap in which he came third, his fastest lap being 116.91mph.

Page 36: Felix Scriven built a car to his own design and fitted it with a Sage engine.

It was referred to as Felix but registered with Brooklands as Mother Goose. He later fitted a Hooker Thomas engine and re-registered the car as Nanette after the Broadway musical No, No, Nanette.

Page 39: Pietro Bordini is actually Pietro Bordino.

Best regards, Clive Roberts

Audax interest

Dear Sir, I thoroughly enjoy investigating my family history and recently researched my second cousin twice removed Sergeant Gordon Percival Alan Harris. Unfortunately, he died on 7 May, 1939 at Redhill Airport when he crashed while landing his plane, a Hawker Audax, registration K5593. He was just 26-years old, and according to a report on the Aviation Safety Network website: Flying Accidents Sgt. Gordon Percival Alan Harris, flying solo, lost his life in an accident which

Regards, Sylvia Gillies

Parry Thomas and Blue Bird

Further prop explanation Dear Sir, Further to Adam Hermitage’s letter in the Jan-Feb issue, I can add a little more to the incident.

Dear Sir, I have just read the article in the JanuaryFebruary Bulletin about unusual names applied to cars and saw the reference on page 36 to one called Slippery Anne, with the suggestion that there was no known or obvious reason for this name.

I was prompted to see if the British Library newspaper archive might give me any clues and found what is probably the answer quite quickly. Given the point made in the article about the many links of terminology to horse racing, I suppose it was obvious.

Slippery Ann (no ‘e’) was a race horse in the period 1925-26 and it won a race at Hurst Park in March 1926. Perhaps the car’s owner hoped for the same result.

Dear Sir, I found the article by Tim Morris on the names of some notable Brooklands cars very entertaining. However, I should like to make a couple of comments on the narrative.

First, may I point out that the name of John Godfrey Parry Thomas was not hyphenated. It seems that he started to be referred to as ‘Parry Thomas’ to avoid confusion with the French racing driver and aviator René Thomas and, at some point, an unnecessary hyphen was added.

Second, I have always understood that Malcolm Campbell’s cars and boats were all named Blue Bird and it was his son, Donald, who adopted Bluebird as the name for his own land and water speed record cars and boats.

Yours sincerely, David Snow

Yours faithfully, Paul Ross

12

occurred at Redhill on 7 May, 1939, to an aircraft of No. 15 Elementary and Reserve Training School, Redhill.

Hawker Audax MkI K5593, 15 E&RFTS, Redhill: Written off (damaged beyond repair) 7/5/39 in a collision with stationary Fairey Battle Mk1, K7649 (also of 15 E&RFTS) on landing at Redhill Aerodrome, Redhill, Surrey. Pilot - Sgt Gordon Percival Alan Harris (aged 26) - was killed.

I was completely enthralled, therefore, with the article on the Hawker Audax in the Jan-Feb 2022 Bulletin which arrived the day after my discovery of Gordon’s accident. It was interesting to read all about the development of the aircraft and to see the photographs of it, supplied by Brooklands.

Many thanks for publishing this article.

BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

My Grandfather farmed Jury Farm, East Horsley and my Aunt Mary lived at nearby Broom House. The plane crashed about 100-metres from her house and, during the 1960s, my brothers and I would often unearth small pieces of aluminum from the wreck site.

My mother witnessed the dogfight, saying the Me 110’s went into a defensive circle while the attacking Hurricanes flew in the opposite direction with all guns blazing. As the doomed aircraft started to dive, one of the crew bailed out. A 12year old evacuee who was staying at the farm grabbed my Grandfather’s 12-bore shotgun and started running towards the parachute, but he was stopped by my mother. The crew member was very badly wounded.

As a postscript, a couple of years later my Uncle was ploughing the nearby field early one morning and saw something glinting in the hedge. It was a watch from one of the aircrew, the strap having been severed by a bullet.

Regards Nick Westbrook

LETTERS Museum environment

Dear Sir, I am writing to compliment the Museum on the number and variety of events you stage across the year. I have made good use of my new membership card and attended as many as possible this past

year. Attached is a photo of me and my neighbour, both new Members, arriving for the Italian Day. However, I wish to offer two suggestions, both with reference to current thoughts for the environment: 1. As far as I can determine, there is no publicly available water fountain and refill station for drinking water bottles.

A simple and accessible water outlet, similar to those seen in airports would allow visitors to access drinking water and reduce the numbers of single use plastic water bottles used on any one day.

2. I note you provide a number of waste bins strategically placed around the grounds, but there is no separation

of discarded items into recyclable versus landfill waste. Waste bins that allow users to sort deposited items would assist the Museum in its recycling efforts I would be interested in your comments.

Regards, Peter Both Thank you for your suggestions. The Museum is working to improve recycling around the site for visitors, Volunteers, and staff as it takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously. We are also keen to ensure all visitors can access water, though this has been difficult in recent times with Covid restrictions in place. - Editor

He’s not the Stig Dear Sir, In the past few days, I have received the latest issue of the Bulletin and, once again, it is full of articles of immense interest but, if permitted to do so, may I point out one or two anomalies?

Gareth Tarr’s report on the 78th Goodwood Members’ Meeting makes reference to Heat Two of the SF Edge Trophy Race being won by the former Top Gear Stig, Ben Collins, aboard the 1909 Blitzen Benz, the car having dislodged its substantial bonnet during the earlier Heat One which resulted in Ben bringing up the rear of the field one lap down. Naturally, this affected his chances of winning overall and, therefore, despite winning Heat Two by, as Gareth indicates, the slimmest of margins of 0.4 seconds, the Benz managed to attain only 17th place in the combined classification.

Regrettably, however, I must take Gareth to task over his report in that the correct driver of the Blitzen Benz at Goodwood was, in fact, Ben Collings, note the extra ‘g’ in the surname, who I suspect, as the brother-in-law of The Duke of Richmond and Gordon, has never had any cause whatsoever to resort to wearing the all-white race suit of the Stig! As an aside, I also like the photograph of Duncan Pittaway passing the Shell Building on the entry to Woodcote Corner in the mighty Beast of Turin. Only three weeks later, Pittaway successfully completed the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run on his 1896 Salvesen Steam Cart, finishing in a respectable seven hours given the frequent necessity of taking on coal and water. Mr Pittaway certainly has a most eclectic and amazing stable of machinery and motor cars.

Aero access Dear Sir, I was interested in both Steve McCarthy’s and Andrew Wilkins’s letters in the latest Bulletin on the topic of the Brooklands spectator tunnels. Some months ago, as part of research I was doing for the book I’m writing for the Museum on the history of aviation at Brooklands, I was trying to establish the route by which aircraft built in the Sopwith/Hawker factories in Kingston made their way to the track and onto the aerodrome. With considerable help from David Hassard and the marvellous Kingston Aviation website I was able to confirm from photographs that the route taken was not,

Turning, if I may, to the report by Graham Chisnall on the Fly-In on 30 August, 2021, there is reference to the oldest aircraft in attendance being the DH 80A Puss Moth. I would hazard a guess that this was G-AAZP bearing the delightful name British Heritage and, if so, it is, in fact, owned by Tim Williams and not Tim Denford, the former being a regular supporter of Brooklands and having owned this beautiful aeroplane for many years, flying it from his private airstrip near Hungerford.

Kind regards John Goodman In my enthusiasm to report on the 78th Goodwood Members Meeting, I fell into the trap of not letting facts get in the way of a good story. As several Members have noted, the driver was in fact Ben Collings, restorer and Bentley racer, who looks after the Benz for its owner, Hermann Layher. Apologies to all concerned. I can at least take credit for the Beast of Turin photograph admired by John, the late autumn sun provided some wonderful photographic opportunities. - Gareth Tarr

as I had originally thought, down the old A3 Portsmouth Road but rather followed the River Thames through Molesey, Walton and Weybridge. Presumably this represented the most level route – an important consideration for the relatively low-powered trucks of the time. Our assumption was the trucks and their loads then had to use Shell Way and the competitors’ tunnel to the west of the spectators’ tunnels to get under the track and access the Flying Village and Hawker Sheds as there appeared to be no other way in.

The problem with this assumption was that it was obvious from some of the pre- and post-First World War photographs

that the aircraft loads were self-evidently too high to get through the tunnel. We therefore surmised that in fact Sopwith and later Hawker must have been able to use the spectators’ car entrance that was just north of the Itala/Vickers Works on what was, at the time, called Weybridge Road, and then use either the Track or Aerodrome Road to get to the Flying Village. We were, however, unable to find any confirmation of this. If Members have any insight that might prove or disprove this theory, I would be most grateful for it.

Kind regards, Nigel Spooner

MARCH - APRIL 2022 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

13

forthcoming events 2022 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.

Due to the Coronavirus situation, please check the website for the most up-to-date information on events.

Some events may have limited capacity.

Thank you for all of your support.

March 27 Mini Day. Every type of Mini is welcome and it’s a chance to celebrate the huge variety of this small car. 10am-5pm.

