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arjen
Netherlands
32 Posts |
 Posted - 09/09/2012 : 13:41:56
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I came across below picture of K3004 in it's very early days, in an "old" book I was given recently. I do not remember having seen it before. Behind the car are: on the left Jock Manby-Colegrave (first owner of K3004) and on the right Adrian Squire. Maybe interesting to add this picture to the historical picture section.
Arjen
arjen |
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spitfire
United Kingdom
371 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2012 : 16:27:26
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Adrian Squire. Much in the mould of Cecil Kimber. Tried to create road going racing cars, in a depression and never lived through the war. He worked for a time as a draughtsman at MG,Abingdon.
Jock Manby Colegrave was a wealthy ex school pal who financed the one and a half litre Squire.Does Mr Morbey live near the old works, at Remenham Hill? |
Edited by - spitfire on 09/09/2012 16:51:05 |
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DickMorbey
United Kingdom
3672 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2012 : 22:35:51
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Hello Gary
Alas I don't - I'm up in the hills about 6 miles away, but I know of the site. Coincidentally, the family of a former boss of mine had motoring interests in Remenham and they also ran a garage operation in Staines (now known, I see as Staines Upon Thames)whic traded as Dobsons of Staines. Not connected with Squire, as far as I know - but there was a passing association with Lagonda .... |
Edited by - DickMorbey on 09/09/2012 22:37:00 |
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Robin Hamblett
United Kingdom
533 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2012 : 23:17:59
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Hi Arjen
If you can please mail me the picture, I will add it to the historical section and make a copy for the register files.
Many thanks
Robin
robin.hamblett@gmail.com
J2 J3666 |
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Martin Warner
United Kingdom
85 Posts |
Posted - 10/09/2012 : 11:47:31
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| Nick Westbrook is rebuilding a J2 (JB3777) at the moment. I am sure that he told me it used to belong to Adrian Squire. |
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nick westbrook
United Kingdom
20 Posts |
Posted - 18/09/2012 : 15:07:09
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Hi
I do indeed have the first link in the chain of the MG/Squire story.
My J2118 Reg JB 877 was the Squire Motors demonstrator.
In order to fund their business operations Adrian Squire and Jock Mambey-Colgrave teamed up with Reggie Slay who was a then well known used car dealer and set up car showrooms in Henley High Street.
Adrian Squire used his previous contacts with MG to secure an MG dealership which seems to have flourished and resulted in the acquistion of K3004 for Jock to race.
Reggie Slay tells of going to the factory with Adrian Squire to collect the car and driving it back to Henley without wings.
I'm sending a photo of the car out on test with Squires service van.
I acquired the J2 some 20 years ago as a wrecked kit of parts and should have her up and running next year.
The factory records indicate that it was returned to them for a tune as it was not fast enough - where have we heard that before!
I have no history beyond 1932 and the late 1950's other than records that it was taxed throughout the war and has a strange 'cut away' drivers door suggesting some sort of competion use.
Interestingly Adrian Squire competed in trials for a J2 for a number of years before the War as recorded in Mike Hawkes book.
I tracked down the last of the Squire Motors mechanics Henry Collins who remembered my J2 as having a blower fitted but his best memory of K3004 was that every time it came back from Brooklands it was his job to strip the engine and throw the cylinder head away... 'no point it hanging on to them' as they were always cracked around the valve seats due to the high blower pressures they used!
Those of you at Goodwood last weekend will have seen two of the half a dozen or so Squire cars - one competing and parked almost next door to Peter Green's K3 and Roy Palmer'
s famous road going car JB 8776 Nick
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Colin Butchers
United Kingdom
1481 Posts |
Posted - 19/09/2012 : 10:08:33
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Nick, In your investigations into Squire Motors did you come across any information about QA0251 ? Jock M-C bought this car from Bill Everitt towards the end of 1935 after Everitt had used it very effectively for a few months, racing and record breaking at Brooklands. Early in 1935 a new very narrow single seater body was made by Jarvis of Wimbledon and this is pictured in Bill Boddy's book "The History of Brooklands" (Plate 110) and captioned "Dudley Froy in his M.G." Froy certainly raced the car a few times in 1935 accompanied by his friend and mechanic Jack Wren, but I have been unable to find any reference to Manby-Colegrave having driven the car in any event. It is of course possible that Manby-Colegrave sold the car to Froy, but I have read that Froy was a professional racing driver who raced other peoples cars, but never actually owned them himself. Several years ago I wrote to Froy who was living at the time in Tucson, Arizona but unfortunately I never got a reply. Froy broke the crankshaft whilst racing QA0251 in Italy in August 1935 and the car seems to have been garaged until September 1936 when it raced in the BRDC "500" in the hands of Bill Humphreys and Bert Denly. It then went back to sleep again until September 1937 when it raced in the 1937 "500", driven by Norman Wilson. Whether Manby-Colegrave (or even Dudley Froy) still owned the car while all of this was going on, I don't know, but would love to learn. If you have any information, however obscure, it could well be of interest.
Colin B. |
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nick westbrook
United Kingdom
20 Posts |
Posted - 19/09/2012 : 18:21:44
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Colin
Sorry to say I have no news on QA0251. It was around the time that Squire Motors sadly went to the wall and it may be that he had to sell some of his 'toys'.
Jock MC came from a very wealthy family but was reported to be a bit of a playboy who also went off to Africa big game hunting from time to time and had a night club in Mayfair. It's quite likely that he got bored with the whole Brooklands / Racing scene after a bit?
Squire only built one single seater that being the car that was raced by Louis Fontes. This is the only Squire car 'lost' - thought to have been damaged and broken up in the war. Might I suggest contacting Roy Palmer via the VSCC. He has a fantastic amount of info on 'all things Squire'
Nick W
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Colin Butchers
United Kingdom
1481 Posts |
Posted - 20/09/2012 : 09:45:55
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Nick, Many thanks for your reply, which adds a further dimension to my knowledge. As you suggest, I will drop a line to Roy Palmer and I will let you know if anything more emerges.
Thanks again,
Colin B. |
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