Tim Watson 1963–2021

Scroll through social media and you will find a massive outpouring of shock, sadness, love and grief as hundreds of people from around the world reacted to the news that Tim Watson had passed away on 6 February at the age of 57. Only Tim’s family knew that he had been battling cancer for the last 18 months – he did not want to trouble his many friends with the news.

The high regard with which Tim was held by journalists and industry figures in several countries is reflected in the words repeated over and over in the tributes to this former automotive communications high-flyer. “Professional, talented, brilliant, inspirational, honest, genuine, likeable, gracious, loyal, honourable.” And, of course, “funny”. Tim’s sense of humour was as legendary as his skills as the consummate PR and communications specialist. He certainly was one of a kind – there was never a dull moment with Tim around, but he never let the fun prevent him from doing a top-class job. One senior industry executive summed him up as “A rare and exceptional person, a professional of the highest order and one of the most engaging people in the industry.” 

Born in Tunbridge Wells, Tim began his career as a journalist on a Kent newspaper and, a winner of the Guild’s Sir William Lyons Award in 1984, developed his automotive interest at Motoring News before joining Mazda as press officer. He eventually became Head of PR and his reputation as a skilled and likeable PR specialist grew. It was at this time, while I was PR Director for the TKM/Inchcape group’s various automotive brands, that our friendship developed and we first became colleagues. The group needed a PR and marketing manager for Ferrari UK and I did not have to push Tim too hard to accept the role. His skills and success with the British media did not go unnoticed in Italy and he was eventually lured to Maranello to handle international PR, before stepping up to run global communications for Ferrari and Maserati.

Tim was never overawed by anyone’s reputation or perceived status. What mattered to him was how someone acted and treated him and others. He gave respect when it was deserved. One of my favourite examples of this relates to Michael Schumacher’s appointment to the Ferrari F1 team in 1996. Tim and Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo greeted the German racing star as he stepped from a helicopter at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track. Schumacher shook hands with the Ferrari President and turned to hand his briefcase to Tim. He was taken aback to be told “I’m your PR adviser, not your valet”, so carried his own briefcase as they walked off, discussing the media briefing Tim had prepared. The pair went on to develop enormous respect for each other as they worked together in the coming years, becoming good friends.

In 2001 new Aston Martin CEO, Dr Ulrich Bez, needed a PR director and Tim was the natural choice. As the brand was Ford-owned, this led to Tim’s new ‘twatso’ nickname, for Ford took the first initial and first five letters of a surname to create the @ford email address. Tim’s role developed to public affairs director and then brand communications director before Ford sent him to California in 2005 to take on the role of vice-president of communications and public affairs for Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin North America. Tim attracted enormous respect from his new US colleagues and the American media as he made yet another huge success of his latest career challenge.

After a brief switch to a senior commercial role at Jaguar Italy, he was offered the opportunity to return to the UK as number two to the Aston Martin CEO, a senior position created specifically for him. Despite the attraction of the role and an eye-watering financial package he told me “I’m going to say no. It’s time for me to leave the corporate world and do what I really want to do with the rest of my life.” And that’s how Tim reinvented himself to follow his dreams. He started by rekindling his life-long love of motorcycles, writing a column for an on-line bike magazine, building a Triumph chopper and buying Harley-Davidson models for himself and his wife Anne. After six months of touring on the Harleys together, Tim wrote a Bryson-type book – “There and back again to see how far it is” – using his dry wit and very British sense of humour to describe his adventures and discoveries in small-town America. It was illustrated with images taken en route by Anne, his kindred spirit and an award-winning photographer.

But his real ambition was to create his own vineyard and wine company to support this new life for himself and Anne, and to create a special legacy for his children. Despite having no prior experience, he spent the last six years planting, developing and nurturing a vineyard alongside his hilltop home in Southern California – learning as he went along and toiling every day. It was just three weeks before he passed away that he was able to see the fruit of his labour – the first bottles of Watson Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon wine. And true to form, the Watson sense of humour was there for all to see on the label. He had branded the wine as “Piston Broke.”

