Newsletter August 2020

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Don’t shoot the messenger, might as well get the bad news out of the way, first the Edinburgh Trial destined to run in October. Despite sterling efforts by Mark Gregg and his team it has been decided to not run it this year. This is a bitter pill for all those involved, having put in so much ground work along with creating a “paperless” entry and scoring system, the positive to come out of this for the MCC is that the systems created can be used for the Exeter and Lands End events.

Our own Tamar Trial also has an October date but having spoken to several of the committee members there is little enthusiasm for attempting to run an event which could well be cancelled due to happenings outside of our control along with the monumental task of creating a virtually new system to run it. To highlight some of the issues, firstly we can tick the box for online entries. Actual signing on would not happen, as with scrutineering, this avoids close contact and no use of paper. Once the event is underway there would not be any kind of score cards at the hills, the marshal on the hill would need to radio to a strategically placed control car somewhere close to the section where the score would be recorded on a lap top or tablet, so the club would need to purchase a device for each section, not cheap.

The start/ Breakfast venue at Tresmeer is temporarily closed with no actual date for re-opening as yet set, the use of the Frog & Bucket pub is again out of the equation so we would have no finish venue. Getting enough marshals would be a real challenge, what with social distancing and being suitably computer savvy, then what happens if a car or motorcycle is stuck on a hill ? Even if they give the thumbs up signal it doesn’t mean they can get going again without assistance.

Moving on to the David Ayers sporting trial in September, the news here is not much better. This event is normally part of a 2 day trial run in conjunction with Camel Vale’s Robin Alexander trial, the concerns are that after doing some ground work with competitors to judge interest there may not be sufficient entries to make the event viable. The committee will need to make the final decision on both events when they have their next meeting, things might change but I for one will be very surprised if either event runs, I’m sure some people will see this as a negative attitude, or is it just realistic?

Enough of this doom and gloom, over to our Club President Robin Moore :-

Alvis and the other lady in my life, part 3.

It wasn’t long before the ‘Doc’ started to make his mark, and it was due to his enthusiasm and drive that the Southwest area of the A.O.C. founded its own Alvis day. The first of these events was very much a Roger Filer-Cooper gathering held at the old wartime airfield at Eggesford near Winkleigh in mid Devon. Roger also to manage a fly-in by a Percival Provost powered by the 9 cylinder Alvis Leonides radial engine. Roger never did anything by halves. From this event supported by a small but enthusiastic number of southwest members South West Alvis Day grew stronger year by year and developed into a weekend not to be missed, attracting members as far away as the Midlands, London and the Home Counties.

Eggesford was a one-off, the following year the event was held at Newton Abbot racecourse. Led by Roger, this became a team effort with involvement of many of the committee taking on specific tasks. By this time we had become more organised with a refreshment tent, also other facilities for dealing with admin etc. I remember it being a very hot June day and rather tiring to work in, but it proved a great success. This, once again was a one-off venue although S.W.A.D had become firmly established, but it was time to think about a more suitable and permanent venue, and one that was slightly better placed geographically for the wider membership. It was decided to settle on Sherborne Castle and its gardens which would provide the space and all the facilities required, with the advantage of having use of the Orangery for our own catering arrangements. Also there was the added attraction of the Castle being open for guided tours for those who needed respite from the proceedings, there being an ideal area on the approach drive for timed driving tests, and other activities. Adjacent, was a very large level area of grassland for parking. In all it proved to be the ideal venue to which we were welcomed and returned to in successive years. On occasions a formal dinner would be arranged for the Saturday evening before the event on the Sunday.

True to form as my Riley friend Brian predicted, Roger Filer-Cooper moved on to the next challenge. He was highly qualified and well respected in medical circles and became involved in dealing with serious accident trauma and procedures, and in setting up a specialist unit.

For relaxation Roger was a railway and model enthusiast, and constructed a OO gauge layout of Halwill Junction, which I’m told is on display at Okehampton. He unfortunately died in his early sixties, but he certainly left a legacy.

To be continued RHTM
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The Turner household gained a new member of the family some five weeks ago, a four and a half-year-old Collie, despite being totally deaf he is otherwise your typical collie, basically too darn energetic. This has meant a serious rise in the walking tempo. Each day Vivien and I try to think of new places to walk, a couple of weeks ago our walk took in Oozes Water or Scarsick to some, this hill was first used on the Launceston trial and then adopted by the MCC for the Lands End and also used on the Tamar, the hill is no ‘stopper’ but works well as a special test. Being in mid July we were badly prepared for our walk expecting it to be dry, what we were met with was ankle deep cow poo, it turned out the local farmer moves his herd of cows along the track each day turning it into a half decent although smelly section.

A few days later we had to travel down to the west of the county so took in a walk down ‘Bluehills’, I was impressed by the repair work by the MCC maintenance team, although the walkers using the hill that day were probably totally unaware of what happens there every Easter . A friend of ours commented “did John really ride his Lambretta up there?” to which the answer is Yes I did, despite feeling like I was about to have a heart attack. Nobody said it was going to be easy.

All for this month J.T.

