And the winner is... Gary Pusey!
LAND Rovers took centre stage at the 2020 Royal Automobile Club’s (RAC) Historic Awards. Yes, it might already be 2021, but the awards ceremony, which is usually held at the RAC’S impressive Pall Mall HQ in
London, was delayed in an attempt to see if members could attend. Covid decided otherwise and eventually the decision was taken to host an online ceremony. It was definitely worth the wait as Land Rovers dominated the awards from start to finish.
Gary Pusey, LRM columnist and editor of our Classic section, walked away with the Outstanding Journalism award for his piece entitled The Wildlife Conservation Pioneers, which was published in our November 2020 issue. The heart-warming story of Ted Reilly and Jezebel, the Series I, who together created the enduring legacy of Eswatini’s national parks, was descirbed by Gary “as relatively unknown”, before going on to say “it involved vision, self-sacrifice and quite a bit of bravery”. The panel of judges said: “This was a fresh and fascinating story, painstakingly researched and expertly written. It struck the perfect balance between the need to discuss the minutiae of the Land Rover’s history and restoration and its far wider conservation activities.”
The tale of Ted and Jezebel forms part of a series in LRM known as Land Rover
Legends, which has featured some of the biggest and most well-known characters who have helped to significantly shape Land Rover’s path including engineers, designers, visionaries, explorers, enthusiasts, collectors or restorers.
The award for the best restoration went to JUE 477, the first-ever production Land Rover. LRM recently did an exclusive interview with its ace restorer Julian Shoolheifer (see our December 2020 issue) who, along with his team of experts, did the superb, yet sympathetic restoration of arguably the most historically significant 80in Series I. LRM were also there in September 2020 when JUE 477 won the best 1940s Vehicle at the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace, London.
The final Land Rover star of the night was Nick Chivers, winner of the Motoring Spectacle category. Remember the UK’S first lockdown? It was then that Series III owner Nick arranged his Classics for Carers stay at home event which raised £17,500 for NHS Charities. While this was open to all classic car owners, it was the Land Rover owners of the UK, who best supported it.
While 2020 might be a year to forget, the actions of three extraordinary men have given Land Rover enthusiasts something to be cheer about. Top effort chaps!