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Colin Butchers
United Kingdom
1485 Posts |
 Posted - 23/09/2011 : 10:43:00
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There is a picture of H Stuart Wilton driving K3004 at Lewes in July 1938 on page 85 of Jeremy Wood's book "Speed on the Downs" and he is shown as having a very receding hairline. I think that he can be ruled out.
The full photograph was shown to Michael Ellman-Brown a couple of years ago. Michael knew J H T Smith well and he didn't recognise the driver, but he did comment that he thought that the picture was taken at the back of John Smith's premises at Parade Motors, Mitcham.
It has also been suggested that the mystery driver is George Harvey-Noble and whilst there are some similarities, I don't think that is is he. I met GPHN on several occasions, and I really couldn't confirm the identity.
Colin B.
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JMH
United Kingdom
911 Posts |
Posted - 24/09/2011 : 18:01:37
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I've gone through "the library" & found another photo of the car which was obviously taken at same time, but from a different angle, together with reference notes. I think it most likely that the photo was taken sometime between 1943 & 1948, when K3004 (fitted with the Ex K3015 body) was owned by "Mr May", so it could quite possibley be him sitting in the car. Although Mr May is not known to have ever competed in the car, his ownership is referenced by a letter to "Motorsport" by his brother back in the 1970s.
Whilst K3004 has long since reverted to "33" spec down under, the Ex 015 body still survives on another car.
JH
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Edited by - JMH on 24/09/2011 18:02:45 |
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PeterL
United Kingdom
1712 Posts |
Posted - 24/09/2011 : 18:15:54
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Just after we bought the salonette in 1969 my Pa mentioned a Mr May, or maybe Mays, who he had known in connection with MGs and I think at that time his son ran a garage at Totnes.
My Pa broached MGs to him and his reply was "my father sails now" so we didn't press the matter. Whether there is still a son down that way who might confirm, I don't know. Any members in Totnes?
Incidentally at that time there was a Mr Rook who ran the Trout at Bickleigh, north of Exeter, who apparently built the gearbox of the car that won the Mille Miglia, but he wouldn't talk about MGs either.
Cheers
P
PS I think it was Raymond Mays that my Pa knew... |
Edited by - PeterL on 03/10/2011 12:08:02 |
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lordrob
Belgium
224 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2011 : 13:36:51
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quote:
Originally posted by JMH
I've gone through "the library" & found another photo of the car which was obviously taken at same time, but from a different angle, together with reference notes. I think it most likely that the photo was taken sometime between 1943 & 1948, when K3004 (fitted with the Ex K3015 body) was owned by "Mr May", so it could quite possibley be him sitting in the car. Although Mr May is not known to have ever competed in the car, his ownership is referenced by a letter to "Motorsport" by his brother back in the 1970s.
Whilst K3004 has long since reverted to "33" spec down under, the Ex 015 body still survives on another car.
JH
lordrob |
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Peter Green
United Kingdom
1682 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2011 : 12:34:52
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Peter
I presume you are not talking about the ERA / BRM Raymond Mays, he lived in Bourne Lincolnshire and did not have a son.
Peter |
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PeterL
United Kingdom
1712 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2011 : 14:00:21
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Probably not in that case, sands of time etc...
Cheers
P |
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David Allison
United Kingdom
665 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2011 : 14:13:00
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Peter I think it was C.A.N. May that your dad knew.
He was a trials driver of quite some note but also did other competition driving too.
I dont think that he drove a K3 though.
Raymond Mays had no family (the term was I think, that his "interests lay elsewhere"?) save his mother who died shortly after WWII.
As for Gerald Bright (The Great Geraldo) he didnt have a tache - he was very successfull though even playing for Fred Astaire during a period post war.
Regards David |
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ags
United Kingdom
275 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2011 : 00:42:08
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Hi All,
I also wondered about whether the Mr. May was C. A. N. May (Austen). I am sure that this photo is not of him, though. All the photographs around the possible date of the K3 picture which I have checked show him wearing spectacles, even when not driving. The facial shapes are similar however. Though he had a good head of dark hair he did not, in anything which I have found, have a centre parting.
Incidentally one of the event results of which I am quite proud is that I beat him on a trial around Aldershot in 1973. (This was when I was practising the discipline before using the PB in PCTs). We were both Imp mounted but his Sport engine tended to fluff a little over bumps where my poor relation standard engine just kept plugging along. We ended up First and Second in Class, that was a Good Day.
Andrew Smith - MMM571 |
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Colin Butchers
United Kingdom
1485 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2011 : 10:16:24
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I can confirm that the photograph of the "mystery" driver is definitely not C A N May. As David A. says, he was a trials driver "of some note" and is probably best known for his definitive books "Wheelspin" and "More Wheelspin". At about the same time that he was being beaten into second place by Andrew, I saw him driving his Hartwell Imp on the Exeter Trial, but the rubber couplings in the drive train gave up the effort on Waterloo causing a considerable hold-up and I suspect that that was the last time the car was trialled. Austen was also an accomplished driver of single seaters (I think a 1000cc Cooper JAP) and also found the time to write other books. I have a copy of his "Shelsley Walsh" on my book-shelf.
One of his sons, Tim, is also a prominent member of the ERA and MAC Clubs and has just published a book on Bill Morris - the ERA Man. I also know that he is contnuing his late fathers work on recording the history of Shelsley Walsh Hill-Climb.
The name May also features in other aspects of MMM history. I have come acrss the name J F May as a driver an N Type at Lewes and Brighton Speed Trials in pre-war days, but I have not yet been able to identify which car was involved. It is quite feasible that he went on to drive K3004 in later years.
Colin B. |
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Vitesse
United Kingdom
234 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2011 : 19:11:11
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quote:
Originally posted by David Allison
Peter I think it was C.A.N. May that your dad knew.
He was a trials driver of quite some note but also did other competition driving too.
I dont think that he drove a K3 though.
Raymond Mays had no family (the term was I think, that his "interests lay elsewhere"?) save his mother who died shortly after WWII.
Regards David
Raymond Mays did indeed "bat for the other side" , which twice caused him problems in Germany (once before the war and once after - not that that's relevant).
The Totnes connection may be with Messrs Evans & Cutler - still in the garage business today - who feature in the early chapters of Tony Rudd's autobiography 'It Was Fun!' as ERA "camp followers": I haven't investigated the company's history, but they are certainly long-established and until the late 1980s were situated just by the Town Bridge, opposite the Royal Seven Stars Hotel on the corner of Coronation Road. The original Mr Evans and Mr Cutler were likely members of the ERA Supporters' Club too.
AFAIK there is no connection with the Bellevue Garage Evanses, before someone asks! |
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