The event was organised by the Essex County & Southend AC on 26 May 1923 on Two Church Hill at Laindon five miles from Billericay on the Gravesend road. The car is likely to be W. M. Broomhall's 40/50 Rolls-Royce which won one of numerous classes. All information from "Sprint" by T R Nicholson
Michael H Evans, DL
Thursday, June 21, 2012
The car shown is indeed W Maurice Broomhall's 1922 Silver Ghost Alpine Eagle--chassis number 72 MG. The chassis was built as a "one-off" by R W Harvey-Bailey, Chief Technical Production Engineer of R-R, (who later created the "Derby" Bentley and was appointed the first Chief Engineer of the Chassis Division when Hives split car and aero work in 1937.) "BY" as we knew him at R-R came pretty close to being sacked for producing this chassis, which involved working together with the Chief Designer of Cunard of Lower Richmond Road, Putney. The bonnet and dashboard (firewall) are special and allow a continuous body line from the bonnet hinge backwards. The instrument panel was another "one-off" as were the R-R aluminium girders which supported it (remembered in Don Eyre's autobiography in the RRHT Historic Series.) 72 MG was sold when Broomhall was posted to India around 1924, and was bought by a retiring Civil Servant who had worked for the Australian Colonial Service in Papua, New Guinea. In 1930 it changed hands and was rebodied by Barker, this body being converted to a lorry when war came. I set out--with the son of "BY" to find the identity of the car "BY" remembered in 1962. We tracked it down in 1963--I acquired it in 1968, and after 44 years of work she made her public debut last Sunday. The closer view of the car I have had in my possession for over 40 years. Broomhall was senior Brit Officer in Colditz during part of the war--rose to Chief Engineer, Middle East Land Forces then of BAOR before retiring. He still drove very fast cars in his old age, dying in 1995.
Comments (2)
The event was organised by the Essex County & Southend AC on 26 May 1923 on Two Church Hill at Laindon five miles from Billericay on the Gravesend road. The car is likely to be W. M. Broomhall's 40/50 Rolls-Royce which won one of numerous classes. All information from "Sprint" by T R Nicholson
The car shown is indeed W Maurice Broomhall's 1922 Silver Ghost Alpine Eagle--chassis number 72 MG. The chassis was built as a "one-off" by R W Harvey-Bailey, Chief Technical Production Engineer of R-R, (who later created the "Derby" Bentley and was appointed the first Chief Engineer of the Chassis Division when Hives split car and aero work in 1937.) "BY" as we knew him at R-R came pretty close to being sacked for producing this chassis, which involved working together with the Chief Designer of Cunard of Lower Richmond Road, Putney. The bonnet and dashboard (firewall) are special and allow a continuous body line from the bonnet hinge backwards. The instrument panel was another "one-off" as were the R-R aluminium girders which supported it (remembered in Don Eyre's autobiography in the RRHT Historic Series.) 72 MG was sold when Broomhall was posted to India around 1924, and was bought by a retiring Civil Servant who had worked for the Australian Colonial Service in Papua, New Guinea. In 1930 it changed hands and was rebodied by Barker, this body being converted to a lorry when war came. I set out--with the son of "BY" to find the identity of the car "BY" remembered in 1962. We tracked it down in 1963--I acquired it in 1968, and after 44 years of work she made her public debut last Sunday. The closer view of the car I have had in my possession for over 40 years. Broomhall was senior Brit Officer in Colditz during part of the war--rose to Chief Engineer, Middle East Land Forces then of BAOR before retiring. He still drove very fast cars in his old age, dying in 1995.