Tim leaves his wife Anne and their seven year old son Russell, plus daughter Faith, aged 20, and 17-year-old son Hugo from his first marriage. Anne has asked me to gather stories about Tim from his many friends so she can share them with Russell when he is older. Please send your anecdotes and tales, especially the funny ones, to peter.frater@outlook.com.

Peter Frater

Friend of the Guild…and Tim’s friend for 35 years

Michael Worthington-Williams MBE 1938–2021

With the passing on Monday 8 February, the Guild has lost one of its oldest working members at the age of 83 and yet his name may not be familiar to all.

Mike, as he was always known, spent a lifetime in the historic car world with a particular interest in any vehicle built before World War II. He was born in Sussex, his father was a chauffeur.

He became interested in motoring history from an early age and began writing when he was in his teens. One of his first vehicles was a 1926 BSA 986cc motorcycle taxi combination which had operated in the Brighton area, he wrote up the discovery of this gem in  the relatively new Veteran and Vintage magazine edited by Lord Edward Montagu.

His two uncles dabbled in what we might these days call ‘pre-owned’ cars , some coming out of less than ideal storage conditions during the war or were to be found in long established scrap yards.

Writing later he admitted that “traditional scrap yards remain my spiritual home”. He became an  obsessive collector, at one time owning 17 vehicles.   These included names which some of us will have forgotten about, such as Angus-Sanderson, Crouch, Calcott, Horstmann, Trojan, Chrysler Wimbledon and Pontiac turret top coupe.

Perhaps it was his marriage to Pam 44 years ago and his eight children that cut down his appetite for owning so many old cars at one time.

In 1982 he bought the car he was probably most famous for ‘Arthur’ a 1927 Austin 20 saloon. Arthur was very scruffy but mechanically sound and Mike drove that car everywhere.

He annually drove Arthur from his home in south west Wales to the Beaulieu Autojumble with Pam and his great friend motoring historian Kit Foster from the USA. He parted with the car in 2007. Trips to the Autojumble and other sales enabled him to build up a very large library and archive on motoring history, which helped him so much in his writings.

He also started collecting automobilia which then grew into a huge collection.  Much of this relates to pre-war motoring and is an amazingly diverse collection.

Mike has written articles in many motoring magazines and edited many specialist columns. We must not forget that it was not only about cars, he had a strong leaning towards the vintage motorcycle as well.

He founded and edited Classic Car Mart and contributed to many motorcycle periodicals. He wrote a number of books on a wide variety of motoring and collecting subjects. He was closely associated with Sothebys car auction department and was a writer of auction catalogue entries and a consultant to Brooks and Bonhams.

I suspect he is best known for his many columns over the years writing about the so-called ‘barn finds’. I asked him once if he had invented the name – he was not sure but I suspect he might have done.

There was a time when he had a number of columns in different classic car and motorcycle magazines which were about vehicles which had been found in barns and sheds or under hedges.

The readers of classic car magazines seemed to have a fascination with this subject.  He was still writing the monthly ‘Finds and Discoveries’ column in The Automobile up until his death. His other monthly column in that magazine was about automobilia and was based on his own huge collection and various items that readers brought to his attention. 

Mike had always interested himself in the old car movement and was at the forefront of the discussions with the DVLC (as it was then) to allow the recovery of original registration marks for cars which had been found or imported. He helped many people retrieve their old number.

He was made an MBE in 2018 for his contribution to motoring history and the old car movement. I am sure those that recommended him also drew attention to the fact that he was always prepared to pass on his knowledge to others and he would always try and help people in this way if he could.

He has certainly replied to many of my questions over the years! He helped found and had been chairman of the Society of Automotive Historians in Britain for many years. He had won various trophies with the worldwide organisation the Society of  Automotive Historians, as well as the Guild’s own Pemberton Trophy in 2003.

Once known never forgotten, a striking figure with a slightly out of control white bushy beard and nearly always in tweeds and a deerstalker. The old car movement will miss you.

