www.motoringclassics.co.uk www.bmh-ltd.com AUTUMN2016 A BREATH OF FRESH THE (ALMOST) AIR(SHIPS) FULL MONTE HOW NEW THE STORY BEHIND TECHNOLOGY IS BMC’S ALL-CONQUERING REVIVING AN OLD RALLY BABY INVENTION

LIFE THRU THEWE CELEBRATE THE STELLAR LENS CAREER OF MAURICE ROWE Dealer Spotlight 3 Mini – The (Almost Full Monte) 4-7 Missing Moniker 8 Classic Character 9 A Breath Of Fresh Air(ships) 10-12 Classic Motorsport 13-15 Life Thru The Lens 16-19

Above: The last and arguably most-exciting road-going Elva was the BMW-engined GT160, of which only three were made (Photo: MPL, National Motor Museum) Motoring Classics reproduction in whole or any part of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission of the publisher LEACY CLASSICS is strictly prohibited. The publish- er makes every effort to ensure As every classic Mini fan knows, the Our regular reader will know we show- the magazine’s contents are correct 2 Works cars won the Monte Carlo Rally case a British Motor Heritage (BMH) deal- but can accept no responsibility If SME’s have been endangered mentioned grand total of parts lines ample room to expand on the four years in succession. But, as they er in every issue and this time we’ve put for any effects from errors by BREXIT, then nobody’s told includes 6,000 for the classic Mini existing two acre site. There’s also 3 are also painfully aware, the 1966 event Birmingham-based Leacy Classics under or omissions. Leacy Classics, as it’s expanded and the same for classic taxis. As we space to host car club meets – an angle ended in uproar after the organisers en- the spotlight. This rapidly-expanding from 11 staff in 2011 to 35 to- know, interest in British vehicles of the company is keen to further develop. NB Motoring Classics is the printed gineered a way to disqualify no less than business stocks thousands of replace- day and has no intention of look- the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s extends way and online publication of British Motor 11 British cars; including the that ment parts for a whole range of favour- ing back, with eyes on a turno- beyond our shores and some 50 per- Another recent string to the Leacy bow Heritage and its retail trading arm. had filled the first three places, thereby ite British classics and could well be able ver of £10 million by 2018. cent of Leacy’s sales head overseas. is running Morgan Motor Company’s handing victory to Citroën. We recall this to supply the very item that’s been elud- Publisher: new accessory programme, to which infamous incident while examining how ing you. We also always feature BMH’s This burgeoning Birmingham-based Stock on this scale needs plenty of a dedicated team has been assigned. British Motor Heritage Limited, Alec Issigonis’s baby came to be one of involvement in the classic racing scene, Range Road, Cotswold Business business was founded in 1980. Origi- space, which Leacy fortunately pos- It has assembled the range of quality the most successful rally cars of all time. and on this occasion report on the MD’s nally an automotive workshop, it then sesses. The current premises were clothing, leather goods, rugs, hampers Park, Witney OX29 OYB, UK busiest ever few months behind the For many years the chief photographer added a trade counter to the mix for purpose-built in 1999 and cover a and car accessories, and is just put- Tel: +44 (0)1993 707200 wheel – enjoy his warts-and-all account of Motor Magazine, Maurice Rowe had whose customers it began to stock substantial 54,000 sq ft. In addition ting the finishing touches to its second Email: [email protected] of the trials and tribulations involved. previously served a whole range of its large volumes of specialist parts. to the replacement parts, they house brochure. The commitment involves sister publications too and therefore cov- When entrepreneur David Keene took a shop for passing trade (or from liaising with the carefully-chosen local Editorial: Last but not least, we use an exciting ered cycling, motorcycling and aviation the helm 31 years later, he reasoned which customers can click and col- suppliers and retaining a representa- Gordon Bruce Associates new British-built lighter-than-air craft, the as well as all aspects of motoring. In this there remained unfulfilled trade op- lect), and a workshop for service, tive on-site at the Malvern factory. Email: [email protected] Airlander 10, as an excuse to explore the issue we celebrate some of his many portunities for the classic car parts MOT and restoration work. And when Web: www.gordonbruce.com extraordinary history of the airship from remarkable images from a stellar career already being held for MGs, Triumphs, yet more accommodation is required For further information on this rap- c.1900 to the present day. Design and production: spanning no less than 56 years. Jaguars, Morris Minors and classic - which will be pretty soon at the idly expanding organisation see Flipside Group Minis; core brands for which Leacy current rate of growth! – then there’s www.leacyclassics.com. This edition’s Classic Character in none Happy reading! www.flipsidegroup.com nowadays aims to have the best offer- other Charles Rolls – one half of argu- ing in