All contributions gratefully accepted billjan299@gmail.com

Newsletter July 2020

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So here we go again, another month on and little to report on any activities of the wheeled kind. In an endeavour to see what is possible Mike Wevill and myself have been looking into what if any events could be run, at the time of writing the AMCA are only issuing event practice permits, but not for an actual competitive event, MSUK as far as we can see have not made any significant changes to their previous bulletin in that permits are only being issued for events where there is no passenger in a vehicle. As we all know our club is very much a trials based club and that we always require a passenger to be with the driver be it in sporting or classic trials, so until there is a change in the ruling by MSUK or the social distancing rules are completely changed we are somewhat snookered, oops, snooker is allowed, but I’m rubbish at that anyway.

The Dellow register have been seeking to have the classification of Dellows changed to allow them to be moved into class 2 for “standard” cars and class 5 for mildly changed cars, those cars running much more modern engines etc would go into class 7. I know I’m biased but to me this is a sensible move, the youngest of these cars are over 65 years old and in some cases running with 80 year old mechanicals , the basic engine, gearbox and axle derive from cars built in the 1930’s. At present if I run my car in the main class of a trial I would be in class 7 up against Marlins, Duttons and Liege’s to name but a few , all with much more modern running gear. Thirty years ago class 2 was a very vibrant class with loads of MG’s, Austin 7’s, Wolseleys etc, very few of these now run in either MCC and ACTC events so the move to put Dellows in class 2 may actually give it the boost it needs. (That wasn’t too biased was it ?) The full guide lines can be found on the ACTC website.

So now it’s over to our Club President Robin Moore:-

Alvis and the other lady in my life, part 2.

KDL 892 was in fact a TC 21/100 model that Alvis named, The Grey Lady, and that is how I became to be responsible for another lady in my life, albeit a graceful and totally rewarding motor car. “Grace, Space and Pace” the slogan used by Jaguar to promote their offerings at this time, would aptly apply to this Alvis.

The 3 litre Alvis had the longest production run of the marque and gradually improved and uprated during its production run, 1950 -67 , the b h p increasing from 90 to 150 over the period. The last of the line, the TF21 with its 150 brake horse was capable of a genuine 120 mph and the standing start ¼ mile in 17.8 seconds, not bad for a car of its type, a full 4 seater saloon of 55 years ago. The Grey Lady model was also capable of showing a clean pair of heels to others with its superb 3rd gear that gave wonderful acceleration from 30. Pulling strongly all the way up to 85 mph and would cruise quite happily at the 85 -90 miles per hour mark. There are many journeys that I made that I have never bettered since, yes there was much less traffic then, but neither had the road network been much improved from that of the pre-war period.

However, this story is more about my life and times during the period of my ownership and my involvement with the A. O. C. I very soon joined The Alvis Owner Club and became a member of the South West area, which basically covered all western counties including Hants and Wilts and South Wales, other areas being, South East, Midland and Scottish, who all operated independently of the overall national body, monthly noggin and natters were usually well supported, with many members often travelling some distance to attend, mostly with their Alvis, which in many cases was their everyday transport at the time.

In earlier days the monthly meets were held in mid Devon, but as the majority of regulars attending were predominately from Exeter, Plymouth and southwest Cornwall, by the time I joined in 1966 the venue was well established at the Edgcumbe Arms, Milton Abbot where a lovely couple Bill & Mary were mine hosts for a number of years. Our Annual meeting was held at a different venue each year in fairness to the widespread membership, The White Hart in Exeter for example , whereas the dinner held in November was quite an occasion with many staying overnight. Lewtrenchard was popular, whilst the George at Hatherleigh was another favourite. Area committee meetings were only held when the occasion demanded, as and when necessary and I remember these being held in Taunton at one time, a 180 mile round trip of an evening for me, although sometimes I would go as far as Exeter to meet up with a couple who became good friends of ours, and from Exeter to Taunton, we would travel there and back in Alan’s Bristol 405, having a good blast up the M5. Our wives , Marjorie and Jayne, would accompany us men on those trips as they kept us supplied with alcohol during the business of the meetings which were held in a room on the 1st floor of the hotel,- the bar being on the ground floor of course. It was good to have a couple of young lady runners,- we were all young back then,- to keep our thirst quenched during the debate- that was our excuse, but I remember those meetings always being very convivial affairs.

By this time I had become Chairman of the southwest area, in which position I was privileged to serve for three years. I was extremely pleased that we managed to secure the long term care of the Alvis Leonides 9 cylinder radial aero engine that Westlands of Yeovil had bequeathed to us, including raising the necessary funds and having it mounted on a purpose built trailer in order that it could be taken to different events in the south west for display.

Secondly, whilst other areas were ahead of us in having an annual Alvis day, we in the south west had not yet established our own event. It came about by chance. There was a time when we found we were without a secretary, and “feelers” were put out, A G.P. whose practice was in Black Torrington at the time owned a very nice TD21 Grabier Alvis convertible which he had lavished much care and attention, not to mention a lot of money, and he told us he might consider taking on the position of secretary, but he would like to meet us and discuss what might be involved. Now it just happened to be, that Dr Roger Filer-Cooper hailed originally from Surrey, as I am myself, and was well known to my life long friend Brian Floyd-Jacob of Riley fame, and he knew Roger well, through him owning a pre-war Riley,- the Alvis being purchased in a whim,- a flight of fancy. So I spoke to my friend Brian and asked him what he thought about Doc Filer-Cooper being the right man for the job. Brian’s reply was ,- anything that Roger took on he gave 100% commitment to whilst in the job, but when he had made his mark, would move on to another challenge.