By Michael E Ware

Michael’s funeral service will take place on Friday 19 February, at Parc Gwyn Crematorium, Narberth, at1pm GMT, and will be streamed online to allow people to join who are prevented from attending because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Joining instructions:
https://www.wesleymedia.co.uk/webcast-view
Login / Order ID: 78234
Password: mpmkgvyk

Bryan Longworth 1933–2021

The Guild was saddened to learn of the death of retired member Bryan Longworth, who died at Chesterfield Royal Infirmary on 6 January 2021.

Bryan, who lived with his partner Patricia Revill in Chesterfield, began his career on the South Yorkshire Times as a reporter, progressing to become editor of the newspaper’s Sheffield edition.

He wrote news, but was also an accomplished sports writer, covering football and also reported on the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield in 1989. The event tragically resulted in 96 LIverpool supporters losing their lives in a crush at an away match against Sheffield Wednesday.

He won a Newspaper Society award for his reporting in 1997.

Passionate about motoring, Bryan spent the latter part of his career at the Doncaster Free Press, chalking up many years as its motoring correspondent, and continuing to cover motoring as a freelancer after his retirement.

Bryan’s funeral will take place at Chesterfield Crematorium on 23 January, and will be streamed online as a result of coronavirus restrictions.

Mike Lawrence 1942–2020

The Guild of Motoring Writers committee was saddened to learn of the death of Guild member Mike Lawrence, just before Christmas.

Mike was a highly respected motorsport journalist and many of his colleagues expressed sorrow at his passing.

We asked his colleague, Chris Balfe, is we could publish the warm and funny tribute he wrote for his Pitpass.com website (see below), to which Mike was a contributor.

Guild member Mark Cole has given us the image below from when he and Mike worked togther on a radio show in the 1970s.

Mark said: “I got to know him when I was press officer at Thruxton, and I would join him and Rob Widdows for Rob’s Radio Victory motorsport show at Portsmouth during the 1970s.

“I knew that he was a school teacher with a good radio voice, and later as a good motoring journalist and writer, and did a lot of work for the Goodwood Festival.”

Above: Mike Lawrence (right) with some of the high-profile guests on Rob Widdows’s Radio Victory show Track Torque.
Top:Mike Lawrence. Photo: Chris Balfe

Long-time readers of Pitpass will be aware that Mike was with us from the very start indeed, prior to that he worked with me at that site that shall never be named.

I first met Mike unaware that I already had a couple of his books on my shelf, ‘The Story of March (Four Guys and a Telephone)’ and ‘Brabham Ralt Honda (The Ron Tauranac Story)’.

I was running a poll on an F1 site in 1998 and going through the responses I came across one that stood out from the rest, I made a note to contact the author and as a result our friendship began.

Mike was a truly genuine character, and though there are tears in my eyes as I type this, I cannot help smiling as I recall some of the things he wrote and the countless anecdotes.

Mike could (and would) talk for hours about motor sport, and whether it was drivers or machines he was a true expert, an amazingly knowledgeable man. Yet, rather than concentrate on personalities or chassis numbers (a common fault in motor racing literature), Mike preferred to weave a story around his painstakingly researched facts.

He was just as knowledgeable about William Shakespeare, while also being a keen movie fan. Being a fan myself I remember sitting in disbelief with him as he guffawed all the way through Ted, while I could barely raise a smile, and late last year, after he had watched Vincent Price’s Theatre of Blood, we had a long discussion about the many other films that used the penthouse at Alembic House, the property originally owned by legendary composer John Barry, who subsequently sold it to a certain B C Ecclestone who in-turn sold it on to Jeffrey Archer.

A former teacher, Mike’s passion was to share his knowledge with others but always in the most entertaining of ways.

His all-time racing hero was Stirling Moss – or Sir God as he called him – and it is fitting that one of the last things he wrote was a tribute to the racing legend when he passed away earlier this year.

As well as the many books, including Colin Chapman – Wayward Genius, Mike had helped Bernie Ecclestone put together his famed collection of race cars, and was a key player when the Goodwood Festival of Speed was first being put together.