16 Easter Classic Gathering. Expect to see more than 1000 classic vehicles of all shapes and sizes with this unique event that replaces the postponed New Year’s Day meeting. There will be live music, barbeque and other food outlets. All cars built before 31 July, 1992 are invited to park on site.

May 15 Jaguar Drivers Club and Jaguar Enthusiasts Club Jaguar 100th Anniversary.

17 Centenary of Speed. Your chance to see the 350hp Sunbeam that set a new World Land Speed Record at Brooklands.

10am-5pm 29 Classic and Kit Car London to Brighton Run Start. Participants are flagged off from Brooklands 29 Mopar Muscle Association. Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and all cars with a MOPAR badge gather to make the ground shake to sound of V8s. 10am-5pm.

20-21 HERO London to Lisbon Rally.

Scrutineering and the start of this tough 2200 trial, with competitors flagged off from Brooklands from 10am.

24 MG and British Marques Day. From Alvis to Wolseley, with plenty of MG in the middle, and incorporating the FHBVC’s Drive It Day. 10am-5pm.

29 TR Register Meeting. Owners of Triumph ever-green sports car gather at Brooklands.

30 Italian Car Day. If it’s Italian and on wheels, it will be at Brooklands, with demonstration runs and Test Hill offering a challenge. 9am-5pm.

June 18-19 Brooklands Festival of Motorsport featuring the Double Twelve. A two-day celebration of motor racing at Brooklands with three competition events, Test Hill ascents, as well as food, music and entertainment for all the family.

Brooklands Members Talks: update

Volkswagen Beetle fan, who drove to the Sahara Desert, so you are guaranteed a fascinating insight into what it takes to travel the world by Beetle.

On 17 April, we have The Amazing Dr Gardner, a talk by local historian Steve McCarthy about Brooklands’ circuit physician and founder of the Weybridge Museum. Then, on 19 May, we have author of the book Absurd Keith Futcher talking about his adventures riding across Africa on his Royal Enfield motorcycle.

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.

Please note the new number for the Talks Booking Line is: 07955 462392. The email address is: talks@brooklandsmembers. co.uk Talks can also be booked online at: www.brooklandsmuseum.com/ brooklands-members/member-events Harry Sherrard and The Talks Team

April 10 London Bus Museum Transportfest. The biggest and best bus show in South East England, with more than 100 classic buses and coaches attending. 10am-5pm.

2022 Members’ Events For Members’ Tours and Trips information, please contact Angela Hume on: angelahume@ brooklandsmembers.co.uk Events at the National Motor Museum should be booked directly with Beaulieu. Brooklands Members are charged the Friends of the National Motor Museum rate for entry.

April 8-11 Llanerchindda Farm. Limited space for this popular driving event with great food 29 Motorcycle Trackday, Caste Combe.

18 places at £139 each. Please book via: www.classicbiketrackdays.com/ June 2-5 Jersey International Motoring Festival. Spaces available for a superb weekend of motorsport, driving and socialising.

Next in the Talks calendar is Neil Trundle in conversation with Steve Clarke on 3 March. Neil is a former Chief Mechanic for the McLaren Formula 1 team and worked with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost among others, so Neil has a wealth of stories to tell in what will be an unmissable event.

Next is Travel Bug with Fiona Easter on 17 March. Fiona is a keen traveller and

26 London Bus Museum On The Buses.

One of the biggest bus events of the year in the UK with many rare buses, taxis and commercial vehicles on display. This is also a chance to celebrate the re-opening of the London Bus Museum’s with its new look.

MARCH - APRIL 2022 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

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1912 witnessed many innovations and changes at Brooklands for racing, records and flying. We look at some of the most notable.

B

rooklands was well into its stride by 1912 as a motor racing venue and also as a centre for the burgeoning pastime of flying. Several races had by now become regular features in the calendar, such as the 100mph Short Handicap, but that did not stop innovation from taking place both on the track and in the air.

One-make races

Several one-make races were held throughout 1912 and they proved popular with spectators, if not always with entrants. Some attracted larger grids and a race for Mercedes found 11 willing entrants, including the famous 1908 Grand Prix car. This impressive machine had 140hp and had won the 1908 French

AN INNOVATIVE YEAR Words: Alisdair Suttie Photos: BAE, Brooklands Museum Collection, BNF

Mercedes mustered 11 entrants for its one-make race at Brooklands in 1912.

The cars included the impressive Mercedes-Benz GP car that had won the French Grand Prix in 1908.

MARCH - APRIL 2022 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

17

Grand Prix, so it brought considerable pedigree to the Brooklands Paddock. Other cars competing in the meeting of German machinery included four 48.6hp cars and the race was won by AW Tate in a 41.9

The Golden Ford, competed in the race for Model Ts in 1912. There were two races that year for this model, with Henry Ford presenting the prize at the August Bank Holiday event.

Dario Resta was one of the Sunbeam drivers who took part in a Parade and Sprint race at Brooklands in 1912. He also set a new 50-mile record in August that year at the wheel of Toodles IV.

18

BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

model ahead of Sydney Cummings and Gordon Watney. Tate also took the fastest lap of the race at 86.23mph.

There were two separate races held just for Ford Model T cars. The second of these events held during the August Bank Holiday meeting was attended by

none other than Henry Ford himself. He is claimed to have advised Arthur Edward George, who was driving the noted 1911 Golden Ford race car to get rid of the ballast that George used at Brooklands to help keep the rear wheels in contact with the track’s surface. George ignored Ford’s advice and duly won the race and reportedly told the American: ‘What did

I tell you?’ Ten Ford Model Ts took part in this race, all using standard gears and wheels, and the £25 prize was presented

by Henry Ford.

Other single-make events included races for Bedford and the French-made Zebra single-cylinder cars with Goodchild standard torpedo bodies.

MARCH - APRIL 2022 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

19

CW Haywood won the RAC Stock Car Race of 1912 in a Singer 10, similar to the one shown. The car had to compete with a standard engine and chassis, and Haywood won the race by just 0.4 seconds.

Parade and Sprint race

A two-mile Parade and Sprint race was added to the programme in 1912. This was contested by Emile Medinger, Dario Resta, and Victor Rigal, who were three of the best drivers from the Continent at this time. The trio had been engaged by Sunbeam to drive in the Coupe de l’Auto held at Dieppe, France that year and they repeated the feat at Brooklands. Resta’s superior knowledge of the British track meant he had the upper hand and won.

Medinger went on to found his own car company in 1912 in Wolverhampton and the two-stroke 16hp Cyclecar was praised for its performance.

Shell Points Prize

The Shell Points Prize was presented by the British Petroleum Company for the greatest number of points scored in Private Competitors’ races and the victor would take home 50 guineas in prize money. It was the idea of NC Neill and, although the system used to work out the winner was more complicated than it might have been, Eric Horniman emerged as the winner, with a Mr Whitehead in second place. This competition was held again in 1913.

RAC Stock Car race

The RAC Stock Car Race had been held before at Brooklands, but the innovation for 1912 was to limit entries to cars with four-cylinder engines, an engine bore not exceeding 90mm, total weight of no more than

Resta in the Sunbeam that he used for his record attempts in 1912. Along with Emile Medinger and Victor Rigal, the trio were the three best drivers from the Continent at this time.

2000lbs (907kg), and a standard engine and chassis. This is what gave the race its name as cars had to be in ‘stock’ condition as anyone would buy the car.

What should have proved to be a popular and more affordable means of racing turned out to be poorly supported.

Only eight cars were entered and a mere three completed the 100-lap, 277-mile distance. On lap 70, CW Haywood in a Singer had to come into the pits to have his car’s exhaust refitted. This put him behind the Gladiator driven by Mr Usmar, but Haywood regained the lead on lap 87, only to stop again on lap 89 to reattach the car’s exhaust once more. Now with the bit between his teeth, Haywood chased down Usmar over the closing laps and passed for the lead on the penultimate lap. The two then fought all the way to the end, coming out of the final corner side-by-side, with Haywood winning by just 0.4-seconds.

Third and final finisher Mr Engley in a Turcat-Mery didn’t complete the 100 laps for another hour and half.

New class records

There were plenty of record attempts and successes at Brooklands throughout 1912. Much of this was helped by nine new classes recognised by the Royal Automobile Club. They were in addition

A series of new flying competitions started at Brooklands in 1912, run by the Brooklands Automobile Racing Club. They were designed so spectators could see the aircraft throughout their laps.

20

BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

to the established classes based solely on horsepower, while the new classes used a formula of engine capacity and minimum weight including the driver. These new classes were: Class A 1639cc max 1400lb min with driver Class B 2048cc max 1500lb min with driver Class C 2458cc max 1600lb min with driver Class D 2868cc max 1800lb min with driver Class E 3851cc max 2000lb min with driver Class F 4998cc max 2250lb min with driver Class G 7784cc max 2500lb min with driver Class H 13,929cc max 2700lb min with driver Class J over 13,939cc max 3000lb min with driver

BARC aeroplane races

The Brooklands Automobile Racing Club held aero races in place of the former aggregate time of flight contests and the more informal events organised by the pilots themselves. These new flying competitions were held during each of the motor race meetings at Brooklands.