the marketplace. The addition ably the world’s most famous marque of items for models of Land Rover, of motorcar and a pioneer of not just Morgan, Lotus and Ford, means the motoring, but ballooning and flying as company now boasts a total of no less Follow us on: well. It is hard to credit that somebody than 66,500 parts lines, and counting. @MotoringClassic of such extensive and lasting influence lived for a mere 32 years. This issue’s Part of this rapid growth has been Motoring Classics missing Moniker is Elva – another suc- Gordon Bruce fuelled by acquisition, and Mini spe- cessful British brand that manufactured Editor cialists Min-Its and the London Taxi over 1,000 cars and carried many rac- Group have been subsumed into ers to championship victory, yet some- the Leacy business in the last eight how remains relatively unknown even months alone; as a result the afore- COVER PHOTO: A PORTRAIT OF GRAHAM HILL - ONE SO MANY ICONIC IMAGES CAPTURED BY MAURICE ROWE amongst the motorsport fraternity. www.motoringclassics.co.uk www.bmh-ltd.com www.motoringclassics.co.uk www.bmh-ltd.com (ALMOST) THE FULL MINIMONTE The men from Mars might presume the English Channel was created to keep the French and British apart. However, it has never prevented us warring, and this is the 50th anniversary of one of the most notorious motorsport clashes between the two nations – the disqualification that denied the Mini its rightful four consecutive Monte Carlo Rally victories (1964-1967 inc.). The fracas didn’t prevent it becoming one of the most successful rally cars of all time though, and here we reflect on its memorable career with the assistance of the man that masterminded it – Stuart Turner. part Minis would soon play in his career. Under Turner’s stewardship the new members of the winning Standard Pen- By the time Issigonis’s baby was born in model’s first ever victory – the Mini Miglia of how painfully slow the little 34bhp sa- Cooper soon showed its rally potential, nant team on the 1958 RAC Rally. Paddy He was Sports Editor of Motoring News allowing him to dramatically reduce the was dying to get his hands on a Healey September 1959, Turner had established that took place less than a month after the loon felt and that they suffered soggy feet when the Head of BMC’s Competitions himself as a rally co-driver of international car’s launch. Though they won by a crush- throughout – water leaks were standard fit number of other models employed and 3000 and Turner was happy to oblige. Department, Marcus Chambers, de- focus on the Healey 3000 and latest note, and in fact partnered to the ing 10 minutes, his abiding memories are at the time! Little did he realise how big a By the end of 1963 Mini-Coopers had cided (temporarily as it turned out) to Mini. This in turn provided an excuse won the Tulip and Baden-Baden rallies forsake the stresses of international mo- to reshape the driver line-up. He’d spot- (Pat Moss) and the Alpine event (Rauno torsport for a nine-to-five job, and recom- ted ’s potential at the Aaltonen) and achieved other mended Stuart replace him. With impec- wheel of a Mercedes on a Polish rally, encouraging results, but it was Hop- cable timing, Turner arrived at Abingdon while Aaltonen’s fellow ‘Flying Finn’, Timo kirk’s victory on the 1964 Monte Carlo 4 just weeks after the Mini-Cooper had Makinen, first impressed on the 1962 5 Rally that really put the brand on the in- been launched. RAC rally. “The amiable Morris dealer ternational map. “I could imagine from in Helsinki asked if we could find a car In recent times, BMC’s eclectic rally ar- Rauno’s push to 3rd place on the 1963 for him to tackle the event with. Timo moury had included everything from the event what the more powerful Cooper S spoke virtually no English so, with Rauno mighty Healey 3000 to the Austin A40, could be capable of, and we went into translating, we told him to ‘just to pot- MGA, Healey Sprite/MG Midget, Minor the ‘64 one reasonably optimistic. 1000, Riley 1.5, Wolseley 6/99, Austin ter round and not bend anything’ – his A105 and, of course, the remarkable, response was to finish 7th overall and “There is no doubt that in marketing but so far relatively unsuccessful, 850 win his class!” terms the Mini was the right car for the Mini. The thinking was that from such a time. The term ‘swinging sixties’ had The third link in the new driver chain was selection there would be at least a class yet to be coined, but it was the era of charismatic Irishman , win or two to advertise the Monday after the Beatles, Carnaby Street and all that who Turner knew from their time as every event. jazz, and the little car fitted perfectly into Continued overleaf> Left: Paddy Hopkirk en route to Monte Carlo, 1968. Top left: Timo Makinen was quick, whatever the vehicle! Top right: the Mini’s first Monte was 1960 - here journalist/motorsport competitor Tommy Wisdom checks the oil on his 850cc contender. Bottom left: Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom’s Mini-Cooper, Monte Carlo Rallo Rally, 1962. Bottom right: Paddy Hopkirk, Henry Liddon and BMC team with the spoils of victory, Monte Carlo, 1964 (Photos: Stuart Turner Collection and MPL, National Motor Museum)

