Obituary

Charles Grandfield

Charles Grandfield, Manager of the Jowett Company’s Engineering Department, and who was responsible for the Javelins and Jupiters that competed in races and rallies such as the successful 1947 Monte Carlo and 1950s long-distance races at Spa and elsewhere, has died, aged 84.After working on Rolls-Royce aero-engines from 1937. Called-up, Grandfield was three times mentioned in Dispatches, and was de-mobbed as a Lt Colonel. Until 1947 he was with Sir Roy Fedden, developing a stillborn sleeve-valve aero-engine, before going to Jowett’s in Bradford.

There his work embraced improving Bradford vans and overseeing the competition Jowetts. Excellent results were eventually obtained with lightweight Javelins and sports Jupiters. At this time the Proprietor of Motor Sport, the late W J Tee, was an enthusiastic owner of more than one Javelin and a Jupiter. We got excellent help from the company, both with the cars and my articles about them. Apart from the competition cars, Grandfield devised better gearboxes, resin-fibre body panels etc on the production-car side, and was involved with the Farina-Jupiter project. He is mourned by his wide circles of friends, the Jowett CC whose Vice-President he was, and ourselves.