A THOUSAND WORDS BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE
It’s good to be back. It’s been a while since I wrote my last editorial for this magazine. Illness struck unexpectedly and recovery has been a slow process. Thankfully, the magazine was in good hands, and I’d like to thank Terry Cobham for taking up the cudgels as editor during my absence. I’m sure you’ll agree the magazine looked as good as ever, with plenty of interesting content from cover to cover.
One of the upsides of being out of action was having the time to appreciate family and friends, including neighbours David and Stella Curry. They are both retired, and best of all, they are car people. They have owned an impressive and eclectic range of great cars over the years including three Rileys, an Alvis Speed 20, two MGB GTS, a Lotus Elan, Aston Martin DB4, and Series 1, 2, and 3 E-type Jaguars. David also raced a Brabham BT18 in historic racing events around the country for four years.
One morning while having a cuppa with David and Stella I was admiring an old photograph, taken in 1934, of Stella’s father standing next to a giant 718-pound billfish he’d caught. Impressive enough, but I was more taken with another old photograph that had somehow stuck itself to the back of the fish photo. The fact that it was taken slightly out of focus by David’s father only added to its character. If ever there was a photograph that could ‘tell a thousand words’ then this was it. David and I could have easily spent the entire day talking about it.
The photo was taken on Labour Day, October 22, 1956, in Levin. This was the second race meeting held at Levin, after the inaugural event on Saturday, October 14 — in those days, race meetings were not permitted on Sundays. Hanging onto the lead into Cabbage Tree Corner is car number 14 — Arnold Stafford, driving a Cooper MK9 500cc — followed by Roly Crowther in a Lotus 11 Climax 1100cc. The Lotus is now owned by Howden Ganley (see full story in issue 289, January 2015). In third position, and almost airborne after an unceremonious altercation with a hay bale, is Ron Roycroft driving a 3.4L Jaguar-powered Bugatti (now owned by Terry Roycroft), followed by Gavin Quirk, slightly crossed up in his Cooper T20 Bristol 1971cc. Tucked in behind and in fifth spot, you can just make out RE Buckthought driving a Lightweight Special 498cc, a car built by Les Stone from borrowed parts.
That’s quite a collection, and it sparks so many questions. No doubt there are countless early motoring photographs stashed away in various places around the country — little time capsules that capture and release again the essence of motoring in times gone by. If you think you might have an interesting old motoring photograph that tells a story, please don’t hesitate to share it with us.