Wonderful, we had a volunteer who fitted the bill, so it was decided to extend an invitation to Roger and his wife Anita to a dinner party at our expense and that was duly arranged at the Lord Eliot, Liskeard. It was quite an evening and we made sure the Doc was well lubricated, by the end of the evening there was no way he could possibly refuse, and so it was that Roger Filer-Cooper became our secretary. He certainly fulfilled our expectations and left his mark on the south west area of the A.O.C., as will be recalled next time.

(to be continued) RHTM
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HSTA Sporting Trial. Martin Halliday has this week had to put out the disappointing news of the Historic Sporting Trial scheduled for the 15th of August 2020 has been cancelled for this year. This was an event I was hoping to attend, it had a very good entry of 42 with some really interesting classic vehicles including Allard, Canon, Buckler, Dellows etc. The cancellation wasn’t really a surprise but it does highlight just how widespread the effects of COVID 19 are. As Martin says some events are beginning to restart but these are for those who don’t require a passenger, the good news is that he is planning to run the event next year, something to look forward to.

Whilst on the subject of trying to run events I’ve just received the news of the week from the MCC with an update on Mark Gregg’s attempts to run the Edinburgh Trial. I really do feel for the guy, he and his team have put in a massive amount of work to try and make sure the event runs. At the moment they are asking for an expression of interest from competitors and marshals so that it can be established if the event is feasible to run, anyone wishing to do so have until the end of this month to respond. Check out the MCC website.

Thanks to Richard Bevan for sending this photo taken at one of our club dinners at the Eagle
House Hotel – anyone any ideas what year? We’re all looking a lot younger!

Andy Prosser sent me this picture from one of his visits to Zimbabwe, he said it was a drag race between their pickup and the Donkey cart, it must have been a handicap as the donkeys didn’t have any carrots.

It’s not been the most uplifting of newsletters this month but I’m sure there is light at the end of the tunnel, as long as the batteries don’t go flat. I think it must now be time for me to hide in the garage and immerse myself into all things mechanical, I did have thoughts on joining the Alvis owners club, but my other half is not sure if my liver is up to it.

All for this month. J.T.

Please send contributions to billjan299@gmail.com

Newsletter June 2020

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“Flaming June” has certainly been living up to its name with high temperatures and a real shortage of rain, for those lucky enough to have gardens to enjoy the “lockdown” has possibly been easier to endure than if it had rained every day. With the gradual easing of the lockdown there has been much talk by Motorsports UK and the AMCA as to how things will proceed in order for us all to get back to doing things in a sort of “almost” normal fashion.
 
Make no mistake about it, it is going to be a real challenge, once you think of getting groups of people together it becomes a big headache for the organisers on top of the social distancing issues there are challenges like signing on, scrutineering, provision of toilets, maybe even self certifying that you are free of the virus, the list is endless, then of course who is going to take responsibility for this if something goes wrong?
 
A lot of the issues could be overcome by doing things electronically, whilst a lot of clubs now do on line entries this could be extended to certifying that your vehicle is compliant with all the requirements to enter your chosen event, this would certainly sort the scrutineering issue, things like diff testing could possibly be done, although if you declare your diff to be compliant that shouldn’t be a problem. Motorcyclists on solo machines would at least not have to worry about the distancing from ones passenger as in cars and outfits, perhaps we could all wear face masks, full face crash helmets with the visor fixed down ! It will be interesting to see how things go at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, no passenger to consider so that’s a start.
 
My apologies to Robin in last month’s offering when I wrongly named the Horstmann car as a Hurstmann. One letter can make quite a difference, I recently saw a car advertised that might be suitable for trialling, one comment was that it would need a bugger engine, I pondered on this for a few seconds and then realised it should have been a “bigger” engine, but it did make me chuckle.
 
So now it’s over to our Club President Robin Moore.
 
Historical notes – on hold. For the last eight months my contributions to the newsletter have been centred to the centenary of our club and its history, and many interesting facts have come to light. The research is on-going and the story incomplete. The present “lockdown” has presented problems of personal contact with some of those I have contacted for help in verifying facts. So for the moment I am having to put the final instalments on hold. John Turner has kindly agreed that for the time being my contributions will be of another subject.
 
Alvis, and the other lady in my life. This year is also the centenary of the Alvis Company and plans were well advanced for a major celebration to commemorate the marque and the company’s engineering achievements. Like us , this is now on hold, and these milestones will have to be celebrated at a later date.
 
The Alvis car and engineering history is well documented, and their reputation for quality in all spheres of testing, in advanced design and manufacture of everything from motor cars to aviation engines and armoured fighting vehicles for the M.O.D., is without question of the highest order. During World War 2 Alvis produced major components for the Rolls Royce Merlin aero engines, also being involved with overhaul and testing of these units.
 