Continued overleaf> www.motoringclassics.co.uk www.bmh-ltd.com www.motoringclassics.co.uk www.bmh-ltd.com Above: 6 1964 Palladium, London the at www.motoringclassics.co.uk www.bmh-ltd.com MINI Hopkirk, Liddonand‘33EJB’on Palladium three timesthatofeven Forsyth andregularly attractedaudiences in 1964washostedbyayoungBruce a dominant manner as to be described a dominantmannerastobedescribed nen ina1275Mini-CooperS,and insuch The 1965 Monte waswonby Timo Maki- ‘33 EJB’,on and thewinning1071ccMini-CooperS, ance ofHopkirk,co-driverHenryLiddon on theUKcakewascelebrityappear- front pagenewstheworldover. Theicing never visited,suchanexcitingvictorywas dise everybody’dheard ofbutmosthad when Monaco was a Mediterranean para - mention inthemedia,butback‘60s, Nowadays, theMontebarely receives match’! - ‘TheBeatlesandtheMini?Aperfect should collect him in one of the rally cars licity, from where itwasarrangedTurner Bourget ona later plane to yet more pub- was delayed,however, andarrivedatLe of the ‘64 Monte. Ringo awaiting the start mass hysteriawhiletheBMCteamwas John, PaulandGeorge flewintoParisto that scene.”Indeeditdidandbychance Dancing. – a blockbuster TV show that –ablockbusterTVshowthat Sunday Night at the London London the at Night Sunday FULL MONTE (ALMOST) (ALMOST) Strictly Come Come Strictly Sunday Night Night Sunday THE THE

powdered snow, whichallowedustorun tin A110servicecar, sweptawaythe then, usingthefloormatsfrom ourAus- until theotherrecce crews hadleft and on MontVentoux, forexample,wewaited got thesameicenoteschemeinplace– middle ofthenight.Norhadtheyperhaps like atthetimethey’dberun,say, inthe to bestknowwhatconditionswouldbe or were asdiligentinpractisingthestages sectionsfrozecheck ifcertain overnight, if theyputoutgarden thermometersto ter prepared thanourrivals–egIdoubt “The factiswewere bet- almostcertainly quicker thantherallyones! from the local Morris showroom proved tested byajournalist,standard example switched cars. For what it’s when worth, some stagestheorganisers thoughtwe’d was becausetheMiniswere soquickon supposed lightingtechnicality, I think it a the decisionwasofficiallybasedon cars excludedfrom theresults: “Although debacle thatsawnolessthan11British work thatis.SaysTurner oftheensuing lowing year;before thescrutineerssetto Finn’ who led home a Mini 1,2,3thefol- rally history’.Anditwasthesame‘Flying by Turner as‘perhapsthefinestdrivein

Makinen onthe1965Monte Above: on theso-called‘revenge’ Turner Monteof1967(Photos:Stuart Right: ‘perhaps the finest drive in rally history’ - ‘perhaps thefinestdriveinrallyhistory’ Rauno Aaltonenand HenryLiddonreturn from victory to the sales staff, it mattered little to the itmatteredto thesalesstaff, littletothe admitsthat,whileitwasofconcern Stuart as Morrises and sometimes Austins, but Works Miniswere sometimesentered proach andinnateattentiontodetail. because oftheBrits’s naturallycalmap- British co-driverswasthemasterstroke, the wheel,hebelievespairingthemwith about the talent of the ‘Flying Finns’ behind seconds!” MuchasTurner isunequivocal the situation. We won the rally by 13 amusement ofspectators - and relayed kilometres there and back – to the ribald early, insteadofgiving upheranthe3-4 ing thegendarmeshadclosedstage to checkthebendoutandcallus.Onfind- ing ouroveralltactics,soIaskedRobin corner ofastagewere vitaltodetermin- reasoned theconditionsononeparticular Robin Vokins’ triumph.Heexplains:“We says you could argue it was mechanic was wonbyRaunoAaltonen,butTurner The so-called ‘revenge’ Monte of 1967 crew.ment andtheoftenunsungsupport groups towinrallies–drivers,manage- As Turner readily pointsout,ittakesthree we were fastest!” the Minis on ‘quick’ tyres. Unsurprisingly, Collection andothersources)

replaced thecancelled1967RACRally Above: MakinenfliesduringtheTVspecialthat Browning; especially following the merger of very different forTurner’s successor, Peter and thelifeofCompetitionsManager was Hopkirk’s AlpinevictoryofSeptember 1967, tled ‘Twice Lucky’! TheMini’s lastbigwinwas notfornothingishisautobiography enti- cort; Es- new competitionweapon–theimmortal of timingarrivedatFord coincidentwithits however, andwithanother immaculatepiece and thrustofinternationalrallyingforlong, Castrol. Hecouldn’tstayawayfrom thecut fore leavingBMCforits long-term oil partner, of 1967wastherefore Turner’s lasteventbe- The‘revenge’had theLotusCortina. Monte er SwasgettinglonginthetoothandFord wall fortheBMCteam.Even1275Coop- By the end of 1966,the writing was on the ties easilybecameconfused.” swap registration numbers around, so identi- between countries,itwasoftenquickestto mind thepaperworkrequired toshufflecars erally recycled asrecce carsand,bearingin Eventhewinningoneswerelife isshort. gen- individual vehicles:“Arallycar’s competitive those whogetover-excitedbythehistoryof one attheother!Healsohasbadnewsfor with anAustinbadgeatoneendandaMorris one CooperhadcompletedtheTulip rally whodiscovered competitions department,

them ontheirside-Acropolis Rally, 1968 Above: Minis were frequently servicedbytipping cars ceasedthere andthen. golden eraoftheall-conqueringWorks rally rally andracewithaplombtothisday, butthe BMC and Leyland in1968. Minis continueto

