SINGERS ON THE COLMORE

SINGERS ON Ti-IF. COLMORE

Sir,

While reading your excellent article on Ford and B.M.C. products I was interested to note your mention of a team of white Singer Nines competing in the S.U.N.B.A.C. Colmore Trial of 1935, especially so as I own one of these cars. The car in question is BHX 332, a 1935 model (registered 4/12/34) Singer 9 Le Mans Special Speed, driven in that year by, then Captain, now Major, W. J. B. Richardson.

The team was known as ” Candidi Provocatores ” and was run, I believe, by the London Motor Club, the cars being maintained by the Singer Competition department. These cars did exceedingly well in trials, particularly in the 1935 Scottish Rally, where Singers took ten of the first thirteen places in Class 1 and the first two places in Class 2. The drivers for the 1935 season were, as you said, Richardson, Lawson and Westwood (respectively BIIX 332, ABY 555, BTW 818), hut Westwood left in 1936 to form the “Black Diamond” team of Fiat Balillas. The drivers for the 1936 season were Richardson, Lawson and Imhof (respectively BBY 111, BBY 222, BBY 333), Incidentally Mike Lawson now runs a garage at Thornton Heath (Moss and Lawson) together with Stirling Moss’ father.

For daily transport I currently run a 1951 21-litre Riley, having previously owned a 1954 R.M.E. I have a high regard for these post-war Rileys It was a sad day for Riley enthusiasts when B.M.C. dropped these fine cars, and proceeded to drag the Riley name through the mud by attaching it to characterless monocoque construction cars. The Singer Le Mans will soon be for sale, as it is being replaced as period transport by a 1936 10.8 h.p. Triumph Southern Cross. The latter is fitted with a Riley 9 h.p. engine; and it is interesting to ponder whether this would have happened if the proposed RileyTriumph merger had gone through. Newcastle-upon-Tyne. G.. BROWN