Car production ranged from 1920 to 1967 with the last car completed on the 29th of September of that year. My Alvis story starts in the 1950’s when a young couple came to Trefrew, Camelford on holiday, driving their 12/50 Alvis. I expressed an interest in the car and it wasn’t long before I was offered a demonstration run: The performance and roadholding impressed me, and has remained with me ever since. At around the same time another holiday maker had ventured to Cornwall driving an older model, the 10/50 with its side valve engine. Unfortunately, a big end had given up the challenge when reaching Camelford and the car had been left with my local garage to get it fixed, whilst the owner made other on-going arrangements, planning to collect the car, duly sorted, and return home the following week. I had a good look at this early model Alvis whilst it was at the garage , and I could appreciate the quality of this vintage car and its general appeal.
 
It was not until 1966, some ten years later that I was to purchase my first Alvis, a post war 1954 3 litre. At the time it was considered , that when a motor car was 12 years old and a model of merit, its market value would be at its lowest, after which it would slowly rise in value, and this may have come into the equation at the time, but from memory it was more by co-incidence that I made the purchase of KDL 892 , an Isle of Wight registration. I had read the road test reports of this model, and the style of the coachwork appealed. To my eye it looks right from any angle, so when I spied this motor for sale locally I was tempted to take the plunge, and thus entered another phase of my motoring life.
RHTM to be continued.
 
Now it’s over to our chairman Pete Cooper

I hope you are all safe and well, the Lockdown has certainly decimated our beloved sport. I expect the lockdown is beginning to be a real bore as all those jobs around the garden have now been completed, the house painted three times and finally you can get the car in the garage. I’ve been busy working for Cornwall Council at Launceston and Saltash recycling centres, at least I am getting some of my council tax back!!
 
Motorsport UK along with the AMCA seem to have woken up. MSUK intends to start issuing permits soon. Unfortunately some of the paperwork they are proposing is way over the top, the club will need to employ a document manager to keep on top of it.
 
I hope to finish my work next week and then hopefully we will be able to have a virtual committee meeting via Zoom and discuss how we can proceed in the hope to get our sport back on track, so any committee members reading this can start thinking of any items they wish to discuss. The two main events needing discussion will be the David Ayers sporting trial in September and the Tamar Classic road trial in October. With regard to the David Ayers our first concern is that the land owner is happy for us to return, the land owner David Langley has without question been extremely supportive of our club but these are difficult times and nothing should be taken for granted, assuming he is happy we then need to contact the majority of competitors for their thoughts, we certainly won’t be able to provide food as in past years.
 
The Tamar Trial will have plenty of problems, as the regulations stand at the moment there are several issues to consider:- passengers can only be from the same family or household; will marshals over the age of 70 want to travel; can buildings be used for signing on and off and will we be able to control the spectating public on the sections ?? We may also may be restricted to a “clubman “ event.
 
Torbay MC are hoping to run a few events with a hill climb at Wiscombe but they will all be clubman events. In the foreseeable future I do not see any chance of meetings other than that by Zoom, this will be the way forward. As our governing bodies send us more details of the new regulations we will endeavour to get them out to all committee members.
Please all stay safe and enjoy any good weather.
Best regards to all.
Pete
 
If anyone wishes to contribute ideas and suggestions as to how the club can move forward with its future events under the Covid-19 restrictions we would be very pleased to hear from you.
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At the time of writing this I should technically have made a two wheel excursion to Belgium for the Euro Lambretta weekend along with several thousand like minded enthusiasts/ lunatics but hey ho maybe next year. I did manage to take the Dellow out for a short run last week, but alas the engine despite having had a more than modest amount of tlc is still not completely happy, so it was back under the dust sheets for the time being (car not me). Fortunately, the other engine should be back in a couple of weeks, I can then do the rebuild and engine swap, it’s a pity Google don’t do an app for it, it would save all that tiresome spannering, but then I wouldn’t be able to hide away in the garage for hours on end, I’d miss all that oil and grease under the finger nails too.
 
All for this month
J.T. Please, Please send contributions to billjan299@gmail.com

May 2020 Newsletter

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Well, here we are again, with even less to write about than last month, in terms of motorsport anyway. As I said last month my list of jobs around home have been quite mind boggling, you name it I’ve done it, if I’m not careful I shall be taking up gardening, perhaps not, as that would necessitate management approval, and we’re very clear on that topic. The Sparrows in the camera nest box that were making a new nest last month have hatched four young and all are virtually ready to flee the nest, country entertainment!!


 
With everything on hold all planning for the club’s centenary is shelved for the moment, you never know it might be a celebration for 101 years, I’m sure we will be able to party at some time. Committee meetings are also non-existent but you never know we might end up doing virtual meetings by Zoom, if its good enough for the government it’s gotta be good enough for us mere mortals.
Fortunately our club President and stalwart contributor has some more historical notes for you so over to Robin.
 