The aircraft flew from the Track’s airfield to a point about five miles to the west of the circuit and then they returned. A big advantage of this was spectators at the Track could see the aircraft the whole time they were flying, which helped maintain interest. Other races were conducted over a two-lap course with a total distance of nine miles.

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Born of this premise he started work on what was to become the Stafford Special, and two years later he raced at Brooklands in the October Handicap.

He and others competed in various events over the years up to 1990 (huge history available) when the current owner acquired it. It has since been entirely restored to as near as possible its original spec. It is on the button and in wonderful condition. It is accompanied by a wealth of information including correspondence from Rodney Stafford, specification sheets, photographs, magazine articles and the VSCC Eligibility Document dated 2005. Offers.

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This drawing of the Avro Type F shows how neat and compact the aircraft was, and how its fully enclosed cockpit was the precursor of most modern light aircraft we have today.

FLYING FIRST The Avro Type F was the first aircraft with a fully enclosed cockpit to fly, and it was designed and tested at Brooklands.

T

Words: Alisdair Suttie Photos: Brooklands Museum Collection, Nimbus227

he pace of development in early aircraft design can be gauged by tracing the Wright brothers’ first heavier-than-air powered flight in 1903 to the 1912 AV Roe and Company’s Type F. In just nine years, flying had gone from the most elementary of styles to the first with a completely enclosed cockpit. Fittingly for such a brave new machine, the Avro Type F made its maiden flight at Brooklands, which had quickly gained a reputation for being an innovative and enlightened centre of

22

aircraft design, testing, and production.

This flight took place on 1 May, 1912.

The idea for the Type F was radical for the period. Early motor cars of the time usually wore open coachwork, with enclosed saloons and limousines very rare and unusual, and almost exclusively only for the wealthiest early motorists.

As a result, applying the notion of a closed cockpit to a flying machine was a sweeping change that had not even occurred to most involved in aircraft design. Yet, AV Roe and Company saw

BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

the practical advantages of this design, protecting the pilot and passengers from the elements, which would allow for greater comfort and longer continuous flight times. How forward-thinking this idea proved can be seen in almost all modern aircraft using an enclosed passenger cell.

The Type F was also unusual for the time in using a monoplane design, especially as this aircraft was based on the undercarriage of the Avro 500 biplane. As well as the 500’s undercarriage, the Type F

AV Roe was a very hands-on company owner and he can be seen here trying out an aircraft’s seating position in 1907. The simple construction of the machine is also evident in this photograph.

borrowed its sibling’s tail unit and rudder, which was attached to a steerable tail skid for easier low-speed ground handling.

A simple main structure for the box girder fuselage used four wooden longerons with cross struts that were strengthened with triangular plywood braces. This was then further enhanced with piano wire strung between the diagonals to resist flexing when under load.

The result of this simple, strong design was a tare weight of 550lbs (249.5kg) and an all-up weight of 800lbs (363kg).

The mainplane was made in two halves with a built-up front spar and there was a kingpost braced by wires beneath the fuselage and steel tubes on top. For lateral control, the Type F’s pilot used wing warping to alter the shape of the

monoplane’s wings to control the roll of the aircraft.

Another clever piece of engineering for the Type F recognised that potential owners and pilots might come from much further afield than domestic owners in Britain. This is why the Type F was designed so the fabric outer skin could be unlaced half way along the fuselage to expose steel plates. These plates could be unscrewed to allow the Type F to be split apart into two sections for easy packing, which would have made it very simple and economic to ship around the world.

One other consequence of the Type F’s design was the cockpit ended up being quite narrow at only 2ft (61cm) wide. This was just enough for an average-sized pilot and comfort was improved by making the

Never afraid to try new ideas, AV Roe also experimented with triplanes, as well as the Type F monoplane and the much more common for the period biplanes.

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space for legs deeper, so the pilot was not scrunched up in the aircraft’s only seat. The view out for the pilot was through celluloid window panels and contemporary reports state that vision was limited, though there were other panels set into the lower portion of the fuselage to help with seeing what was under the wing during flight and landing. Extra vision was provided by two circular holes, one either side to the rear of the cockpit, where the pilot could poke his head through to give better visibility when flying in poor weather, though this seemed to defeat the point of an enclosed cockpit to some extent.

Access to the Type F’s interior was through a trapdoor in the roof, which was not the most gainly or practical solution.

However, the fuel and oil tanks were positioned inside the fuselage to the rear of the pilot to keep them separate from the engine, which lowered the risk of fire.

More of a concern for many who saw the Type F’s fully enveloped cockpit was the danger of the front screen becoming smeared in oil from the engine. In open cockpit machines, the pilot simply leaned forward and gave the screen a wipe. In the Type F, this would be all but impossible.

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However, the chosen engine for this aircraft was the Viale five-cylinder radial motor with 35hp. The Type F’s test pilot Wilfred Parke was very familiar with this engine and trusted it. He knew it was meticulously maintained from the Type D used by the Avro Flying School and he had flown using this very engine from Brooklands to Abingdon without incident.

His faith proved well founded as the engine remained oil- and fuel-tight.

The Viale engine was designed by Italian Spirito Mario Viale, who produced a range of three-, five- and seven-cylinder radial engines from his works in France. After the First World War, he emigrated to the UK to work for Armstrong Siddeley before moving back to Italy to pursue his passion as a landscape painter.

However, due to the rise of fascism in Italy, he moved back to the UK in the 1930s

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and worked as chief designer of RollsRoyce’s armaments division.

With the aircraft ready in April 1912 and fitted with an engine of known provenance, albeit with only enough power to lift a single occupant off the ground, the first flight beckoned. On the 1 May, 1912, pilot Wilfred Parke made his initial takeoff in the Type F at Brooklands, climbing steeply on half throttle. This simple act made AV Roe and Company’s Type F the first aircraft with a fully enclosed cockpit to fly.

Parke followed this historic achievement with the Type F’s first circuits around the Brooklands airfield on 3 May. Further test flights followed and the Avro reached 1000ft in altitude on 17 May. Buoyed by these successes, AV Roe and

AV Roe

Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe, who chose to be known as Alliott rather than Edwin, was born on 26 April, 1877 at Patricroft, near Manchester.

He spent his early school years at Haliford House close to Brooklands and showed an early interest in inventing and developing new ideas.

By 1892, AV Roe had left school and was learning surveying on the ship Labrador, followed by an apprenticeship in engineering with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Works. A spell in the merchant navy

followed and by 1902 he displayed a keen interest in flight.

AV Roe contacted the Wright brothers in 1906 and received a positive reply to his letter about powered flight. By the following year, he had stated his intention to build his own aircraft with engine and he tested this machine at Brooklands in December 1907, after it had been completed in his brother’s Putney, London coach house.

Together with JA Prestwich, of JAP engine fame, AV Roe set up the JAP Avroplane Company in 1908, though the partners parted ways after just a year due to a disagreement about which triplane to produce. With financial support from his family, AV Roe continued to work on his aircraft and subsequently rented workshops at Brooklands in 1910, where he also set up the Avro Flying School. AV Roe and Company was established in 1911, though finances were still tight.

The emergence of aircraft in the First World War earned the business good profits, but that ended when the armistice was signed in 1918. AV Roe acquired an interest in a flying boat company, which became Saunders-Roe, and was knighted in 1929. He changed his surname to Verdon-Roe by deed poll in 1933. The Avro name went through successive owners, ending with BAE Systems. Avro produced many great aircraft, including the Lancaster, Shackleton, and Vulcan. During the Second World War, two of his sons were killed while serving with the RAF. AV Roe died on 4 January, 1958 in Portsmouth, near where he had lived in Hamble, Hampshire.

The Type F was completed in late in 1911, but it wasn’t until 1912 that it made its maiden flight from Brooklands. Wilfred Parke made that flight on 17 May, followed by ascending to 1000ft on 3 May.

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Some had expressed concerns about using the Viale 35hp five-cylinder radial engine due to worries about oil on the aircraft’s front screen. However, pilot Wilfred Parke’s faith in this engine proved justified.

Company decided to fly the Type F to Hendon in the north of London, but shortly after take-off the engine failed and the plane was forced to land at Weybridge.

During this emergency landing, Parke did his best to preserve the aircraft, but it hit a fence and flipped over. Fortunately, damage was minimal and the workers from AV Roe and Company soon dismantled the Type F and recovered it to the firm’s workshops at Brooklands.

Plans to repair the Type F took a little longer than expected and it wasn’t until RH Barnwell flew it in September 1912 that the aircraft was back in action. However, Barnwell only managed a couple of stuttering

The JAP Avroplane company did not last long after a disagreement between Roe and JA Prestwich about which triplane to build. Soon after, Roe rented workshops at Brooklands in 1910.

attempts at take-off before the large front skid broke and the Type F suffered a second incident of tipping over. This time, the damage was much more serious and the aircraft never flew again, though luckily Barnwell was unhurt. Only the Viale engine survives today and is on display at the Science Museum in London. A replica of the Type F can be seen in the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

It was a sad end for such a notable machine in aircraft history and development. AV Roe and Company returned to enclosed cockpit design with

the Type G and Bison, which were very different in design to the radical Type F. However, the Type F’s real legacy is it laid down the fundamentals for small, practical aircraft that we use and enjoy today.

