Tribute To A Racer

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Ferg

Original Poster:

15,242 posts

263 months

Thursday 28th June 2007
quotequote all
Just a small tribute to a 'Yesterday's Hero'.
Last night my father-in-law lost his battle for life, peacefully.

When I started seeing his daughter I spent many fantastic days at Silverstone with the Bentley Drivers Club and with the VSCC as he campaigned LJJ 12, a MkVI Special of his own making running 3 twin 48 DelOrtos and somewhat comical Wolfrace Slot Alloys.
He held the lap record for a Bentley around Silverstone from 1980-86 in this car and is pictured below rounding the old Woodcote.


He replaced the Mk VI with an older 1937 Special, this time running SIX old brass bodied SUs. This car was driven to all it's race meetings laden down with tools, spares and me and won the Ford Trophy for points scored by a car not transported.
My wife and I had it as a wedding car in 1987.


His desire for a Grand Prix car resulted in the campaigning of a Mk1 Cooper-Bristol. This enabled him to compete at the Coys meeting at Silverstone with the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association, but a small, but significant accident caused by another driver at Copse was enough to persuade him to retire from racing.


A spot of trials in a Ford Model 'A' was great fun, but eventually he went back to road cars with a bare metal rebuild of a Porsche 356, a dalliance with a 924, a full rebuild of a Norton Model 19 and another rebuild of a Porsche Standard Tractor (an acknowlegement of his lifetime of farming).

His last major engineering job was the rebuild of a car he had assisted his Best Man (the late Alan Stacey of Team Lotus) in building, a Lotus VI. This was done on behalf of Alan's family and the car has been campaigned since by them.



Between all this he also rebuilt a Bentley Saloon to a standard enough to win him the Concours D'Elegance at Bentley Drivers Club, Kensington Palace.

I hope you like the pictures, I just thought I couldn't let his life slip away without a little recognition of a fantastic racer, engineer, father-in-law, grandfather, man....




Edited by Ferg on Sunday 9th December 12:17

joey deakon

122 posts

210 months

Thursday 28th June 2007
quotequote all
Sorry to hear of your loss

Sounds like an amazing fellow, I'll be happy if I achieve a fraction of his accomplishments. I suspect those cars take a hell of a lot of talent to run, let alone race.

Motown Junk

2,041 posts

223 months

Thursday 28th June 2007
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Any guy that put Slot Mags on a Bentley gets a BIG bow from me.

Balmoral Green

41,680 posts

254 months

Thursday 28th June 2007
quotequote all
Condolences Ferg, no doubt an obituary will appear in the next BDC Review.

williamp

19,525 posts

279 months

Thursday 28th June 2007
quotequote all
As you say, a tribute to a racer. I would add a lovely tribute. I'm sorry for your loss, but thank you for those photos. It sounds like a great life. How about writing some more on his life with those lovely cars?

Ferg

Original Poster:

15,242 posts

263 months

Thursday 28th June 2007
quotequote all
Warren - It would be nice to think so, but he hasn't been a member for a long time. I'm sure they remember him though!!!

William - YHM??

Fat Richie

1,271 posts

224 months

Thursday 28th June 2007
quotequote all
Motown Junk said:
Any guy that put Slot Mags on a Bentley gets a BIG bow from me.
What he said! Sounds like he was one heck of a guy too! Any more photos of LJJ?

F.M

5,816 posts

226 months

Friday 29th June 2007
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Very nice post....mean looking machines...RIP

L100NYY

35,460 posts

249 months

Friday 29th June 2007
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A fitting tribute ferg, he sounds like a man with a real passion for all things automotive and was obviously a fine wheelman too.

Consider my cap doffed dear boy.

guru_1071

2,768 posts

240 months

Friday 29th June 2007
quotequote all
great first pic, its now my background at work (hope you dont mind!)

my dads right into his bentleys and ive spent many hours welding up a very unloved (and very ripe!) S1 that he bought 'because it was cheap'

its a bit to modern for him (prefers the derbys) but ive always had a soft spot for mk6 and r type specials, wolfys where a fairly common fitmant on many specials from 1970s, they must have been a common fitment to some other car i guess.

any more pictures of the mk6?

_TC

1,938 posts

255 months

Friday 29th June 2007
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Very sorry for your loss Ferg. what a great motor racing life he had. lovely pictures too.

Ferg

Original Poster:

15,242 posts

263 months

Saturday 30th June 2007
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Thanks very much for your words, guys. I will see if I can find any pictures of the Mark VI.... I have lots of EGJ 55, but not so many of LJJ 12.


Ian V

1,817 posts

274 months

Saturday 30th June 2007
quotequote all
Ferg,

I,m so sorry to hear of your loss. Sounds like a cracking Father-in-law.

Thanks for your earlier e mail regarding the Newmarket show tomorrow. I hope you can still make it, but would fully understand if you don't show.

Chin up mate.

Ferg

Original Poster:

15,242 posts

263 months

Sunday 8th July 2007
quotequote all
Just a quick update.
Funeral yesterday. BIG turnout, shed a tear.

Afterwards my mother-in-law got some old photo albums out and I have asked to borrow and scan some car photos. I'll post them here when I get time.
With typical forethought he had listed out every car or motorbike he owned....

L100NYY

35,460 posts

249 months

Monday 9th July 2007
quotequote all
Thankyou for the update Ferg, I'm sure that I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that I wait with anticiaption to see these pictures and I'm glad that the funeral went well.

smile

Ferg

Original Poster:

15,242 posts

263 months

Tuesday 31st July 2007
quotequote all
Hello all.

I spent a couple of hours with my mother-in-law going through a lot of racing stuff yesterday evening in my father-in-law's workshop.
Around 100 trophies from the VSCC and BDC along with some 'rogue' AMOC and JDC trophies as well as some Chelmsford and District Auto Club trophies from 1950-53... he was 17 in 1950 and I suspect these were motorbike trials or somesuch.

Anyway, I brought home with me 4 photos of him in Bentleys and also the 'Ford Vintage Trophy' from 1990. This is awarded to the driver who wins most points in the season in a car DRIVEN to all the meetings. Since I was the fool who got up at 5am to go with him in all weathers in an open car, I asked my MIL if I could be 'custodian' of that trophy...it's on the piano next to me now!!!



Silverstone 1977



Prescott 1978



Silverstone 1979



Silverstone 1997


I hope you like them.
Cheers,
Ferg

Huntsman

8,180 posts

256 months

Tuesday 31st July 2007
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Good stuff.

I love it when you see drivers in older machinery grabbing big armfuls of steering wheel!!


guru_1071

2,768 posts

240 months

Thursday 2nd August 2007
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brill!

i guess the winter of 77 was a busy one!

he's still my screen saver!

Ferg

Original Poster:

15,242 posts

263 months

Friday 3rd August 2007
quotequote all
Thanks all for your interest in my photos. I've unearthed a few from my own collection, I'll have a look for some more from my MIL in a while.


The 'Alan Stacey' VI.


EGJ55 racing at Donington with mudguards and lights removed and sporting an aero screen. He ran it like this in races which didn't specify a 'sportscar'.


Cooper-Bristol passing the pits at Silverstone.


Grand Prix car dash..... LOL!




Now I think this is his Concours winning Bentley......

Ferg

Original Poster:

15,242 posts

263 months

Monday 13th February 2012
quotequote all


Recently discovered picture of Ian in his Cooper-Bristol at Donington 1997.