Historical Notes (part 8)

As I pen these notes continuing the history of our motor club, gems of information keep surfacing enabling me to further expand the story, and hopefully in the end, to have a more complete record. As I research I come across scraps of information that I had noted in the past and then filed away and forgotten. One such piece recently came to light when I was going through one of my filing cabinets. It was a scrap of paper from a notebook with a hand written note that had been handed to me at some time in the past, under which I had written, – Charlie Walters/ Warin. It refers to a piece printed in the Cornish & Devon Post Thursday September 6th 2001 and I quote,- 80 years ago Sept 10th 1921 a large number of motorists and others gathered at Lifton on Wednesday to witness a hillclimb for motorcycles and motorcars arranged by Dunheved Launceston and District Motor Club, the President of which is a Mr F.A. Blake, followed by a word (longhand) which I am unable to decipher. The report goes on to say ,- Mr R Prout, Ford with specially built aluminium racing body in competition with Mr (Haskins ? ) Hurstman attracted much attention.

Hurstman cars of which one or two survive were manufactured in Bath between 1914 and 1929 and had a fine reputation for reliability and performance , and is recorded as the first British car to be fitted with a supercharger. Returning to Mr F.A. Blake and the date, it can be established that he became the first President of our motorclub, and Mr Leslie Major whom I have mentioned earlier in this series most likely succeeded Mr Blake.

I am indebted to Barrie Kirton , Archivist of the M.C.C. with whom I have consulted about the 1930 Land’s End Trial, as Launceston itself was very much a part of this annual event for many years. In 1930 competitors had a time check at Netherbridge before entering the town and parking in the square and walking to the Town Hall to partake of lunch. The route card states” Proceed without waiting to Guildhall Square. Park as directed. Sign and lunch at Town Hall. Caterer, E. Reed, Supplies, Wooldridges, Control from timing point to re-start after lunch.”

There was an entry of 400 , of which 259 were cars derived into 4 classes according to engine capacity. Class 1V (d) , cars exceeding 1,500 cc numbered 336 to 400 listed no’s 349 – 350 and 351 as – RGT Bear driving a Mark 4 MG of 1,802 cc 4(cyl) and W.P Uglow and L. Major with 18/80 M G ‘s of 2,468cc (6 cyl).

This information is particularly interesting for two reasons, first it leads me to question the name Bear. There exists a small plaque with the inscription Ron Beer secretary 1936 . I have reason to believe it is one and the same person but the inscription is incorrect. Second , L.Major can only be Leslie Major of Polapitt Tamar mentioned earlier in this narrative and who by this time may have become President ? These three competitors running consecutively were in good company with the likes of H E Symons, Agnes Gripper, W M Couper & R J W Appletonton name but a few of the well known personalities who entered these events of the time. Frank Allott, 747cc Austin was also a competitor in this 1930 L’ End. His son Clive was a member of LNCMC in the 1990’s when he was a near neighbour of mine farming Trevilla , Camelford. I remember him as a bit of a wild character competing in events with a Morgan.
To be continued RHTM
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Yours truly garage stuff has been somewhat curious to say the least, the Dellow is covered in dustsheets, ironically I took the spare engine block down to Wadebridge a week prior to lockdown for a rebore and crank regrind and that’s where it still sits, all the scooters have been fettled to within an inch of their life so my attention has been focused on the Fergie tractor.

Ever since buying it (nearly seven years ago) I have complained that the clutch is difficult to operate, often needing to stand on it to change gear , after a two hour tractor grass cutting stint I had a right leg like that of Roy Chubby Brown and a left leg more like Bradley Wiggins, walking was interesting to say the least. After talking to Andy Prosser our local “all things Fergie” guru I decided to take matters to hand. With the tractor stripped down it was obvious the clutch was in need of some tlc so a quick call to local specialists DPR to check they were open, YES, and I have to say a very impressive turn around of the job I now have a fully reconditioned clutch which is featherweight to operate.

As with all these jobs one always leads to another, the tin worms were doing their level best to make me a lightweight bonnet, which to be honest I didn’t really want, so after a good wire brushing and a couple of coats of Hydrate 80 of which I am a bit of a fan, the rust according to their blurb will be stopped, personally I would be happy if it was just slowed down in line with the local speed limits. Then followed a bit of welding and filling and a lick of paint, the tractor is now somewhat rejuvenated. I can start looking for the next job now.

All for this month but please, please do feel free to contribute.
J.T.
E mail billjan299@gmail.com

April 2020 Newsletter

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As I sit here typing this I have my camera unit running watching the Sparrows embroiled in making a new nest totally oblivious to the Pandemic that has swept the world causing the human population to make drastic changes to how we go about our daily lives. I briefly mentioned in last month’s offering that the virus could have an effect on our sport, I think that was a bit of an understatement.

The club were very lucky in that it managed to run the Launceston Trial on the 15th of March, the weather was good on the day, the marshals turned out in force, to which we are extremely grateful, all in all it was a bit of a mud bath, but judging by the looks on the competitors faces they were loving it. Marshals were given a Club Beanie hat and a Coaster as a token of our thanks.

Well done to Nigel , Pete and the rest of the team for all the hard work they put in.

Results summary : The Cycle Bowl was won by Graham Airey.

Novice Award Josh Knight. The Newman Cup Alan Keat.

The Fulford Cup Craig Allen. The full results will be on the club website.

