EMBRACING A GENTLER PACE
‘The supporting framework in the boot is strong enough to restrain a baby elephant in an emergency’
BENTLEY R-TYPE
OWNED BY Nigel Lawford
FIRST CLASSIC Lancia Fulvia S3
DREAM CLASSIC 1969 Maserati Ghibli 4.9 SS
My first car, or rather vehicle, back in the early 1970s was a Ford Anglia van, which had the dubious distinction of costing less than my fatherʼs new lawnmower – although top speeds were about the same. Even so, it opened up a whole new world to an 18-year-old.
There followed a succession of varied and esoteric choices including a Citroën Dyane, Triumph 1500, Lancia Fulvia, a series of Golf GTIS, Alfa Romeo GTVS and eventually a couple of Maseratis. However, it has taken nearly 50 years to discover the very special world of Bentley, initially in the form of a 1997 Turbo RL.
Perhaps itʼs the combination of advancing years and a slower pace of life that has drawn me back to an almost forgotten world of motoring and helped to inspire the acquisition of another, considerably older Bentley. This one is just two months younger than me: itʼs sobering to think it has been on the road for as long as Iʼve been on this planet.
The car in question is a 1954 R-type automatic, a Standard Steel saloon in Oxford Blue over Shell Grey with original cream leather. Paperwork, including many MOT certificates, indicates that only 76,000 miles have been travelled in its 66 years. I bought it just before the 2020 lockdown and, while from my perspective collecting a classic Bentley was an ʻessential journeyʼ, I felt duty-bound to comply with government rules and had it transported from Worcestershire to its new home in the Peak District.
The previous owner, a precision engineer, had carried out an excellent restoration 20 years ago, and it had travelled little since, but, like most old cars, there are always things that can be fettled and hopefully improved upon. My approach has been to carry out work to ensure it remains looking very presentable but, above all, drives like an R-type should.
One area that demanded careful consideration was the leather. It was badly cracked, but I was reluctant to opt for replacement because it appeared to be totally original and an important link to the carʼs past. Leathercare Ltd in Cheshire agreed that stripping and refinishing with a close colour match was the way forward. The result looks excellent: it has retained the original character and happily avoids perfection.
Even more thought was given to tyre choice: the existing rubber was essentially unworn, but very old. Dunlop RS5 crossplies had been fitted after the restoration and, while these would have met with Bentley Motorsʼ approval, I found it was like driving on marbles. This was entertaining
at first, but the fun factor soon waned. After a call to Longstone Tyres, near Doncaster, a set of Avon Turbosteel radials was fitted. They look the part and have all but eliminated the tramlining, and the ride quality is unaffected.
The latest task has been fitting period-style seatbelts, the rear ones mainly to keep our spaniel, Humphrey, safe. The supporting framework in the boot has been configured by a friend who designed landing gear for Boeing, and Iʼm assured the fixing points are sufficiently robust to restrain a baby elephant in an emergency.
Part of the joy of owning an old car is finding out about its past keepers. Fortunately, the R-type came with files of old bills, letters and even a couple of telegrams. The first owner was a Henry C Martineau, born in Chicago in 1904. Martineauʼs mother divorced when he was five and he travelled back with her to England, where she met and married Hubert Martineau, a first-class cricketer who organised tours to Egypt and New Zealand in the 1920s.
Henry attended Eton and then Trinity College, Cambridge – as, it seems, did most offspring of the well-to-do during that era. He was a keen sportsman, specialising in winter pursuits. By 1928 Martineau was a bobsled captain and represented Great Britain at the Winter Olympics in St Moritz. Credited with designing a new ʻskeletonʼ sled with a lower centre of gravity, Martineau strove for even faster times on the Cresta Run. With the outbreak of WW2, he trained as an RAF pilot and then transferred to the Welsh Guards, before being drafted into Special Operations as an agent, serving in Belgium and France.
Martineau was a dedicated Bentley fan, having owned several models during the 1920s and ʼ30s including a 3 Litre, a 41/2 Litre and a 61/2 Litre before purchasing my R-type in April 1954. He sent telegrams to Jack Barclay requesting that the car be fitted with a switching arrangement so the headlights dipped to the correct side when travelling abroad, and instructed that the driverʼs seat be lowered by 1in: he must have been taller than me because I had to have it raised back up again to see out.
In 1956, Henry sold it back to Barclays with 19,000 miles on the clock. It was bought by Major Thomas S Hohler, a descendant of a courtier who accompanied George I from Hanover when he ascended the throne in 1714. Like Martineau, Hohler came from a wealthy family with diplomatic service connections and he, too, had a distinguished war career: as Captain Hohler he was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry.
After the war he bought a flat in London, having married a Belgian comtesse. From there the Bentley would have commuted between ʻSwingingʼ London and Hohlerʼs country retreat in Hampshire. An invoice indicates substantial repairs were required in 1958 as a result of an accident – perhaps he struggled due to the lack of power steering (as, indeed, do I on occasion). Thomas and his wife had a daughter, Isabelle, later the Countess of Erroll. I was hoping to contact her to see if she had any memories of her fatherʼs Bentley, but sadly she passed away in 2020.
Owning an old car is a privilege, and I derive great satisfaction from uncovering its history. Some physical signs of the Bentleyʼs past remain, such as nicks on the driverʼs doorhandle where the ownerʼs ring has caught the chrome. Did the ring belong to Martineau or Hohler, or someone later in the carʼs history?
My delvings have unearthed a little of the past, and I have concluded two other things: one is that the Bentley is, thankfully, in far better condition than I am; the other is the irrefutable fact that its current owner is unlikely to match its earlier keepersʼ illustrious achievements!