Cars & Vans

My first memory of cars is a a bit confused, my mum and dad never owned a car or learnt to drive and so I suppose I was always going to be a bit more interested than most.

I remember being given an Observers Book of Automobiles which I still have somewhere, this was probably a first edition and if I could find it I could confirm whether it was dated 54 or 55, at about the same time my brother in law (who gave me the Observers Book) brought me home a poster of a Brabham Repco F1 car, he worked for a motor factor in Hereford and the poster was a joint effort from Ferodo, Koni, AP and probably one or two other suppliers, this was in the days before cars carried sponsors logos and colours.

I know that this would be a 1967 car and that Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme had been the drivers, the car was green and gold and sported Brabham Repco engines, not long afterwards the all conquering Cosworth DFVs would arrive, at about the same time Dan Gurney arrived on the same with the beautiful Eagle Weslake F1 car, a truly beautiful car from a company called Anglo American Racing, an exciting and glamorous name for a 12 year old having a pretty miserable time at Ross Grammar School, cars gave me my escape.

I must have had some interest previously because I remember the excitement of John Surtees becoming Formula 1 World Champion in 1964 driving a Ferrari and my uncle Cyril taking us (Uncle Cyril, Aunty Vera, my Mum & my Dad) for a drink and stopping at the New Harp in Hoarwithy where somebody reversed into his virtually brand new, black Hillman Imp which was a B reg so that was 1964, I was sat in the car at the time, outside with a bottle of Vimto, no crisps though

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