Then there was Track Torque, the legendary motor sport radio show hosted by Mike and Rob Widdows, broadcast by Radio Victory in the late 70s. Though only available in the south of England the show not only attracted a sizeable audience of fans each week but some of the biggest names in the sport, names like Frank Williams, Colin Chapman, Stirling Moss, Mario Andretti, Niki Lauda, Ron Dennis, Nelson Piquet, Alain Prost . . .

I am sure Mike would enjoy the fact that later today [22 December, 2020] Film 4 is showing the Peter Sellers movie, A Shot in the Dark – the second of the Pink Panther series – for it was in this film that Sellers good friend Bryan Forbes had a minor role as a guitar-playing nudist camp attendant, the character listed in the ending credits as Turk Thrust.

Turk, of course, was to achieve legendary status as advisor to FOSU, the Formula One Script Unit, the mythical organisation that Liberty Media would surely love to have back on board and at times still appears to be working in the background.

Then there was the time Mike was perceived as having gone a little too far and was threatened with legal action over something he’d written for us. Instead of a grovelling apology or a crowdfunding page, Mike proceeded to mock the lawyer’s name (Marvin) in a series of the funniest letters I have ever seen. Eventually, clearly worn down by the experience, the lawyer and litigant gave up.

“Marvin,” he wrote, “I turn the name over in my mouth and find no fault with it. Marvin is the name I would choose if writing fictional comedy about a firm of solicitors who cannot write a letter.

“Thank you, Lord Harry, for delivering a Marvin to my hands. There is much potential in ‘Marvin’, as you will discover. Marvin is not just a silly name, it is a stupendously ridiculous name. I shall have a lot of fun with ‘Marvin. I reckon that Marvin even beats Elmer.”

In the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, above the tomb of its architect, Sir Christopher Wren is the epitaph: “Reader, if you seek his memorial – look around you.”

Might I suggest that you spend some time over the coming days reading the genius that was Mike, for when all is considered, his magnificent writing is his epitaph. All his features for Pitpass can be found here.

RIP my dear friend.

Chris Balfe

André Loubser 1940–2020

André Loubser (right) presenting a bust of former Guild president Lord Strathcarron he had made to current president Nick Mason (left) at the 2011 Goodwood Revival Meeting.

The Guild committee was saddened to learn that overseas member André Loubser passed away unexpectedly while attending a car club event near his home in Cape Town on Sunday, 25 October. He was 80 years old.

Fellow overseas member and friend Graeme Hurst penned this obituary to André, who contributed much to the local classic car and racing community throughout his career. A career that spanned the design, production and marketing of cars as well writing about them. And one that saw André working with some big names in the racing community.

Like many automotive journalists, André Hugo Loubser’s love of cars began at an early age when he started collecting Dinky cars. By the age of just seven he
moved onto the real thing when he took his father’s Morris 10 for ‘a drive’. The Dinkys soon gave way to another all-too-common passion: collecting car brochures from local dealerships. André would later joke that his school satchel was usually 80% brochures and 20% school books!

The son of an English teacher, André was schooled at Cape Town’s prestigious Diocesan College (known as Bishops) and was by all accounts a prolific reader who spent much of his teenage years following the local and overseas race scene through various publications. He also enjoyed a flair for sketching, often frustrating his teachers by using school notebooks to bring to life his thoughts on ‘improving’ the lines of production sports cars such as the Mercedes 190 and 300 SLs.

After leaving school in 1957, he worked for an oil company before taking up a position as a PA and salesmen with a motor dealership in the provincial town of George, some 275 miles east of Cape Town.

It was a rather far-flung location but his responsibilities there would pay a fruitful dividend towards his dream of working abroad for a German car manufacturer after he was asked to host Porsche works boss Baron Huschke von Hanstein and driver Jo Bonnier, who were visiting the area en route to the East London Grand Prix. The association led to an offer of a position with Porsche’s Sales and Export division in Stuttgart, which André took up in 1962.

It was an exciting time to be at the famous company which was on the cusp of launching the iconic 911. And the dream-come-true job delivered a further surprise when, as the salesman responsible for orders from VIPs, André received an enquiry for a Porsche 904 GTS from none other than Stirling Moss – one of Andre’s boyhood heroes.