Competitions Department, 1966 Competitions Department, Above: Stuart TurnerStuart outsideBMC’s holdscourt department sadlyclosedforgood. department 1955 to 1970, when the doors of the insight intothepoliciesandpoliticsfrom ficial documentsprovides afascinating reproductionprinted, warts-and-all of- Turner andBrowning. Thisfreshly-re- Secrets’Department byChambers, BillPrice,and‘BMCCompetitions wart bylongtimeAbingdonstal- Department’ nados are ‘TheBMC/BLCompetitions in competition,buttwomustsforaficio- There’s of tomesonMinis noshortage READING FURTHER

37 Currently MISSING MONIKER Elva Cars The Honourable Charles Stewart Rolls (1877-1910) The fascinatingly successful story 65bhp. Subsequent Elvas were powered in Rye, Sussex, while the combined re- of Elva Cars is best known in the US by all manner of units including: Coventry sources of the two companies led to them where most of the c.1,070 made Climax, Ford, BMC, DKW, BMW, Porsche, making customer versions of the early were sold, despite the company be- Chevrolet and Oldsmobile. McLaren racers. Trojan eventually tired of ing founded and based in England Courier production and the final 20-plus throughout its 14-year existence. The MKI to V versions of the sports racer examples were created by Ken Sheppard. were front-engined, while MKs VI to VIII For many, however, the most desirable of Frank Nichols entered the garage trade in had their powerplants mounted behind the all Elvas are the handsome, Fiore-penned 1947, courtesy of his army gratuity. He driver. It was an enthusiastic appraisal of BMW-engined GT160s, one of which ran began racing for fun and commissioned the MKI penned by John Bolster for Auto- briefly at Le Mans in 1965, but only three a Ford-engined CSM (Chapman Sports sport that sparked the first of countless were ever made. See www.elva.com Motor) sports racer from Mike Chapman Elva sales in the USA; business in which for further historical information and, of nearby Hastings. Success ensued and racing impresario Carl Haas played a ma- someday, maybe even the news that ‘she

8 Nichols spotted scope for manufactur- jor role. The marque also achieved con- goes…..again’! ing a similar two-seater for general sale. siderable success in Formula Junior, so it 3 9 Fashioned at the London Road Garage, was decided to capitalise on this burgeon- Bexhill in 1955, the resulting model was ing fame with a road-going sports car, the first to bear the Elva name (a corrup- and the two-seat BMC B Series-engined tion of ‘elle va’, French for ‘she goes’) and, Courier was duly launched in 1958. It too while mechanically similar to the CMS, fared well and the company was expand- it featured an innovative all-enveloping ing exponentially when failure of the US rather than cycle-winged body. In addi- distributor triggered financial problems on Though best known as the co-found- leading automotive pioneer he founded C. wards he sadly lost his life at a Bourne- tion to show-casing the new car brand, it both sides of the pond. er of Rolls-Royce, C S Rolls lived the S. Rolls & Co, Automotive Agents in Con- mouth airshow, when his Wright Flyer helped promote the Elva inlet-over-exhaust equivalent of at least three lives in his duit Street, London in 1902, with Panhard broke-up in the air; making him the first alloy cylinder head the company had de- Courier production rights were sold to 32 action-packed years, and the fields as its core marque. The company supplied Briton to die in an aeroplane accident. signed to coax more power from Ford’s Trojan of Croydon and, with support from of motoring, ballooning and aviation new and used vehicles, carried out servic- ubiquitous side-valve engine, dramatically Haas, Nichols regrouped to revive sports each have much to thank him for. es and repairs, organised coachwork, and boosting the 1172cc version from 36 to racer and Formula Junior manufacture provided hire cars with or without chauf- The youngest of four children, Rolls was feur. Rolls is also credited with introducing born in London but partially raised at the hire purchase to the motor trade. family’s Victorian mansion in Monmouth- Above: Works driver Tony Lanfranchi aboard an shire. Aged nine he employed its driveway On paper he had little in common with Elva-BMW MKVIIS next to a Trojan-built MKIV Courier as a soapbox racetrack, and during holi- fledgling Manchester-based motorcar outside the Elva Works at Rye, Sussex (Photo: Roger days from Eton he helped his father equip manufacturer Fredrick Henry Royce, who Dunbar). Below: Elvas are popular weapons in historic the ancestral home with electricity. It was had a far more modest background and racing - here a MKV sports racer presses on (Photo: Dickon Sidall) while reading mechanical and applied sci- was 14 years his senior, but it proved to be ence at Trinity College, Cambridge that he an inspired union of skilled salesman and obtained the first of many cars – a second- talented engineer, and Rolls-Royce Ltd was hand 3.75hp Peugeot Phaeton. The 140 formed in 1906. This was also the year mile journey home for Christmas took that Rolls won the TT, and met the Wright three days and featured brake failure, en- brothers who were to feature prominently gine seizure and even being run over by in the last few years of his life. his own car. Rolls’ entrée to pastimes of the sky began A born dealer, he was soon helping to sat- with ballooning, and with 173 flights be- isfy pent-up British demand with motorcars tween 1898 and 1910 he did as much as Top: Charles Rolls ballooning with society from across the Channel. In 1899 he and anybody to turn it from mere hobby into ladies The Hon. Mrs May Assheton Harbord John Montagu became the first Britons to a fashionable activity. Flying was his next and Baroness Von Heeckeren and, above, race abroad, and a year later he drove a passion and, among many triumphs, he winning the 1906 Isle of Man TT with Eric Panhard to victory in the 1,000 Mile Trial achieved the first non-stop return flight Platford aboard a 20hp Rolls-Royce (Photo: – a milestone in British motoring. Now a across the Channel. It was shortly after- MPL, National Motor Museum)