This photo doesn’t do it justice but this is what you end up with after an event, the plan was to meet up a few days later to clean it all up and neatly sort it, ah well, won’t be using it for a while, have to have a word with the “mud fairies”.

And now it’s over to our Club President Robin Moore.

Historical Notes Part 7

Although we are celebrating the Centenary of the LNCMC this year (2020) and everything is geared up for a big celebration in Launceston on the 1st of August, together with a major exhibition of archive material at the Lawrence House Museum, it is established that the club formally came into existence on the 20th of August 1919 (see part 2).

The youngest motor club in the Duchy is the Camel Vale Motor Club, and I mention this for two reasons. First, because CVMC is our nearest motor club neighbour, and second, because there are certain similarities in the developments and working practices. Camel Vale was originally a well established motor cycle club. It was on the demise of the old Wadebridge & District Light Car Club in the late 1950’s that a void and a need for the four wheel brigade to be catered for in mid Cornwall. Camel Vale echoed the North Cornwall club, expanding to cater for cars, but each section having its own competition secretary etc.

The late Evan Holman became Camel Vale’s competition secretary and became very active in promoting all kinds of events. I myself became very involved with Evan as he was lodging in Camelford at the time and became a frequent visitor to Trefrew. Our many escapades are stories in themselves. Evan, having studied navigation during his National Service in the R.A.F. was particularly keen on rallying and even set up small evening classes on map reading and the various equipment required.

I recall this because it led to co-operation and competition between us, co-promoting many events and ultimately expanding with the advent of Cornish Capers, a major interclub timed driving test event held for a number of years at the old W.W2 airfield, – R.A.F Davidstow Moor, 1942-1945.

My original navigator on events was ex navy Peter Stedman of Boscastle who became treasurer for Camel Vale M.C. There were a number of ties that brought our two club together. I was a member of Camel Vale at the time and attended their annual meetings. Likewise Camel Vale would be represented at Lanson’s A.G.M. As today, many were members of both clubs, I well remember

Evan Holman with his Singer Roadster taking me to the North Cornwall M.C. annual meeting on a January night, with snow showers adding to the excitement of the journey from Camelford in the Singer. The meeting that year was held in the Ambulance Hall, – another person present on that night was the late Graham Brazier who at that time had recently purchased the ex- Syd Broad Lotus MG . I have a vivid memory of Graham roaring away into the night to drive home in the deteriorating weather conditions.

To be continued RHTM

So now that we are all confined to barracks it’s a matter of keeping one’s self occupied, I’ve painted a couple of doors that were otherwise well down the list, chopped a load of wood ready for next Winter, brushed the flue, and if I’m not careful I will be catching up with things in the garage, now there’s worrying. For those of you who enjoy a good read there’s a couple of books I can recommend.

The first is “Rice & Dirt, Across Africa on a Vespa by Alexandra Fefopoupou & Stergios Gogos. Don’t worry there isn’t that much talk of the scooter its more of a travel book and the things that happen when you are trying to travel from top to bottom of a huge continent. The corruption at border controls is mind boggling, but balanced by the kindness of strangers on the journey, even the offer of a bride!!

The second book Frank & Stan’s Bucket List, the TT Races. Frank’s had better days….. The doctor gave him the news he didn’t want and Frank’s discovered the worst kept secret in Liverpool ; that his wife’s fitness instructor is providing her services that extend beyond the gym. Fans of the I.O.Man TT will love it, so will those who aren’t. You can get either book from that well known online bookstore so no need to even go outside.

All for this month J.T. email billjan299@gmail.com

LNCMC March 2020 Newsletter

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Life seems to be going by at quite a pace at the moment, first, we had Brexit which seemed to go on forever we then moved into the storm season, each consecutive one seems to have a more indecipherable name than the last one, then before you know it we have a virus sweeping the world, I’m finding it a bit difficult to keep up. So what’s all this got to do with motorsport? Well the Launceston trial and a few others became victim of the storms and unless the current virus is containable it too will possibly have an effect, it’s a case of keep your fingers crossed and be prepared to adapt, I’m supposedly going on a two wheeled foray to Belgium at the beginning of June but to be honest it’s not looking good, it may end up with a tour of the Southwest, not all bad, we have pasties the Belgian’s don’t.
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Friday the 28th of February saw the club and supporters converging on Trethorne Leisure Centre for our annual sit down buffet and presentation of awards, thanks go to Nigel in particular for the organising of the event which went very well and the meal seemed to be very good value for money. We seemed to have more than the usual amount of speeches this year but that’s probably because as we are celebrating our centenary we feel we have something to shout about.