Avro Type F specification Engine: Viale 35hp five-cylinder radial Wingspan: 28ft (853.4cm) Length: 23ft (701cm) Wing area: 158 sq ft (48.15-metres) Tare weigth: 550lb (249kg) Total weight: 800lb (363kg) Max speed: 65mph Initial climb: 300ft/min (121-metres/min) AV Roe discovered his fascination for flight while in the merchant navy. A letter from the Wright brothers in 1906 inspired him to build his own aircraft and he was testing them at Brooklands by late 1907.

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This is where spectators arriving on foot would emerge into Brooklands through the tunnels. The steel door the author entered in his exploration can be seen in the centre of the tunnels.

THE HOLE STORY Words: Andrew Wilkins Photos: Andrew Wilkins

The tale of Brooklands’ spectator tunnels has sparked huge interest.

Andrew Wilkins relates his exploration into these rarely seen access areas under the Members’ Banking.

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s the enormous steel door clanked closed behind me with an ominous creak from its rusty hinges, plunging me into pitch black darkness, my pounding heart and jangled nerves screamed at me to turn back. Even though it was a bright sunny day at Brooklands in 2008, with scarcely a soul about, the moment of reckoning had arrived. On the spur of the moment, during another of my countless visits to this wonderful amphitheatre of pioneering fast drivers, clutching a feeble torch borrowed from my car’s glovebox, I had dared to enter the strictly prohibited derelict and spooky spectator tunnels. I knew full well

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they were out of bounds, confirmed by a ‘Keep Out!’ notice on the outside of that massive steel door. Yet my fevered interest, which has urged me to study and try to photograph every visible remnant of my beloved Brooklands even when they are almost invisible without diligent research, drove me inexorably on into the darkness.

After coming under its captivating spell in 1990, to my great shame, today I had lost every fragment of common sense, and the intense yearning to explore The Tunnels rendered me powerless to resist.

Switching on my torch helped make things calmer, but then my mind became gripped by the fear that maybe The Tunnels

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could cave in and bury me. In the end, my brain reasoned they had remained intact for more than a hundred years, so they would remain standing for at least another hour or two.

There are three separate tunnels, as I’d expected. However, it amazed me to discover that every few yards there is a gap between them and you can see all three tunnels together. By now, the comforting torchlight gave me enough confidence, but only just, to forge ahead and complete my quest into the unknown.

My next surprise was that the spectator tunnels are stepped, and it would take me a while to work-out why. The reality is

they are laid on a steep incline, with the high end deep under the highest part of the Members’ Banking where fearless men and women such as John Cobb and Kay Petre thundered along near the Banking’s rim at close to 150mph. The low end of the spectator tunnels is on the inside of the Banking, where spectators emerged on to the path which leads to Brooklands’ restaurant up the hill past where the Second World War concrete anti-aircraft gun placement can now be seen.

There are handrails still in place along the entire length of the tunnels, and electric lights which illuminated people’s way more than 100 years ago. If only it had been possible to switch these on that day in 2008 and steady my thumping heart. Never mind, I strode on like a man possessed, right to the very end and deep under the awe-inspiring Members’ Banking, where those feats of incredible high speeds were achieved far above my head. Disappointing is an insufficient

Deep under this coppice are the three tunnels. The earth mound in a residential house’s garden is to the right and can be seen from this path that runs alongside the fence.

Beneath this large mound of earth, the three tunnels’ entrances are now buried and present a steep wall to the residents of the home that has been built over the old path.

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This image is looking down on part of the 1906 stone lintel supporting the tunnels’ entrance, along with blue engineering bricks that can be seen to the right-hand side.

The tunnels under construction as Brooklands was created ahead of its opening in 1907. The tunnels were not bored as the earth was dug out and pre-fabricated tunnels were craned into place before being covered over.

description for what happened next.

Suddenly, I could see daylight through a rusty grille about the size of a house brick, but sadly I wasn’t tall enough to look through this opening and discover from where the glimmer of brightness was coming from. Nonetheless, this setback made me still more determined to solve the enigma inside these tunnels.

Treading gingerly back down the gradient, walking the steps and clutching

the handrails, unused for nearly 70 years, my resolve when emerging back into the welcome warm sunshine and closing the big steel door behind me, was to solve the riddle of The Tunnels. The climax to this adventure came 10 years later, in 2018.

Roger Bird’s absorbing book The Birth of Brooklands came out in February 2012 and I pored over this wonderful work. Something which Roger wrote, which really captured my admiration for Hugh Locke King and his

wife Ethel along with their team in 19061907, was the incredibly clever way The Tunnels were designed. At the beginning of major motor racing events at Brooklands, two of the tunnels were crowded with incoming spectators, and the other one was used by the few people who were leaving early. At the end of events, this system was reversed and two tunnels were opened for spectators leaving to catch their trains and omnibuses home. The third one was available for latecomers entering the track. How ingenious. I also learnt from Roger’s book that, far from boring through the earth to create the spectator tunnels, the ground was dug out flat by Hugh Locke King’s estate workers with picks and shovels, aided by steam driven grabs. Then the three prefabricated concrete tunnels were craned into position by steam power.

Once in place, earth was piled on top

The entrance to the Competitors’ Tunnel as it is today. This tunnel is further around the Track and the modern road is set higher than it would have been when the tunnel was constructed.

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The remains of the original concrete steps up to Members’ Bridge, with modern black railings to protect Brooklands’ heritage site on the left.

which allowed the Members’ Banking to be constructed. Nowadays, the two outer tunnels are bricked-up and only the middle one is closed-off by the steel door, which is firmly locked.

With knowledge received from a helpful Brooklands volunteer, I explored Locke King

Road, which is outside the track and is overlooked by the Members’ Banking that towers above the houses. A coppice there ends at Segrave Close and to walk among the trees transports you right back to before the First World War. Beside myself with excitement, here I discovered two real gems.

The plaque marking the reopening of the Competitors’ Tunnel in May 2014 with help from Tiff Needell, who is a keen supporter of Brooklands.

The first was a red brick structure, damaged by a large hole at the corner, and protruding out of the ground. Convinced that this was part of the ancient spectator tunnels, I vowed to return with the most powerful torch available. The second was the sole remaining concrete platform, the very one which the better off spectators stepped on to cross the original 1906 Members’ Bridge and on to the terraces, which were reserved for Members.

Returning on a bitterly cold winter’s day in in 2018 armed with an LED torch, I excitedly gazed into the hole which someone had made in those red bricks.

Fully expecting to see deep down into a derelict tunnel, my hopes were shattered.

It was just a disused Second World War air raid shelter, which had been almost completely covered in earth.

Pacing the distance between Members’ Bridge and the steel door as reliable measurements, and then gauging the distance outside the track in the coppice, from Members’ Bridge to the red brick building showed me The Tunnels are a long way from this shelter. Then I found what I’d been seeking for the past 10 years. I had located the original entrance to the spectator tunnels.

Their entrance is in what is now a householder’s back garden and is identified by two features. You can still see part of the original 1906 concrete lintel at the top of the tunnel arches. This find made me very excited. You can also see an absolutely enormous earth mound, which must completely dominate the view from the rear windows of the house, which is in Locke King Road itself. The mound is covered with grass and is almost as high as the upper windows amazingly. The air vent I saw when in the tunnels which let daylight through its slats must be somewhere in the mound.

I think that a major part of Brooklands’ magnetic attraction for me is that it is now unobtainable. Yet so much of this wonderful place which I adore is still there if we search for it. Opening up these tunnels will add a major new dimension to our treasured heritage site.

If you go on a Brooklands Torchlight Tour, one of the highlights is being allowed into these mysterious tunnels, so long as you bring along a powerful torch. Legend has it the ghosts of such heroes as Percy Lambert, who was the first man to drive 100 miles within one hour at the track but was tragically killed there soon afterwards, haunt The Tunnels. Whether he does or doesn’t, the tunnels will always hold a powerful fascination for me and many others who visit the museum.

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We go behind the scenes with Middlechild Productions to learn more about the team and the camera equipment used to film Secrets of the Transport Museum.

D

uring the last two years, Middlechild Productions has been filming the Secrets of the Transport Museum at Brooklands Museum, as well as restorers, aviators and owners of Brooklands-related artifacts around the country.

The post-lockdown period was a huge challenge for the crew as they painstakingly

prepared equipment and documentation to maintain covid compliance while continuing to document progress with projects at the Museum. However, as conditions improved, there was more opportunity for the team to dive down a bit deeper into more secrets at the Museum. One example was a feature on the timing strips that mark the beginning and end of the measured Kilometre and

Mile used for record breaking attempts on the Railway Straight, which runs from the River Wey to the industrial area to the southwest of the site.

Having gained permission from Mercedes-Benz to explore the Railway Straight, Brooklands Member and Volunteer Ian Dabney, together with members of the Motorcycle Team, set about trying to locate the strips using clues from Roger Bird’s excellent Birth of Brooklands book that identifies an approximate location of the Start and One Mile Markers.