www.motoringclassics.co.uk www.bmh-ltd.com www.motoringclassics.co.uk www.bmh-ltd.com Below: the successful British-built R100 was sadly broken up as a result of the R101 disaster. Bottom, L to R: USS Los Angeles; the wreck of the Hindenburg; Zeppelin LZ-2; A BREATH OF the magnificent Graf Zeppelin; Zeppelin LZ-4 FRESH AIR

The rollercoaster career of the airship looked to have ended in 1940, when (Ships) Göring ordered both Graf Zeppelins to be scrapped and their enormous hangars at Frankfurt airport razed to the ground. But, despite the phenomenal advances in heavier-than-air craft, the manufacture of lighter-than-air ones is once again on the rise across the globe, and one of the 11 10 most innovative and exciting, the Airlander 10, is being produced here in the UK – in the very same Cardington hangar occupied by the infamous R101 almost 90 years ago.

Yesteryear Ignominiously forced from a senior position in the Prus- sian army, Count Zeppelin turned his mind to creating a weapon that would give Germany superiority over any warring enemy. Knowledge of the tethered balloons employed in the American civil war encouraged him to design LZ-1, the first of many Zeppelin airships. 420ft long, it had a rigid alloy frame supporting a fabric en- velope inflated with hydrogen. Power was supplied by a pair of 14hp Daimler engines. Its maiden flight took place over Lake Constance in July 1900 and lasted 18 minutes. Ensuing designs won favour with the German aircraft-borne incendiary devices capable of traverse North America before being torn explorer Roald Amundsen who, having then public and when LZ-4 was destroyed by fire, they con- destroying the assailants were developed, apart in a storm over Ohio in 1925. Owed fallen out with Nobile, ironically lost his life tributed 6 million marks towards its replacement. Man- and blimps successfully employed for spot- an airship by the Germans under the war attempting to rescue the Italian from a sub- ufacture was put on a firm footing in 1908 and DELAG ting U-boats and escorting allied convoys. reparation scheme, the US military also ac- sequent Arctic challenge. formed the following year – this was the world’s first Once the atrocities ceased, the allies had quired a similarly-large Zeppelin they chris- passenger airline, which initially employed Zeppelins free reign to adopt German airship technol- tened USS Los Angeles. By 1926 restrictions on the Germans build- for local sightseeing tours but, by 1931, was offering ogy. The British constructed the c.640ft ing airships had been lifted and, still looking scheduled flights to South America. In the three years R33 and R34, and the latter was the first Italy had a spell at the head of airship devel- to establish them as the kings of interna- prior to WWI, DELAG safely transported 10,000 pas- aircraft to make a return flight across the opment too, courtesy of Umberto Nobile. tional travel, Zeppelin’s Hugo Eckener set sengers a total of 100,000 miles. Atlantic. The Americans created the 680ft His semi-rigidly constructed Norge was ar- about building the biggest and best exam- USS Shenandoah based on the Zeppe- guably the first aircraft to reach the North ple yet. Christened the Graf Zeppelin, it was There is nothing like armed conflict to accelerate tech- lin LZ-96 - its helium-filled gas cells were Pole, and certainly the first to cross the ‘three city blocks long and as luxurious as nology, and during WWI Germany inflicted the first case constructed from goldbeater’s skin (calf’s polar ice cap from Europe to America. The a first class Bavarian hotel, complete with of strategic bombing on Britain by loading each of intestine) and it became the first airship to flight in question was inspired by Norwegian silver cutlery and ‘Zeppelin’ marked crock- many Zeppelins with 5 tons of ammunition. Eventually, Continued overleaf>

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Right: a wonderful CGI image of the HAV Airlander 10 over the Glastonbury Festival

Photo - Jeff Bloxham

Above L-R: The Airlander 10 inside its restored hangar, Cardington: the historic shed that once housed the R101

ery’. In 1928 it achieved the first non-stop seas voyage, killing 48 of the 54 people on ble to take pleasure trips around Lake Con- commercial flight across the Atlantic. A board and effectively ending the UK’s airship stance in a rigid Zeppelin airship – be it a Motoring Classics in