Lots of awards were given out, in particular it was good to see a couple of junior awards being presented to Ashley and Zak Ruby, always good to encourage youngsters into the sport. After the formalities footage was shown of club events gone by in the fifties and sixties, it was interesting to see the dress code of that period, with the ladies wearing a good variety of head scarves, many of the men in flat caps and wearing a tie, one of my favourite bits of the film was seeing a Messerschmit “Bubble Car” attempting Sims hill, not something you are likely to see again.
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And now it’s time to hand over to our Club President Robin Moore
Historical notes part 6

I’m sure that in the fullness of time the complete history of Cornish Motor Clubs will be chronicled, for it’s a story that needs recording for posterity. The fact that our Lanson club is now involved with celebrating it’s centenary has rather galvanised the mind on these matters. Our Launceston Club has always been to the fore in promoting a variety of motorsport competition and has produced some outstanding drivers wearing the club colours, competing nationally as well as in local events. Before the second World War , mainly as a form of advertising car manufacturers were keen for their products to do well in competition, especially so as a team,- sometimes formally entered as a works team, whilst others had generous works support. There was great rivalry between teams such as Austin, MG and Singer. To a lesser extent this practice continued post war. Entering as a team adds a new dimension with the team captain requiring a certain discipline & tact at times to keep things together, but also the determination to do well. I personally found myself in a different “mindset” when team effort was required and a greater determination to succeed. It adds another dimension, for one doesn’t want to let team mates down.

The “Shades of Crackers” team that I was involved with for a number of years was always a mixed team of different makes of car, but one constant was Norman McKee’s ex Toulmin Cream Cracker car, the MGTA reg ABL 962, it was always part of the team. Norman was the “joker” in the team and could do a wonderful impersonation of Benny Hill. On the MCC Norman was always “ hell bent” on our team beating the Morgan works team on Times in the Special tests . I seem to recall we usually did come out on top!
From time to time some of our club members formed teams of one make cars. In the early 1930’s it was Phil Uglow and the Biscombe brothers of Callington who ran a team of Hillman Aero Minx, whilst post war the team of Dellows ,- George Edwards, Bob and Mary Parsons were very successful. The team who called themselves the “ Union Jacks” was the formidable Morgans of George Edwards, Alin Penhale and Ted Dennis. Painted Red, White and Blue respectively. Ted’s car – the Blue one, was a four seater, a plus 4 with the

Standard Vanguard 2 Litre engine and with his 16 stone ex Navy mechanic and navigator astern they would take some stopping. Happy days and a lot of fun with many wonderful memories.
(to be continued) RHTM

Club Regalia. At the awards evening, the committee members were all wearing the new club Regalia in colours to reflect our centenary.

Items available :

Beanie Hat  – £4.95 + vat
Tee Shirt  – £8.95 = vat
Polo Shirt  – £12.95 + vat
Sweatshirt – £13.95 + vat

These are all available from the suppliers, Protekt Safety Wear.

Telephone 07894 057498 Speak to Mark Doey

Email protect_safetywear@gmail.com

Once ordered you can either collect from their premises at Callington, or delivered by courier for £7.95 (this fee might possibly include more than one item) speak to Mark.

Forthcoming Events

Launceston Trial 15th of March As mentioned in last month’s edition, the team will be out there next week ensuring all is well for the event, if you haven’t entered you really need to get in quick.

The Northgate Sporting Trial is on the 29th of March at Ashleigh Lifton.

Both of these events need Marshals or they will not run so please contact Mike Wevill on 01566 784451 or email j.wevill@btconnect.com

On the 2nd of April, we have our club AGM which will be held at the Blue Lion, Lewdown at 8.00pm. Please make an effort to attend, you never know it might actually be interesting especially if our 3 months of centenary plans are divulged.
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I have often wondered what is the first thing that people see when they arrive at a motorsport event. Most probably it’s an interesting vehicle, or maybe they see someone they haven’t seen for a while and a chance to catch up. How many of you see the Motorsport is Dangerous sign, let alone give it a second thought, after all it isn’t for you is it! Very few people taking part in our chosen sport give it much thought, most thoughts are either achieving fastest time of the day, or being the only one to clear a particular hill.

Unfortunately, accidents do actually happen and it’s at that particular moment the mind is suddenly focused on the less attractive side of the sport. Over the years that I have been involved I have been close to or even witnessed an incident when someone has been injured (ok so you are now making a mental
note to avoid me), I know accidents happen in all sports but most likely few people consider it, if they did there would probably be less of us taking part.

This leads me on to wondering how many of you are blood donors, yes the dreaded needle, I can see some of you fainting now. Be honest lots of us need an extra drop of it at some time in our lives, yes the head is burying deeper in the sand. Some people not only donate blood, but platelets and plasma, you know the sort of thing that is sometimes required during transplants, or when blue babies are born. Dare I even mention carrying a donor card, yes morbid isn’t it, but real ! I would love to get some feedback but probably I won’t, but if you managed to read this to the end it might just set you thinking.

All for this month J.T. e mail billjan299@gmail.com
 

Northgate Trial 2020 Regs and Entry Form

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The regulations and entry form for the Northgate Trial 2020 are now available to download below.

Northgate Trial 2020 Entry Form (1950 downloads ) Northgate Trial 2020 Regs (1976 downloads )

The Trial will take place on Sunday 29th of March at Ashley Farm, Lifton (MR201/395842) by kind permission of Paul Webber.

Launceston Trial 2020 Marshalls needed

We are in need of Marshalls for this years Launceston Trial 2020 which takes place on Sunday 15th March. If you would like to Marshall please contact Mike Wevill by calling 01566 784451 or send an email to j.wevill@btinternet.com.

Launceston Trial 2020 Updated Regs and Entry Forms

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The regulations and entry forms for the Launceston Trial 2020 have been updated to reflect the new date of the 15th of March.

