RUMBLINGS, July 1941

The Minister of Aircraft Production on MotorRacing

LT.-COL. J. T. C. AlOORE-BRABAZON, until recently Minister of Transport. and now Ifinister of Aircraft Production, made an exceedingly interesting speech when, as guest of honour vt the luncheon of the Institution of Automobile Engineers at the Savoy Hotel last month, he proposed the I.A.E. He gave unstinted praise to magneto, as distinct from von, ignition, and paid tribute to the enemy product Mercedes. as first in the field with the honeycomb radiator, h.t. magneto, gate gear change, segment control and metal clutch. ‘Then he went on to say how much he regretted that the Industry had failed to keep British prestige to the front by racing. MooreBrabazon quoted German and Italian support of racing events as a form of world advertisement. Technique in design and progress in materials advanced to ;..!.et her. He visualised cheaper, mass produced ears of lower horse-power after the war. and added that he hoped having less to spend would not mean ” tinier ” cars. We agree with all the statements of this pioneer motorist and statesman, and we hope that especial significance will be given to his reference to the political influence of international motor racing. Up to the war it undoubtedly existed. It is a very valuable reflection on the freedom of speech and liberty of the citizen in this country that

prominent Minisier should be able to pay tribute to the enemy’s products during a major war. Perhaps this will be explanatory enough of our policy of publishing a history of German racing successes up to the outbreak of hostilities. Another article in this series will appear in our next issue describing a most interesting period of Grand Prix racing. Obviously there is not an atom of pro-Nazism underlying these articles ; incidentally, the greatest effort is made by, and the highest praise goes to, those who have a worthy foe to conquer. Reverting to the I.A.E. luncheon, Percy C. Kidner, who presided. in replying to Moore-Brabazon, said he fully appreciated the value of racing to the Industry—

he was racing -Vauxhall ears himself before the last European War. Ile anticipated a ” cheaper and better car than you have ever known ” before the Peace is very far advanced. If he were thinking of an improved version of the present Vauxliall Ten it should certainly be so, for we have heard excellent reports of this car and the example owned by Mr. W. J. Tee, proprietor .of MOTOR S PO RT, is g-ing as well as ever. The

Research Department was directing itti el 1 efgjeti tO Av:Ir eff(wts. Frank C. VVenlard, president-elect, proposell ” The Guests,” to which Sir Leopold Saville, president ()I i he I.(. l-., replied.

()I i Sunbeams

This heading (loes not refer to the things whieh either enable you t keep going on NN’ar rati(ins or else give rat a stroke. according to your constitution, but to the l’amous British racing marque. In the palm: days the Sunbeam Motor Car Company, Ltd., made Sc) many different raping car; that it is quite a study to attempt 1I cee.e.c w.-iere even a few of them are now. Anthonv Heal, 01′ course. owns one of the 191 T.T. cars :old one of the lloots-blown, 1924 six-cylinder

2-litre jobs. Then one .1. Hartgoir r-ven up an example-, of i he 192-1 blown 2-litre six-cylinder jobs. for some reason that escapes us. tti:vcat pit V. flS vith this tyrai! Serra Ve -won the only French Grand Prix. Of -the I 921 straiOrt—ei(rht en,r, one was raced at Brooklands for a while by Geoffrey Daybell, and then bccanie first the M ant ay Special and then the Bainton Special, with a ” 3098 ” Vauxhall engi»e installed. Sam Clinton st Ill has two :_tf the 1921-2 engines. Of the 1922 four-cylinder 2-litre cm’s, oiteis being carefully rebuilt in this country by W. N. Johnson, an Australian soldier now over here, and the car was run recently. This is apparently -the car raced at Donington of fairly recent times by K. Burness. It now has two S.U. carburetters from a ” Speed Twenty ” Alvis and mot ors very nicely. Another of these ears Was raced in Australia hy Moalden, of Adelaide, as late as 1938, and in New Zealand is the Sunbeam with which Rigal won the 1912 ‘Coupe de l’Auto Race. There is,. too, another 1914 T.T. Sunbeam in New Zealand (see MoTou SPoRT for April, 1938), and as yet another of this type, with four-seater touring body, formed the subject of No. 2 of Karslake’s ” Veteran Types ” articles, it would seem that three of these are intact. Then, three years or so ago, Tegr3rd Jones did mane long and reliable journeys between London and Wales in one of the 1922 four-cylinder cars ; possibly, however, this is the car now in Johnson’s hands. We believe that Trevor 1c( alto’s 1924 six-cylinder C.P. car still remains in Ireland and that John Cobb retains the Land Speed Record V.12 4-litre car and its sister machine, one of which was rebuilt by Sir Malcolm Campbell to win him the original Mountain Championship. The old Brooklands V.12 single-seater 350-h.p. Sunbeam, later used by Campbell for fastest-ever records of the 150 m.p.h. order. seems to have found its way to Lancashire. Even now the list k not exhausted, for one of the 1919 5-litre Indianapolis sixcylinder cars, probably the one which Bouts ran at Brooklands around 1927, is in the possession of John RUMBLINGS—caniinued