12 powerful squall threatened disaster, and at involvement for decades to come. modest-sized (246ft), helium-filled one. one point the US navy had no less than 21 13 war ships lying in readiness, but the craft To this day, the largest and most luxurious The Airlander 10 is, if you’ll pardon the pun, survived and safely transported 20 passen- craft ever to take to the skies are the 803ft on a different plane. Claimed to combine the gers and 40 crew 5,000 miles in 111 hours. long LZ-129 (Hindenburg) and its sister ship best characteristics of fixed-wing aircraft 30,000 people attended its arrival. the LZ-130 (Graf Zeppelin II). In the light of the and helicopters with lighter-than-air technol- hydrogen fires that had destroyed so many ogy, this 302ft long British-designed airship British Motor Heritage MD John Yea reports The following year the Graf Zeppelin set previous airships, they were designed to was first built for the American military by Hy- numerous records by successfully circum- carry the inert gas helium. This was only ob- brid Air Vehicles (HAV) and then repurchased. on a hectic few months behind the wheel navigating the globe. Starting and finishing tainable in America though, and agreement Able to stay aloft for five days manned or up at Lakehurst, New Jersey, it was the first over its supply was never reached. In its to two weeks unmanned, this low carbon May bank holiday weekend saw us back On Sunday the Motoring Classics Thor- really struggled with both grip and vision aircraft to cross Siberia and the first to fly first season of transatlantic crossingsHin - footprint hybrid has potential in civil, leisure at Brands Hatch for the MG Car Club oughbred Sports Car race saw me qualify and, as my screen was virtually opaque non-stop over the Pacific Ocean. The actual denburg made 34 return trips carrying over and of course military environments – eg fer- meeting. As our 1840cc MGB engine 8th overall and 3rd in class. At the start for a couple of laps, pulled into the pits, flying time for the 21-day epic was just 12 3,500 people. However, by the time of its rying the super-rich, facilitating surveillance was still in build, my options were re- I dropped behind the TR5 of Roy Cham- but was still classified 11th at the flag. and a half days. infamous demise on landing at Lakehurst in or communication operations, or transport- stricted to the green V8. This was my berlain and was really struggling to find a May 1937 it’d become a propaganda tool ing heavy machinery to remote areas. Its first meeting with the car and I planned way past, as he was quicker in a straight On May 21 we were at Oulton Park The British-built R100 and R101 were part for the Nazi party, and some still put the helium-filled laminated fabric hull is powered some Friday testing for us to get bet- line but slower through the corners. I with both the A40 and MGB - the latter of a two-ship competition to help develop air- crash down to sabotage – others to the igni- by four rotatable 325bhp V8 turbocharged ter acquainted. Unfortunately several finally squeezed by round the outside complete with its new 1840cc engine. ships provide passenger and mail transport tion of leaking hydrogen. Whatever, the live diesel engines and can fly at altitudes of up problems disrupted the outing. I was at Paddock Hill bend; an effective but The A40 was entered in the A Series between the UK and the far reaching out- footage of people leaping from the massive to 20,000ft. The centrally mounted beam scheduled to do two Watts Electrical scary option. I finished where I’d started! Challenge, the MGB in the Allstars. posts of the empire. The former was built by inferno did more than anything to effectively can support massive payloads and the craft BCV8 races on the Saturday but, hav- The MGB was first out in wet condi- Vickers at Howden, Yorkshire and the latter end the first chapter of passenger airship is designed to operate equally effectively ing only lasted two laps of qualifying, On the bank holiday Monday we were at tions - qualifying 10th was a bit poor. by the Air Ministry at Cardington, Bedford- production the world over. in cities as the wilderness, and can land or started both from the back of the grid. Donington Park for the Historic Festival The race was on a damp but drying shire; leading to the nicknames ‘Capitalist take-off from most terrains, including water. I retired after two laps of the first. My and a Touring Greats race in the A40. track, and we’d left the car on ‘wet’ early charge during the second was The day was miserable weatherwise with settings, so although 8th overall, we Airship’ and ‘Socialist Airship’ respectively. If required it can fly on just one engine and is dampened by a massive 3rd lap spin lots of rain, though I qualified an under- should really have been the best MGB. Though arguably inferior to the smaller Graf highly resistant to being shot out of the sky. across the grass at Surtees, dropping whelming 12th in dry conditions. The Zeppelin, the British pair initially looked Today Does this mean Britain is once again at the me to bog last once again - more cir- race started after 6pm and, although The A Series Challenge was somewhat promising, and the R100’s short CV in- Time and technology have moved on and forefront of airship technology? Watch this cumspect driving was clearly called for! dry initially, rapidly became very wet. I different, as poor qualifying left me be- cluded a successful return flight to Canada. blimps, further proven in WWII, have been (air)space! The R101 proved unstable from the outset, commonplace at sports and other events Continued overleaf> however, and crashed on its maiden over- for years, and it is even once again possi-