Launceston Trial 2020 Car Entry Form (2595 downloads ) Launceston Trial 2020 Motorcycle Entry Form (2479 downloads )

Launceston Trial 2020 Car Regs (2475 downloads ) Launceston Trial 2020 Motorcycle Regs (2380 downloads )

The online entry system has also been reponed and can be accessed here www.lncmc.co.uk/online-entry/. Postal entries are still welcomed.

Entries now close on TUESDAY 10th March 2020. (No entries will be accepted on the day.)

This single venue classic trial for both motorcycles and cars is held in Lew & Eastcott Woods, Near Lewdown (approx. 10 miles from Launceston) and will take place on Sunday the 15th of March.

LNCMC February 2020 Newsletter

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I hadn’t expected a lay-on in bed this morning but that was the case as the Launceston Trial has had to be postponed due to storm Ciara, never thought I could have been grateful to a storm. In view of the potential dangers of standing in a woods with large trees swaying in the wind the club had to make a decision and let’s face it no one wants be put in a dangerous position , marshals are hard enough to get as it is without any extra concerns of trees landing on them or on the competitors. The date has now been moved to the 15th of March so anyone who was for whatever reason unable to compete or marshal now has a second opportunity.

Now it’s time for me to hand you over to our President Robin Moore

Historical Notes (Part 5)

The very early days of club activities would have taken the form of organised social runs. Those seeking a greater challenge may well have been attracted to timed speed trials which were often held on the public highway in the 1920’s, before being banned following a fatal accident to a spectator at Kop Hill Climb, near Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire.

The nearest to Launceston for this type of event was a venue close to Brentor Church, as there is a stretch of road that proved ideal for the purpose. If the memory of these speed trials held there on what was called the Brentmor Straight has faded, it is the complete opposite for the familiar landmark of Brentor Church. Built-in isolation atop a high pinnacle of Dartmoor granite it is visible for miles from all points of the compass and was indeed a bearing for ancient mariners as they set a course to enter Plymouth Sound.

Just half a mile to the south of the church, the road runs dead straight for two miles in a southerly direction to Tavistock, and it is this stretch of the highway that the events were held. It is reputed the last speed event ever to have taken place on a public highway in this country actually took place at this venue.

If you drive this stretch of road today it is not difficult to imagine the thrill derived from these intrepid pioneers taking part, or for that matter the inherent danger. The road surface would have been very much inferior 100 years ago to the standards of today, and machines much more of a handful to keep in a straight line at speed, heroes and heroines come to mind.- but true pioneers of our sport,- definitely.

100 years later we are gearing up to celebrate the centenary of our club and diligent research is revealing a vast amount of history. Who knows, but it would be great if something came to light regarding the speed trials at Brentor, and maybe a record of one of our members of that era having taken part.
RHTM (to be continued)

Centenary Year 2020 Events Calendar

  • Presentation of Awards with Hot Buffet and Films 7.00 for 7.30pm start     Trethorne     28/02/2020
  • Launceston Trial Classic     Lewdown Area     15/03/2020     C
  • Northgate Sporting Trial ASWMC Round     Ashleigh, Lifton     29/03/2020     C
  • AGM 8.00pm     Blue Lion, Lewdown     02/04/2020
  • Spry Sporting Trial     Trevilla Farm, Marshgate     06/06/2020     C
  • Motor Traders Car Trial     Waterloo Farm, North Petherwin     05/07/2020     C
  • Centenary Parade     Launceston Castle Green     01/08/2020
  • Testing Production Trial     Cannaframe     09/08/2020     C
  • David Ayers Sporting Trial MSUK, ASWMC & BTRDA Round     Trevilla Farm, Marshgate     13/09/2020     C
  • Tamar Classic Trial, ASWMC & ACTC Round     East Cornwall, West Devon     18/10/2020     C
  • Ron Beer Sporting Trial     Ashleigh, Lifton     22/11/2020     C

One of the forthcoming events coming up soon is the Club AGM which as already listed is at The Blue Lion, Lewdown. This is your chance to see and have a say at what goes on in the club, what with all the planned activities to celebrate our centenary you might just be privy to knowing what these plans are, you never know you might just want to get involved in them.

Planet Gears No this is not some inter galactic constellation but what hides in your back axle (assuming you have one). You may have read in the last newsletter that I managed to break these in the Dellow, I have been looking into getting some of these re-manufactured. Bearing in mind any used ones available will be at least sixty years old and of questionable quality and that as they really are getting harder to find it seems the logical thing to do.

If any of you out there run a “Ford Pop” or any of the specials derived around their running gear i.e. Buckler, Dellow, Fairthorpe, Canon or just homebrew special this should be of interest. Cost is not going to be cheap, but the more people wanting some the price falls, at the moment the price is somewhere in the region of £325.00 a set (2), but as I say a bigger quantity order would reduce the price.
Whilst on the subject of re-manufactured parts I know of at least one other person looking at getting half shafts made and someone else investigating Crown Wheel and Pinions, all for the above-mentioned vehicles, so if this is of interest get in touch with me.

All for this month J.T. Contributions to billjan299@gmail.com