Cooper’s Scuderia at Leicester, and another seems to have been seen in Scotland. Know of any others ?

Obituary

We deeply regret to have to report the death of “Father Pomeroy.” Laurence IL Pomeroy died of heart failure on May 27th at the age of 59. He was for many years technical director and chief engineer to the old Vauxhall Motor Co., Ltd. He was responsible for the famous 2,000-mile trial car of 1908, for the ” hince Henry” and for the “1) type military Vauxhall of 1914-18. Greatest of all, he evolved the “30/98 ” Vauxhall as a Shelsley-Walsh sprint car for Iligginson in 193 and from it developed the immortal ” E ” and “0.E ” sporting versions, reverenced by so many of our readers. He was a strong advocate of racing and designed many Vauxhall racing cars, the 1914 4f litre G.P. cars and the revolutionary 1922 3-litre T.T. cars, which Ricardo refers to in considerable detail in his classic reference work, included. When he returned in 1926 from aluminium-alloy development work in America he joined the Associated Daimler Company as chief engineer and evolved the famous fluid flywheel, the 50-h.p. and 30-h.p. “DoubleSix ” Daimlers, of which at least one sports version came into being, and the recent fixed-head Daimler quality cars. In July, 1936, he went to the de Havilland Aircraft Company as general manager of the engine division and developed ” Gypsy ” engines. The war found him in charge of a Midland branch of H. M. Hobson Ltd., and engaged on carburetter research. Ile was president of the I.A.E. from 1934-5. The British Motor Industry has lost an outstanding engineer and designer, a great orator and a charming personality. The son, Laurence Pomeroy, of “The Motor,” follows largely in his famous father’s footsteps. The best memorial to Pomeroy, Senr., is the esteem with which his design of 27 years ago is held by to-day’r sporting

Spitfire Fund

Now that no facilities exist for car testing, someone with a suitable private drive and electrical timing apparatus might well open up a speed course at convenient times. We are sure, if a fee were charged for timing cars over the course, that in a short while the local “Spitfire Fund” would increase very materially. Incidentally, as the R.A.C. bans all forms of competitive motoring now the war is on, those clubs still in being might do worse than hold the good old treasure hunt, for which permits were never needed. Such contests should ensure ample relaxation for the minimum expenditure of fuel, to use the language of the times. But organisers tempted to include intimate articles of ladies’ underwear on their scavenge lists should not overlook the fact that rationing applies to clothes as well as to fuel. . . .

Appreciation

MOTOR SPORT goes on largely by reason of the generous supply of voluntary contributions sent in by readers. Without such help the present Acting Editor would find it extremely difficult to fill each issue, engaged as he is on a full-scale war occupation. This outside help is consequently greatly appreciated and will be very welcome in the immediate future. Any article up to the usual standard will be used and every effort made to acknowledge such contributions. Returnable photographs should not be submitted. MSS. may be of any length and scribbled in long-hand on both sides of the paper if need be. Contributions may be addressed either to 21, City Road, London, E.C.1, or direct to the Editor at 129, Fleet Road, Cove, Hants. In passing, telephone enquiries of a technical nature can no longer be answered at City Road, but may be sent by post, accompanied by a stamped envelope for reply.