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hind two A35 Academy cars. This morning only lasted four laps, for to set a good time with the A40, was a major problem at the start of the V8 lost all oil pressure and ran and I struggled to match the flow the race as they held me up, allow- its bearings. As I was out in the I achieve there with the MG. The ing other Academy cars to pass and next session for the Equipe GTS final qualifying time put me 9th leaving me with a major overtaking race in the FIA car I needed to be overall and comfortable there was issue on this tight circuit; particu- recovered from the far side of the more to come in the race. Again larly as blocking tactics were rife. circuit fairly quickly. I ultimately our pitstop was slower than most, When I finally got a run on the lead- only managed four qualifying laps, but at 1 minute 10 seconds was ing pair I dropped a rear wheel on placing me 26th overall in the fan- at least in the ballpark. I was then the grass and spun, scattering a tastic field of 58 entries, with a able to catch and pass two A35s selection of A35s (fortunately with- best time over two seconds slower from the same class, resulting in out damage to anyone). I got by than in 2015. My race lasted just a more respectable 5th overall them several laps later, but on the three laps as the engine dropped and 4th in class. The lap times last lap the A40 suddenly threw it- a valve and wrote the cylinder achieved at the end of the race self off the circuit, obliging veteran head off - an extremely disappoint- (a full two seconds faster than in photographer Jeff Bloxham with a ing end to a fantastic meeting. qualifying) showed we were at least great photo (see previous page). improving as the race unfolded. The cause of the spin was engine A week later and it was off to Snet- Photo – Jeff Bloxham oil blowing over the rear wheels terton with the A40 for a 45-min- There was then a break of nearly a and I retired with zero oil pressure. ute Touring Greats race on the month before heading to France for Photo – Dickon Siddall long 300 circuit. This was the first the Le Mans Classic. As two years The next event was MGLive! on the visit for the A40, though we’ve had ago, I was lucky enough to be shar-

14 Silverstone Grand Prix circuit with plenty of good results there with ing the drive of Barry Sidery-Smith’s class at La Sarthe in 1965. The car. We finished this race 45th 15 both the green MGB GTV8 and my the MGB. In spite of the similarities famous Works MGB; the one that weekend was blessed with great overall, giving an aggregate po- FIA MGB. Practice on Saturday between the cars it seemed harder finished 11th overall and 2nd in weather and, for the first time, I sition of 53rd on scratch and felt comfortable with both car and 50th on the performance index. circuit. We qualified 64th out of In complete contrast, the following Photo – Dickon Sidall 78 runners with an average speed weekend saw us at Castle Combe of 85.6mph - not bad consider- for the Touring Greats with the A40, ing our maximum is about 120. and Allstars with the MGB. Qualify- ing for the Touring Greats was on a In the first ‘day’ race session of damp track, with a drying line, and Photo – Martin Watters 45 minutes, starting at 8pm, we we managed an underwhelming managed a clear run and ended 13th overall. The race was some- up 52nd. The ‘night’ session was what more encouraging and includ- held at 4am the next morning. I ed a tough tussle with the Richard started, but was in the pits by the Meins A40 in the early stages. We end of the first lap with a misfire finished 12th overall and 3rd in courtesy of a loose plug lead. I had class, with a best lap some two also witnessed an Alfa blowing up seconds faster than qualifying. spectacularly just after the start, which coated the fast right-hander The Allstars race promised better just before the Dunlop bridge with still, as we qualified the MGB 8th oil. This was not obvious to those overall and were up to 5th in the Photo – Jeff Bloxham at the front, so the rest of my race when, with about 6 laps to session was run under the safety run, a driveshaft let go, abruptly car following several large acci- ending an otherwise enjoyable dents; fortunately without injury. drive. That’s motor racing for you!

Our final ‘day’ session at 11am required me to perform one of the historic Le Mans starts – ie sprint across the track to the

www.motoringclassics.co.uk www.bmh-ltd.com www.motoringclassics.co.uk www.bmh-ltd.com Maurice Rowe had no plans to be a photographer and no formal training in the art, yet in a remarkable 56-year career his LIFE iconic images graced magazines specialising in motoring, aviation, motorcycling, cycling, and even farming, nursing and THRU catering. How come? Now 89 and living in happy retirement with Beryl, his wife of 62 years, Rowe was born in West Kensington, London, where he devel- oped a passion for aircraft. This he blames THE on a German school friend with whom he swapped aviation facts and figures, and even data on where Luftwaffe bombs were falling …. ‘I belatedly wondered if my stu- LENS dent records were relayed to the enemy’!

A job in the aircraft industry was Maurice’s ideal, but there was not a hangar to be seen 17 16 in West Kensington and he landed a post with aviation instrument maker Sperry Gy- roscope instead. “I hated it,” says Maurice, “and tried to leave, but they refused to re- lease me!” The path to exit ultimately came courtesy of the Air Cadets, with whom he spent a week with the Lancaster squadron at Waterbeach near Cambridge. This included a three-hour flight aboard one of the legend- ary bombers - clearly a memorable experi- ence, even though the combination of heat, oil and hydraulic fluid fumes, and stench of cordite left him feeling queasy.