The negotiations with the great hotshoe, whose SMART race team featured two South African mechanics, led to an offer to head up the implementation of Stirling’s Paint-a-Car franchise across the UK and parts of Europe. And a life-long friendship with Stirling, something André was enormously proud of.

In late 1966 André married his English wife Gillian, who was secretary to the Sales Manager of the Rootes Group. The couple lived in London and, for the next few years, André turned his hand to automotive design, establishing Dynamic Designs which offed a Kamm-tail boot extension for BMC’s 1100 sedan, among other products.

André was also involved with the production of the Enfield electric city car before using his experience with Stirling Moss to go into business back in South Africa with motorcycle racer Mike Hailwood. The pair founded Autospray, which – much like the Paint-a-Car system – offered a rapid, on-demand, respray service. André oversaw the opening of 17 branches across the country over the next three years.

It was his friendship with the two-wheel ace that put him in touch with the country’s colourful international racing scene and he developed a deep passion for the South African 9-Hour Sports Car series and the annual F1 Grand Prix.

For the remainder of his career, André was involved in various car design projects, including the design and launch of the CAV GT40, a South African replica of the famous sports car racer. He also increasingly turned his hand to writing for a living, publishing numerous articles, including a comprehensive account of South Africa’s pre-war Grand Prix era which featured the likes of von Delius and Rosemeyer in their mighty V16 Auto-Unions.

It was his passion and unrivalled knowledge of the racing scene – along with his many treasured friendships with some big racing names – that led to André fulfilling another dream: to document the history of the country’s famous Kyalami race track.

Some 25 years in the making, his 400-plus page 2011 book Kyalami is a comprehensive and arguably unrivalled summary of one of the most colourful and eventful periods of motorsport at a much-loved international circuit.

With a foreword from 1979 F1 Champion Jody Scheckter and input from a raft of top drivers, including the likes of Denny Hulme and Jackie Stewart, this meticulously researched work is a fabulous legacy to one of South Africa’s most passionate and knowledgeable motoring and racing enthusiasts.

GOMW president Nick Mason said: “We are very saddened to lose such an enthusiast. André was always very committed to keeping us up to speed in his world. We really need that sort of commitment and he will be sorely missed.”

RIP André, you will be missed and our condolences to your wife Gill during this difficult time.

Graeme Hurst

Guild vice-chairman Guy Loveridge adds:

I had known André by “fax” – yes it was last century – and then email exchanges. My only face to face meeting was when he presented the Lord Strathcarron bust to the Guild at Goodwood Revival. He was charming, cheerful and delighted to be with us all at the scene of so much Guild history.

André, as Graeme notes, was a car mad kid who achieved his dream jobs in life. With Porsche he was noted as a member of Porsche’s Export Sales Department (and formerly of Cape Town). He indeed oversaw SMART’s 904 GTS purchase. The two native South African mechanics were brothers Ed and Bud Rossler. They raced as well as spannering: a G.S.M .Dart in South Africa and even a Lotus Elan at Sebring under the S.M.A.R.T. banner.

Like many of us, André was an inveterate hoarder – in 1996 he sold one of Stirling’s crash helmets which André had been given along with a blue Dunlop racing suit. Being the gentleman he was he asked Stirling, after having the items for well over 30 years, if he was “OK” to sell them – Stirling answered in typical Moss fashion – “If you can sell the helmet, go ahead and good luck. Be happy, Ciao.” He also kept the full file on that 904 GTS, one of just six supplied with a six-cylinder engine, and wondered if the then current owner might like it all? It included colour slides of the Nurburgring 1000km race from 1964; original homologation papers, etc etc. The car was a metallic green, the S.M.A.R.T. ‘house colour’ but was painted blue for sale, via Rob Walker’s Pipbrook Garage.

André became the “Porsche Man” to the jet set – in his two years at Stuttgart he sold cars to film stars – Elke Sommer; industry ‘giants’ – Mrs Lilian Studebaker and motor racers, including of course Stirling Moss. That deal, to the S.M.A.R.T. team, at the time “was run by three South Africans” led him to then working for Stirling’s “Paint-a-Car” system in London for four years.