Producers and directors Andy Robinson and Jonny Leeder followed the group as

FILMING SECRETS AT BROOKLANDS Words: Martin Gegg Photos: Mark Fielder, Martin Gegg

Hollie Osborn shoots using a camera support which lets operators move despite the weight of kit. It makes filming easier in the Museum’s environments where the subject is often changing position.

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BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

Drone footage gives superb aerial views of the Museum and the action that the team is filming. Here, Andy Robinson gets the drone ready for filming.

they searched for the start marker. With the aid of some fascinating camera kit, they were able to smoothly trail the team on a very uneven part of the Track. Jonny was shooting the long shots from further up the Track, while Andy was staying close to the action with a digital SLR camera mounted on a hand-held stabiliser which maintained a level picture as Andy walked around the moving group. In what increasingly appeared to be a box of gadgets from a James Bond movie, Jonny mounted his motorised mono-wheeled skateboard which, together with the camera stabiliser, enabled faster moving shots without the need for a vehicle and was much kinder on the Track and environment. Last out of the box was a drone operated by Andy to provide some location continuity shots above the Railway Straight and back to the Museum site.

Andy and Jonny, together with skateboard, were back on the Railway Straight a few weeks later to film a Harley-

The drone in flight with Andy Robinson at the controls. It is an essential piece of equipment and makes SOTTM even more absorbing to watch.

Jonny Leeder uses a motorised mono-wheel skateboard to follow Members and Volunteers along the Track. The skateboard allows for fast moving shots with no impact on the Track or environment.

Davidson and Indian motorcycle at speed commemorating Douglas Davidson being the first man on a motorcycle to set a 100mph record. Readers may remember the Bulletin covering the event marking this centenary in April 2021 when the Indian motorcycle was not running. The Middlechild crew has now covered the

recommissioning of the Indian prior to its debut on the track.

This is one of the many fascinating stories you can see in the second series of Secrets of the Transport Museum. Enjoy the superb filming, which was often captured using the high-tech camera equipment you can see here.

There is still a need for more traditional camera equipment, as seen here filming the handover of George Wander’s BSA when it was kindly donated to the Museum.

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T

he Brooklands Varsity is special to me because it was the first full-size aircraft I recovered. Up until that time in the late 1980s, my company National Rescue Group (NRG) had collected the odd car for Brooklands and a couple of gliders for the Museums’ Mike Beach. This Varsity was to become the first of many aircraft I recovered for Brooklands and others over the subsequent 35 years.

So how did it start? At the time, National Rescue’s offices were based in the old Aero Clubhouse or, as it is known today, the Control Tower and one lovely summer’s day we had an open day and party where one of the guests introduced me to a certain Julian Temple. Julian had recently joined Brooklands Museum to record the history of the Vickers’ buildings, but we soon found out his real love was aviation.

He talked to me at length about a Vickers Varsity at an airfield in Cambridgeshire that was about to be cut up and lost forever, adding that he would love to have it at the Museum. He then pulled out of his briefcase a magazine article on the fate of this aircraft. Showing it to me, he asked if it really was a ‘very large logistics problem’ and I agreed that it would be ‘a difficult and costly exercise to move by

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road’ as the author had stated. Now of course, we will never know if he knew it then, or if he worked it out later in life, but the one thing you never do to a ‘Recovery Man’ is to tell him someone else thinks a job is too difficult for him to do.

In the following months, a group of us started to hatch a plan.

This group included Roger Hargreaves and Mick Bates of Proteus Aero Services, who would undertake the dismantling ready for transportation and later the reassembly. At the time, we had no idea what a legend Mick Bates would

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become as a result of this job and others that would follow. As I was happy we at NRG could do all the craning, I turned to one of our customers, Savill Freight, to help us with transportation.

We wanted to help the Museum out and do all the transportation for free. This was okay as far as fuel and equipment were concerned, but I felt I needed to ask for volunteers to give up their free time to help us. I tentatively asked a few key staff, who immediately said yes, but then nearly every single driver and some mechanics also asked if they could play a part.

A lot of harsh words get said about

VARSITY CHALLENGE Words: Andy Lambert Photos: Andy Lambert

The Vickers Varsity was an accomplished trainer aircraft used by the RAF. Here we find out the story of how the Museum’s Varsity was rescued and brought to Brooklands.

The then-recently acquired Brooklands Belle cranes the Varsity on to the low loader trailer in preparation for its move from Sibson Airfield to the Museum on 7 November, 1988.

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Successfully loaded and ready to head for Brooklands, WF372 avoided being scrapped when Julian Temple raised awareness and Andy Lambert took on the challenge of moving it.

people from the motor trade, but as I have learnt over the years recovery operatives are a special and generous breed.

In late 1988, Mick Bates started to dismantle the aircraft and we made several runs up to Sibson Airfield to bring back components from the aircraft like engines and rudder. Then, early on the 7 November, 1988 we set off to collect the fuselage, our brand-new Brooklands Belle leading the way followed by one of Savill’s low loaders

On route to Brooklands, with the Brooklands Belle crane leading the way for the Varsity. For once, the weather was kind to the team that soon developed a speciality in recovering aircraft.

and a couple of other NRG vehicles. For once, it was a sunny day, and afterwards it nearly always rained on our aircraft recoveries for the Museum. The loading went smoothly and by evening rush hour we were trundling around the M25 and soon at Brooklands.

Next day, we unloaded the fuselage and entertained guest such as Jock Bryce, the test pilot who had flown the prototype Varsity, and Dr Norman Barfield, Norman ‘Spud’ Boorer, and Sir Peter Masefield to name a few. There were lots of photos and back slapping and I was amazed how many people wanted to be in the photos but then disappeared when it came to stowing all the kit away and sweeping up.

The only parts left at Sibson by then were the wing sections and a few days later we attended Sibson to load them and bring them home. Unfortunately, after loading, we measured them only to find out someone had miscalculated their size and the load was illegal by just a few inches. I was ready to kill someone, but Mick Bates calmly said ‘Don’t worry, mate, give me a week and I’ll drill out the rivets holding the wing’s edge pieces, which will give us enough to be legal.’ I replied: ‘Okay, show us where the power point is for your drill and we will drop the wings off beside it.’ Mick took a long swig of his hip flask, and we learned later that it was whisky that powered him not food like the rest of us, and he said: ‘No electricity, mate, I use a hand drill.’ As I drove away from that bleak airfield, I looked in my mirror to see Mick balanced on the top of a ladder propped against the wing, drilling out one of many hundreds of rivets as the snow fell all around him.

A cutting from Flypast magazine, dated April 1983, which said moving the aircraft would ‘be a difficult and costly exercise.’ The Brooklands team proved otherwise.

Once the wings arrived at Brooklands, Mick started to reassemble the aircraft, helped of course by Miss Milly Tant, my AEC Mobile Crane. Again, Mick found the odd NRG driver wandering in on his day off and lending a hand, and in almost no time we had the wings on and the engines refitted, allowing us to tow the aircraft into the Hanger where Mick and some Museum volunteers were able to finish the work while protected from the winter outside.

In the July of the following year, the Varsity was moved onto the lawn that once existed where Concorde now stands and then, on the 17 July, exactly 40 years since ‘Mutt’ Summers and ‘Jock’ Bryce made the first flight in a Varsity from Wisley, a small gathering was held. Many

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Bringing the wing sections to Brooklands posed a problem when they were too wide to be transported.

However, Mick Bates removed hundreds of rivets with a hand drill to narrow them for safe transport.

From the left, test pilot Jock Bryce, Roger Hargreaves, Andy Lambert, and Julian Temple, who celebrated the first flight of a Varsity 40 years to the day with a cake at Brooklands.

The fate of WF372 With the Varsity back at Brooklands, a gathering was organised for many of those who had been involved with the aircraft, including Spud Boorer, Jock Bryce, and Sir Peter Masefield.

of those involved in the recovery and restoration attended the event, the Varsity was officially unveiled, and we all had a piece of a cake with a Varsity drawn on it.

There is a footnote to this story in that the Varsity was once again the centre of attention when the last flying Varsity, WL679, retired from service to go into preservation at Cosford. On the

17 July, 1992 and 43 years to the day of that first Varsity flight, WL679 flown by Squadron Leader Ian Cummings flew over Brooklands and made a number of low passes over WF372. A video of this event and one of the initial recovery of WF372, along with many other Brooklands related videos, can be found at: www.andysvideo.com

WF372 was bought by Peterborough Flying Club along with WJ909, another Varsity, in 1976 where they hoped to convert them into an aviation themed clubhouse. They both made their last flights when they flew in to Sibson Airfield on the 25 March, 1976. Our aircraft had been built at Vickers Weybridge in the 1950s and first flew on the 12 December 1951. It was the 16th of the 163 aircraft type manufactured by the company. WF372 served with No.201 Advanced Flying School, the RAF College at Cranwell, No.1 Air Navigation School, and finally with No.6 Flying Training School at RAF Finningley.

The unveiling of the Varsity at Brooklands once it had been reassembled and taken out of the hangar where it was worked on. The aircraft has since had its exterior restored and repainted.