Continued overleaf>

Above: Jackie Stewart flying at the Nürburgring. Above right: Gloster Meteors out of RAF Benson. Above far right: Il Commendatore Enzo Ferrari. Right: HMS Ark Royal

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Above: a brace of Braham Repcos, French Grand Prix, 1967 Above: Moss, Scott-Brown and Hawthorn, Goodwood, 1956 Above: 1963 Alpine Rally, Morley brothers, Healey 3000 Above: Porsche 911, 1967 Targa Florio

A new job was now required and, hav- a motorcycle so he could run errands One episode he won’t forget occurred at He met Beryl through Motor. At the Farnborough, Paris and Frankfurt air- The man is far too modest to float the ing heard that youngsters were running for the department. This enabled him to a lock near Chertsey. “I was looking for time she had the unenviable task of shows. But all good things come to an idea himself, but there can be few, if journals while their seniors were at war, assist with the company’s mobile dark a new angle on the model and the Dodge transcribing the magazine’s Grand Prix end, and that magazine eventually be- any, other photographers in his field sports car we had on test and, mistak- he beat a path to The Aeroplane. There room too, via which he obtained his first reports late on a Sunday night. Sports came a victim of recessional cuts and who have a portfolio of such variety and enly thinking it had been concreted was no vacancy, but there was one in taste of motorsport venues Silverstone Editor Rodney Walkerley, often rather the rapidly diminishing aircraft industry. quality. For further enjoyment see his the publisher’s photographic depart- and Brands Hatch. Slowly but surely over, jumped into the base of the lock. A carpet of leaves had served to deceive, the worse for wear, would ring them Maurice now had the option of leaving book ‘Track Record – The Motor Sport ment and, when Maurice pointed out he he was allowed to operate under his and I completely disappeared into the through and Beryl especially remem- the photographic pool and going full Photography of Maurice Rowe’. knew nothing about cameras, the boss own steam. water below; much to the amazement bers one evening, when he called from time on Flight or Motor. He chose the responded with: “But you’re tall (6ft 3in) of the model and the art man in tow. the phone box of a Reims hotel while latter – ‘the best thing I ever did’. and will be able to film over the crowds. During this golden age of publishing, As I was the only driver in the party I Mike Hawthorn and the other top drivers What’s your name anyway?” “Rowe, our Temple Press operated some 14 titles, had no option but to, still wet through, of the day were busy forcing ever more His first job was accompanying Lau- 19 18 man replied.” “Well so is mine,” said the which led to Rowe covering everything drive the model back to her home gin and tonics through the kiosk door. rence Pomeroy to meet Moss, Fairman, boss and, with a further dose of unfath- from the World Cycle Championships to in Knightsbridge.” The art man pro- Hadley and Johnson and their famous omable logic added, “so you must take new farming machinery, and motorcycle duced a splendid cartoon of the event, Having flown back from the race venues, XK120, ‘LWK 707’, following the team’s the job then.” And he did. Grands Prix to air-to-air aviation shoots. which Maurice cherishes to this day. Maurice would deliver his films to the record-breaking 1952 run at Montlhéry, office by motorcycle and so the romance and he well remembers passengering All went well for a couple of years, then Leaner times were ahead, though, and That caricature serves to remind that, blossomed. Not to the delight of Beryl’s in the Jaguar from Dover to London – he was called up for National Service. the company later closed a number of ti- like many who came through the war, father, however, who one day informed ‘often at speeds of well over 100mph’. One might imagine a spell in the Fleet tles and realigned others. A fall in adver- Rowe used to smoke a pipe; though him there was no way he could marry Over the ensuing years he photo- Air Arm acting as mechanic on Seafires tising meant Motor, that had always been hasn’t for many years. “I had been try- his daughter. And when asked why he graphed literally thousands of road test would be right up Maurice’s street, but cars, 35 Le Mans races and some 500 able to count on manufacturer sponsor- ing to give up for a while, when one day replied: “Because you’re older than she the concern was Temple Press’ photo- ship for its front cover, had to find new couldn’t find either my pipe or tobacco. Grands Prix. When Motor was closed graphic department was changing out is and you were in the navy!” True love attractions for its first page. Girls were My 10-year old son Mark owned up to by Haymarket in 1988, Rowe had the of all recognition during his two year won through in the end, however. chance to join its long-standing rival Au- having buried them in the garden and absence. By the time the war was over, deemed to be the answer, and Maurice tocar, but politely declined. A success- Above: the man himself, Maurice Rowe, the staff had mushroomed to 20 and was armed with a catalogue of female announced, “I’m not telling you where Memorable jobs for The Aeroplane in- ful period as a freelance followed until Le Mans, 1988, atop the stepladder that he found himself back at the bottom of models and tasked with shooting them they are.” Clearly still amused by the cluded: trips in Meteors and Hunters; he finally hung up his trusty Leica in his faithfully accompanied him everywhere the food chain. Ever resourceful, he pur- and the test cars in suitably attractive episode all these years later, Maurice lots of air-air shoots; and numerous 65th year. chased a plate camera and taught him- locations – well somebody had to do it! says: “It could be he saved my life!” self its intricacies. He also purchased

L to R: Jackie Stewart, Jarama, 1967; Jim Clark, Zandvoort, 1967; Jim Clark, RAC Rally, 1967; Moss and Hill, Le Mans, 1962; Gloster Meteors, RAF Waterbeach, 1956; Moss, Mercedes-Benz 300SLR, Dundrod, 1955; Hills, father and son, Silverstone, 1967; Hawthorn, Cooper-Bristol, Goodwood, 1952

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