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BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

A MAJOR AUCTION OF 180 FINE CLASSIC & COLLECTOR CARS

THE ASCOT SPRING CLASSIC SATURDAY, 12TH MARCH

Fine entries include:

1956 AUSTIN HEALEY 100/4 BN2 Estimate: £60,000-£68,000

ASCOT RACECOURSE VIEWING DAYS Wednesday to Friday 9th-11th March 9am-5pm each day

Please visit the website for full details of the regularly updated entries and to register to bid in-hall, by phone and online

+ 44 (0)1753 639170 auctions@historics.co.uk www.historics.co.uk

THE SALE Saturday 12th March Commences 9.30am Doors open 8.30am

members’ matters Apprentices get together Former aircraft industry apprentices and pensioners gathered at Brooklands Museum on 21 September, 2021. Nearly all had worked at the Brooklands site in Weybridge where Vickers Aviation became VickersArmstrongs Aircraft Section, then later British Aircraft Corporation, and later still British Aerospace. It was a cheery gettogether, renewing old acquaintances, revisiting memories of great times, and celebrating the longstanding relationship between those who worked there in the past and the site in its current form.

Weybridge Group Pensioners were in the process of winding up their activities, and donating their remaining funds to the Museum. Their Chairman, David Sparham, reported to the gathering on behalf of the Pensioners. John Pringle had called this get-together to report the transfer of some £500 to the Museum, money which remained from previous events that was being held for the next event which had not materialised.

It felt appropriate to be meeting in the Vickers Suite, and we appreciated the Museum’s hospitality on the day. After the challenges of the first year or so of the current pandemic, it was great to be able to gather. We were only sorry that numbers had to be restricted, not only for anticipated regulations, but also for considerations of ages and locations of potential attendees.

Apprentices attending had mainly worked in Design or Manufacturing, but other Departments were represented too with Planners, Toolmakers, Test Lab technicians, people from the Mould

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Loft, the Drawing Office, Stress Office, ‘Aerodymaniacs’, and many more.

We remembered starting our apprenticeships with first days at a workbench, how to file flat, straight, square and to the line, learned not to laugh when asked ‘pass me the rubber mallet’, and to appreciate that you were not sent to the Test Lab to get ‘the long weight’.

Progressively, we spent periods in each of many different departments to learn of the particular specialities of each, and to understand the inter-relationships of all, and of their needs and the need for each within a project. From the 1960s, a Training School provided the introductory education enabling the newcomer to be more readily embraced by a department: Fitters, Wings, Tinsmiths, Coppersmiths, Toolroom, Machine Shop, and others.

There were memories, too, of the Sports Club and its excellent facilities. Did you play soccer, rugby, hockey, tennis, cricket, bowls, archery? There were departmental teams and inter-departmental rivalries. Likewise, indoors were darts and dominoes. There were the company teams taking part in the relevant local league activities. The annual Sports Day attracted entries from a very wide area, particularly the cycle and foot racing round the extensive grass arena. Apprentice teams took part in several of the closed events.

Sports Day also provided competitions for all of our hobbyists with classes for flowers, fruit and vegetables, woodwork, and engineering.

BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

While a formal Apprentice Club existed, a major item of the social calendar of the district was the Apprentice Club Dance, definitely posh, but not starchy, black tie, ballroom, with a proper orchestra and held in one or other of the upmarket venues, such as Oatlands Park Hotel or the High Pine Club.

Between 1946 and 1969 spanned the starting dates of those present, highlighting the bonds forged by being a Weybridge Apprentice, and building on the sense of history experienced at earlier reunions, as in 1999 when some of the very first apprentices who began in 1933 also attended.

Alex Patterson, Director of Collections, Interpretation and Heritage, thanked both the Pensioners Group and the Apprentices for their respective donations, and for the continuing support given to the Museum.

In his address to the group, he emphasised the need for information about ‘working at the Aircraft Factory’, not just the technical aspects of how a plane was built, but the social side too like workmates, clubs and events, working conditions, travel, and life at home. The Museum is running an Oral History project, to which pensioners and former apprentices are contributing. To make your own contribution, please contact Brooklands Museum on: 01932 857381; or email: bmeecham@brooklandsmuseum.com Our most sincere thanks to the Museum for providing us with the accommodation and refreshments for the event.

John Pringle

members’ matters Nigel Brooke obituary

Brooklands has lost one if its finest champions. Nigel Brooke was a longstanding member of the Brooklands Society.

He joined in 1977 and did all he could to foster memories of Brooklands and ensure its preservation. From 1998 to 2005, he edited the Society’s Gazette and also served as its President from 1994 to 2000, when he handed the position to Stirling Moss, with whom he enjoyed corresponding.

The Society had many members with fiercely held views, but Nigel was always a calming and wise influence. At its end, he was one of the members who saw that it had to join with the Friends in support of the Museum. Nigel wanted the new organisation to have a clear approach to aiding the Museum in its work to preserve and promote Brooklands. He always welcomed ideas to see how they would work in the best interests of the Brooklands traditions. Nigel was made an Honorary Life Member of the Brooklands Trust Members.

When the Society was allowed to hold its meetings in the Clubhouse, he would always arrive early in order to sit in a quiet corner of the site to take in the atmosphere,

the memories of the people and events that had happened there, perhaps to see their ghosts, and certainly to observe the wildlife on which he often commented.

At his funeral, in his tribute to Nigel his brother Hugo said he had a ‘disinclination to conform’. Hugo is the 11th generation of the family to have served in the army, but Nigel did not take that career path and was even turned down for National Service.

He spent much of his childhood on his mother’s family farm in Essex, where he first developed his love for things mechanical and the internal combustion engine. He attended Blundell’s School and then went into the motor trade, with Lendrum and Hartman in Albemale Street, London selling Cadillacs, Buicks, and La Salles. After a few years of this, Nigel’s father thought he should try the North American market and bought him a one-way ticket to Canada where he enjoyed success, including selling the first Jaguar XK120 in North America.

Then Nigel made a career change into money broking and returned to the UK. He joined the Bentley Drivers’ Club, acquiring an example of the marque, and like many members of that club became involved with the Brooklands Society.

Nigel retired to Dorset, first to the village of Compton Valance and subsequently to Poundbury, Dorchester, where his brother said it seemed he knew everyone. Nigel was really from an earlier time, with his immaculate manners, grand style and traditional wardrobe. He could have been from a Wodehouse book or an even earlier period. His niece, Belinda Bekheit, who gave a reading from Wind in the Willows at Nigel’s funeral, said he was really an

Edwardian. Another of his great loves was boogie-woogie piano music and it was fitting that we left his funeral service to the strains of Slow Crossair Boogie, while his coffin was adorned with his Brooklands Society tie.

Nigel continued to be very active in the Society, even after his move to Dorset. He enjoyed his time editing the Society Gazette and liked visiting the printing company who produced it. This company was as old fashioned and traditional, in its own way, as Nigel. The studio team working there described him as ‘the poshest man in the world’. He loved finding rarely seen photos from the Society archive and always made the point that you should carefully study the background for the details of people, cars and buildings, as well as whatever was the main subject of the shot.

It was a great honour to take over the editorship from him and he continued to take a keen interest in the magazine. We had many entertaining discussions about the finer points of grammar and English usage, and the background details in photos.

Nigel’s family has asked that anyone wanting give a donation in his memory should make a gift to the Brooklands Museum.

One feature of the Gazette that Nigel delighted in was a graphic device of using three asterisks spaced across the page to help denote where an item finished. I hope you will indulge me by using it at the end of this tribute to a lovely man who I am delighted to have known and privileged to have had as a friend. Farewell Nigel.

Chris Bass * * *

MARCH - APRIL 2022 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

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members’ matters

Julian Nowell sent in this fantastic image he took from the bridge over the Banking, giving an unusual and interesting angle of the Maserati 250F that was part of the Stirling Moss Tribute in September 2021. The photo shows how slender the Maserati is and just how close the driver sits to the steering

In Memory of…

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 Michael Schultz, an Individual Member for 6 years who sadly passed away in August 2021.

Mr A L Stockham, a Club Level member for 12 months who sadly passed away in October. The membership is continued by his son.

Mr Peter Miller, who enjoyed being a member of the

wheel. If you have any unusual images of Brooklands or its exhibits, please send them in so we can share them with the Bulletin’s readers. The other images show Sir Stirling Moss’ Ferrari 250 GT SWB, and the Napier-Railton with the Barnato-Hassan Special.

Brooklands Trust for many years and who died in December 2021.

Mrs Jackie Rickman, who sadly passed away last year, was a Club Level Member for some 20 years with her husband Stuart, who continues the membership with us.

Mr R Thomas, who was a Member for 17 years sadly passed away in January.

Mr Gordon Knowles, a long-standing Member of 27 years, passed away peacefully in January.

Mr Michael Johnston, a Member for 10 years, who passed away in January.

MARCH - APRIL 2022 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

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members’ matters Talks team on racing form

There’s been a racing theme to recent Talks and it’s been thoroughly enjoyable listening to memories, stories and derring-do of our two most recent guests. The first Talk of 2022 was an evening with Tiff Needell on 13 January, who was as expansive and entertaining as he always is.

Tiff kept those in the room and online rapt with tales ranging from his first experiences with an Austin 7 all the way through to his exploits in Group C, Formula 1 and touring car racing. He also brought his keen insight into racing and modern technology to tell the audience about his concerns about hybrid-powered modern racing cars. The Talk with Tiff marked Harry Sherrard taking over from Steve Clarke as Talks organiser, and all agreed the evening was a huge success.

Following on was an evening with rally legend Paddy Hopkirk with his pin-sharp recollections of competing in Minis in the Monte Carlo Rally, as well as many others. Paddy also talked about his later career and his thoughts on modern rallying. As always, he did all of this with his trademark smile and sense of humour.

These Talks are now available to watch on BM.tv for those who could not attend in person or watch on the Livestream on the evening. You can find a link to the BM.tv channel on the Members section of the Museum website. Please note the new number for the Talks Booking Line is: 07955 462393. The email address is: talks@brooklandsmembers.co.uk. Talks can also be booked online at: www.brooklandsmuseum.com/brooklands-members/ member-events Thanks to Cliff Bolton for the image of Tiff Needell.

Napier-Railton on film Members may be aware the Napier-Railton featured in the 1951 film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman alongside Ava Gardner and James Mason. This film is now available on Amazon’s streaming service, as well as DVD and Blu-ray.

The Napier-Railton was modified for the film and has two main scenes. One is a speed record attempt shot at Pendine Sands, while the other sees the car wrecked as a romantic gesture by one of Gardner’s suitors.

Having seen the film, I can confirm it is a curious period piece and The Times’ Kevin Maher sums it up as: ‘Nutty, literary and gorgeously shot. Gardner is indecently radiant.’ She wasn’t upstaged by the Napier-Railton, then?

Gareth Tarr MARCH - APRIL 2022 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

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brooklands bulletin

brooklands 2020 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER

bulletin

B

BROOKLANDS

DRIVING THE DREAM

rooklands’ role in the Battle experienced Luftwaffe bomber crews had of Britain, and why it was developed tactics to outwit the Observer an important target for the Corps and their plan to attack the Vickers Luftwaffe, was explained in factory at Brooklands on the 4 September the July-August 2020 edition was complex, daring and ruthless. of the Bulletin. Pre-war reconnaissance of The aircraft to be used was the Brooklands had been carried out by the Messerschmitt Bf110. Referred to in Nazi Luftwaffe and, six months prior to the propaganda as a ‘Zerstörer’, a destroyer, outbreak of World War 2, they drew a map a term borrowed from naval parlance, the and compiled an intelligence sheet on the Bf110 was a high performance, twinsite, allocating the airfield target number engined, two-seat and multi-purpose GB 1028 and the Vickers factory the target aircraft. Although primarily a fighter, number GB 747. bomb racks could be fitted to convert the The first raid specifically targeting Messerschmitt into an effective high speed, Brooklands took place on 24 July, 1940. A low altitude light bomber. In other words, single Dornier twin-engined bomber dropped perfect for a surprise attack on a site like 18 bombs, five of which struck the track and Brooklands. others narrowly missed the Vickers factory.

At 6.30am on 4 September, Luftwaffe The Bofors gun mounted on the Members’ unit ErprobungsGruppe 210, which Hill opened fire but did not succeed in hitting specialised in high speed precision attacks the bomber. Damage was limited, but it was using Bf110s in light bomber specification, a foretaste of things to come. took off from their base in France and The key to the successful defence of flew to a forward airbase near Calais a vulnerable site like Brooklands was early for refuelling and a briefing. A surviving warning of an incoming raid. Known in EprGr 210 pilot’s log book states ‘Vickers, 1940 as Radio Detection Finding (RDF) Brooklands’ as their target that day. as the word radar came later, the system EprGr 210 comprised of a force of of bouncing radio signals off aircraft and 14 Bf110s and was joined by several interpreting the reflected signal formed a other Bf110-equipped units. Shortly after core part of the British air defence system. midday, a total of about 100 Bf110s took Along the southern and eastern coasts off from the Calais area and headed for of Britain, a series of transmitter masts and the Sussex coast. RDF picked them up, smaller receiver masts was constructed three squadrons of RAF fighters were to monitor the English Channel and the scrambled and engaged the raiders.

North Sea for incoming hostile aircraft. RDF Several were shot down and one aircraft information about hostile raids was observed from EprGr 210 crashed in the channel by the operators on the screens of the receivers. After interpretation, this information was passed to fighter squadrons to enable them to intercept the raid.

Crucially, however, RDF only looked out over the English Channel and North Sea. Once German aircraft had crossed the coastline, RDF had no role to play. It then fell to the Observer Corps, relying on binoculars and the ‘Mark 1 human eyeball’ to gather critical information about raids, which was then fed into the RAF’s command and control system. By late This German map clearly identifies target 747, which was the Vickers factory. The Luftwaffe had been carrying out reconnaissance of Brooklands six months ahead summer 1940, the of the outbreak of war.

UNDER ATTACK Eighty years ago, Brooklands came under attack.

We find out what happened in these air raids and how Brooklands survived.

Words: Harry Sherrard Photos: Brooklands Museum Collection

Allan Winn is used to driving the Napier-Railton, so he could not pass up the opportunity for a dream drive in its closest rival, the Barnato-Hassan Special. Here are his impressions of this Bentley-powered racing car.

Words: Allan Winn Photos: Fiona Pracht/Akomos, Brooklands Museum Collection

T

he Barnato-Hassan Special must rank as one of the greatest Brooklands racing cars. An Outer Circuit laprecord holder, regular race winner and place-holder, and with a successful post-Brooklands racing career. It is also a car with a somewhat convoluted history, which has only recently emerged from a prolonged and massive restoration which has taken it back to the specification of its pomp in the late 1930s.

The Barnato-Hassan was conceived

by Woolf Barnato in 1934 as a car for Mountain Circuit races and he initially envisaged it being fitted with twin wheels front and rear for extra grip. Wally Hassan,

16

who was commissioned by Barnato to build the car, dissuaded him of the twin front wheel idea. By the time the car was completed, the notion of using it on the Mountain Circuit had been dropped and it was never fitted with the twin rears either.

The basis of the car was the original 6½-litre engine from Barnato’s Bentley ‘Old Number One’, which in 8-litre form had been fatally crashed by Clive Dunfee in 1932, with Bentley axles and a new Hassan-designed chassis with underslung rear suspension.

It was fitted with four-wheel Lockheed hydraulic brakes, an Armstrong-Siddeley pre-selector gearbox, and a single-seat body with a faired-in oval radiator grille. The completed cost was said to be £1000.

First race

The Barnato-Hassan’s first race was the 1934 British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) 500 miles that was run in the rain. Although driver Dudley Froy lapped at over 130mph, he retired when the engine broke a connecting rod, which was a failure to dog the car repeatedly throughout its career.

When it re-emerged for the 1935 season, it had been fitted with a brand-new 8-litre engine and conventional gearbox, and the front brakes removed. Now driven

by London solicitor Oliver Bertram, it was said to have lapped the Outer Circuit at more than 140mph in practice for the Easter meeting, where it won its first short handicap race and was unplaced in

The freshly reconstructed BarnatoHassan Special on the banking of Millbrook’s Bowl that gives some idea of what it was like to drive this 8-litre race car at Brooklands.

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Only five German bombs made direct hits on Brooklands in the first raid on 24 July, 1940 but the later raid on 4 September proved more devastating with the loss of 84 lives at Brooklands.

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The 1921 ABC Sopwith has an integral four-speed gearbox, which was very unusual for the period.

Jack Emerson on the 399cc ABC he rode in the 1920 Victory Handicap race at Brooklands

ABC’s first motor vehicle was the 1919 Skootamota pioneered by Gilbert Campling. Granville Bradshaw was initially opposed to it, but later claimed he invented the scooter when it found sales success.

Earlier this year we described how Jack Emmerson won the first race back at Brooklands after World War One on an ABC. Martin Gegg looks at the history of ABC through three of the motorcycles in the Museum Collection.

Words: Martin Gegg Photos: Brooklands Museum Collection

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ABC IN THREE

I

n the March-April Bulletin, we described Jack Emerson’s epic tortoise and hare race in the Victory Handicap on 10 April, 1920. The winning machine became the basis for ABC’s first post-war offering to the public. An example of this motorcycle can be found in the Clubhouse at Brooklands.

During 2015, the engine was being rebuilt and while it was on the bench several people remarked that it looked

like an early aero engine. They are not far wrong as Bradshaw was collaborating with Sopwith designing and making aircraft engines during WW1. This engine owes much to its aero cousins in the form of lightweight components and relative simplicity. For the members of the Motorcycle Team who maintain the bike, it continues to reveal some of the eccentric brilliance of Bradshaw.

This motorcycle, together with the little ABC Skootamota and the Zenith Gradua, represents the heritage of ABC which along with Bradshaw played a significant part in the engineering legacy of Brooklands.

The story of ABC starts in 1912 when Ronald Louis Charteris, a pioneer aviator founded the All British Engine Company. This company was born out of a collaboration with Walter Lawson Adams, a Southampton-based manufacturer of marine engines. A 21-year old Granville Bradshaw joined the company as a designer, co-incidentally their last name initials then spelt ABC, and they designed and built aircraft engines which were tested on a vehicle named the Wind Bus that can be seen in some early photographs of the site.

The new company was based within

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the Brooklands Circuit and was neighbours with aircraft manufacturers and race tuners. Very soon, Bradshaw was asked to design some improved parts for Les Bailey’s Douglas motorcycle. Bradshaw helped him take two 350cc records and win the 150mile Junior TT in 1912.

By 1913, ABC had manufactured a 500cc motorcycle engine and collaborated with the Collier Brothers of Matchless and Frederick Barnes at Zenith who were asked to design frames. This was to spark a long friendship and collaboration between Brooklands neighbours Barnes and Bradshaw, later resulting in the 1922 Zenith Gradua which sits in the Clubhouse and is powered by a Bradshaw-designed oil-cooled engine.

ABC began building bikes in relatively large numbers and in 1914 the company separated its aviation business, with the motorcycle division being renamed ABC Road Motors (1914). This was a pivotal moment for many manufacturers as they moved to support the War Office after August 1914. ABC had already begun the move from Brooklands to a new location in Hersham before the Royal Flying Corps had forced the relocation of all Brooklands-

SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2020 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

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CONTACT NICK ON 01452 730770 OR EMAIL nick@hinemarketing.co.uk BROOKLANDS MUSEUM 187,000 VISITORS PA (2018) • A4 • FULL COLOUR • 10,000 MEMBERS • 6 ISSUES PER YEAR • 52 PAGES

Brooklands is back on track!

18/08/2020 09:24 ctober 2020.indd 1

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BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

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reviews Big book, small cars If you’re looking for the definitive history of a particular make or model of small car, The Big Book of Tiny Cars is not the tome you’re after.

Instead, this is a joyful romp through the myriad small cars that have offered transport in variously good, bad, and entertaining forms since the very early days of motoring.

Each car is generally afforded two pages for its entry, though it’s disappointing the Austin 7, which is the definitive inter-war years small car, is only given a single page. The US-made Bantam based on the Austin has two pages, which is good for those of us who knew less about this model, but more on the key cars from history would have been welcome.

However, author Russell Hayes offers a light and well-informed approach with his writing and it’s peppered with plenty of facts and figures that will delight fans of trivia. For instance, did you know the 1924 Hanomag Kommissbrot was one of the first cars to compete at the Nürburgring race track in 1927?

You cannot fault Hayes’ ambition and scope with this book as it stretches from 1901 to the present day, covering 120 years of tiny cars. Some of these cars are less tiny than others, but all earn their place and the images are well reproduced throughout.

Hayes also keeps his word about this being a big book as it measures 10.5-inches (26.7cm) square and runs to 176 pages. At £28, it’s a handy and intriguing reference book that works as a springboard to further research.

Alisdair Suttie The Big Book of Tiny Cars by Russell Hayes is priced £28.

Published by The Quarto Group: ISBN 978-0-76037-062-9

Fast and curious The Nazi-backed domination of Grand Prix racing in the 1930s by the formidable Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union teams is well documented. Tazio Nuvolari’s win in the 1935 German Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo is the best-known exception to the Teutonic steamroller, but what about the 1938 Pau Grand Prix when René Dreyfus in a Delahaye beat the Mercedes factory cars in a straight fight? In Faster, Neal Bascomb tells the stories of the key players leading up to that surprising victory.

Rudolf Caracciola was Germany’s top driver, but then serious injury and personal tragedy intervene, is he still capable of leading the nation’s motor racing ambitions as part of Hitler’s chilling propaganda machine? In contrast, French driver René Dreyfus’ Jewish ancestry prevents him driving for the top German and Italian teams, leaving him struggling for a ride. Meanwhile, Delahaye was a respected, long-established marque that needed competition success to shake off a worthy but dull image. Lucy Schell was a Franco-American rally driver whose inheritance provided the resources for Delahaye’s competition revival and funded the V12 145 Grand Prix car.

Neal Bascomb is a former journalist whose other books largely cover aspects of the Second World War. This reflects in the writing of Faster, which in style is more novel than motor racing documentary and results in an entertaining, easy read. The various strands of the story gradually pull together until we reach the fateful day of 10 April, 1938. For the French, it wasn’t the new dawn that the domestic press celebrated but at least they had scored one victory against the rising menace from east of the Rhine.

Today, René Dreyfus largely passes under the radar, but for those seeking more I can recommend My Two Lives – Race Driver to Restauranteur that he wrote with Beverly Rae Kimes and which I enjoyed reading when it was published in the 1980s. Worth seeking out, but as the cheapest copy I could find was £90, clearly this is for the dedicated only.

Gareth Tarr Faster – How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler’s Best by Neal Bascomb is priced £20. Published by HMH: ISBN 978-1-32848-987-6 MARCH - APRIL 2022 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN

49

AROUND THE

COLLECTION Brooklands Members Members’ Administrator Sarah Dover 01932 857381 ext 226 Mon-Fri members@brooklandsmuseum.com Chairman Neil Bailey 07970 206778 chairman@brooklandsmembers.co.uk Secretary Kevin Lee 01932 562246 kevin@abbeywalls.com Tours and Trips Angela Hume 07884 184882 Angelahume@brooklandsmembers.co.uk Outreach David Norfolk 01372 373929 david@davidnorfolk.wanadoo.co.uk Talks Harry Sherrard 07899 984535 harry@harrysherrard.com BM.tv Mark Jarman 07710 783536 nonesuche@gmail.com Bulletin Editor Alisdair Suttie 07768 372440 brooklandsbulletineditor@gmail.com Contributors Chris Bass, Clifford Bolton, Steve Castle, Clarke, Debbie Crawt, Sarah Dover, Martin Gegg, Angela Hume, Anna Jackson, Andy Lambert, Andrew Lewis, Tim Morris, David Norfolk, Julian Nowell, John Philips, John Pringle, Harry Sherrard, Gareth Tarr, Mike Venables, Paul Wheaton, Andrew Wilkins 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 Brooklands Museum, Brooklands Road, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 0QN 01932 857381 Fax: 01932 855465 www.brooklandsmuseum.com

Brooklands Museum Chairman Sir Gerald Acher CBE LVO gerryacher@brooklandsmuseum.com CEO Tamalie Newbery ext 243 Director of Collections, Interpretation and Heritage Alex Patterson ext 247 Visitor Experience Manager Jenny Pettit ext 302 Volunteer & HR Manager Aimee Nelson ext 303

It may be small, but it was one of the most coveted badges to have at Brooklands during its active racing period. You couldn’t buy it as it had to be earned through great effort by lapping the Track with an average speed of 100mph or more. This is the Gold Star, and it was won by many of the most prominent motorcycle riders in Brooklands history.

Awarded by the British Motorcycle Racing Club, it took a lot of skill and considerable bravery on the part of riders to win a Gold Star. This was partly due to the daunting Brooklands circuit with its steep banking, but also because the Track surface was not as smooth in the immediate post-First World War period as it had been when it opened in 1907. Negotiating the bumps while keeping the throttle open took a great deal of effort.

The Gold Star is the enameled blue star below the BMCRC membership badge and above the enameled year which was given to members annually. The image shows Beatrice Shilling’s BMCRC Membership Badge (1936) and Gold Star awarded in 1934.

The first BMCRC Gold Star was awarded to Bert LeVack for being the first rider to lap Brooklands over 100mph riding a 998cc Zenith JAP at an average speed of 100.27mph on 27 October,

1922.

Subsequent Gold Stars were awarded for any rider who averaged more than 100mph. The first woman to earn a Gold Star was Florence Blenkiron, who won the badge in 1934 on a 500cc GrindlayPeerless motorcycle at 102.06mph, and she joined just 141 riders in all to be awarded this small but prized badge.

Learning Officer Laura Barclay ext 257

Parking arrangements

Curatorial and Archive Enquiries Beatrice Meecham ext 253

Brookland’s Road. All other Members including Club level and visitors please park in The Heights or main public car park unless

Chief Operating Officer Amanda Squires ext 255 Head of Track and Air Events Steve Castle ext 244 Concorde Bookings ext 266 flyconcorde@brooklandsmuseum.com Hospitality Sales Manager Andrew Webber ext 300 hospitality@brooklandsmuseum.com

Please note that for all events marked ‘Parking in The Heights’, designated vehicles only can enter via the Campbell Gate, off otherwise specified.

Parking arrnagements for other weekend events are: Club level Members: entry via Campbell Gate and parking outside the Paddock. Period and classic vehicles only inside the Paddock by invitation. 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.

Marketing Director Sam Hart ext 225

While every effort has been made by the Publishers to include correct information, they are unable to accept responsibility for

Email addresses are available on the Museum website www.brooklandsmuseum.com/about/ contact-us

event of misinformation or lack of source relating to images supplied by a third party by electronic or other means.

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errors or omissions. The Publishers, Brooklands Members and Brooklands Museum Trust Limited cannot accept responsibility in the

Charity number 296661. Please quote this if making donations or requesting them via a funeral director.

BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2022

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