André wrote extensively of his life and experiences and was always chatty and ebullient in communications. Sir Stirling and Lady Susie spoke fondly of him at the opening of the Beaulieu Motorsport feature and Stirling posed with the Grand Prix winning helmet Andre had been gifted 50 years before.

Mike Ford 1939–2020

The Guild of Motoring Writers is deeply saddened to report the death of Life Member and former honorary treasurer Mike Ford.

Mike (81) joined the Guild in 1969, and served as honorary treasurer for 25 years, retiring from the role in 2011.

He worked for 40 years at the Southern Daily Echo in Southampton, working mainly as motoring editor and business editor.

Mike is survived by his second wife, Jill, whom he married in 1975, and a daughter, Michelle, who lives in Italy. Mike also has a stepdaughter and stepson.

He was editor of the newsletter for the Royal Southampton Yacht Club, although he suffered poor health in recent years and recently had a pacemaker fitted.

Former Guild honorary secretary Chris Adamson said: “Mike and I were colleagues for many years when he was motoring editor at the Southern Daily Echo and I was motoring editor at the sister paper the Bournemouth Echo. We would often double drive on car launches, I would collect him from his home in West Wellow and we would then drive to the airport and fly off to destinations worldwide so I got to know Mike very well.

“He was a great support and adviser when I was fresh into the industry and through Mike I was encouraged to join the Guild and then assist him with editing Update subsequently taking over the role of editor from him.

“I shall always remember his calm assurance in all situations (Mike was unflappable) along with his careful considered opinions in all matters. He was a true professional and a great role model.”

Former Guild member Alyson Marlow said: “Mike was one of the great characters in regional newspapers and the heartfelt tributes on social media from former colleagues at the Southern Daily Echo are testament to his experience, his calm persona and his lengthy service to the newspaper.

“I worked with Mike for 13 years on the business and motoring desk at the Echo but over the years our remit extended far beyond the Echo and we were supplying motoring copy for many Newsquest titles.

“He relished taking on another title for us to supply and masterminded the task of ensuring each newspaper received the right copy on the right day. There’s no doubt that Mike put the hours in. Such was the way of newspapers in those times lieu days accumulated at quite a rate and I remember Mike managed to retire almost a year early based on time owing – a very shrewd move!

“I was always a motoring fan but it was Mike who introduced me to the world of automotive journalism, gave me the opportunity to drive amazing cars around the world and was always very accommodating when I needed time off for rally co-driving.

“Mike was a great person to work with and I learnt so much thanks to his tremendous newspaper and motoring experience.”

Friend of the Guild Chris Willows, former communications director at BMW UK, said: “From the first time I attended a press event for BMW in the 1980s, I remember Mike being there. He was an inseparable part of the group of journalists that formed the travelling band of brothers who came together to judge the latest offerings from we manufacturers.

“And it was a merry band — we had our job to present our products in their best light while the journalists came to shine their light on the truth as they saw it and keep readers and listeners well informed. Some say it was a time where the ‘two sides’ were too close but my experience was that this friendly relationship rarely prevented free and open assessments of the products on show.

“I always remember Mike with great fondness and he formed part of this travelling gang as well as handling his wider duties at his south coast publications. He attended countless press launches, dinners and other events and while he was always quiet in company, when he spoke it was worth listening.

“He was a man of considerable experience, knowledge and competence. Above all Mike was a fine journalist. Sadly he joins a long list of friends and colleagues from happy, and somewhat more relaxed, times in the world of motoring journalism. He will be much missed.”

Mike’s funeral took place on 1 September, with a limited number of attendees due to current Covid-19 restrictions.

Neil McIntee 1955–2020

The Guild is deeply saddened to report the passing of good friend and colleague Neil McIntee, following a short battle with cancer.

A highly respected and knowledgeable automotive journalist, Neil studied at the University of Leeds, before starting a career in the music business as an A&R man. Among others, he discovered Lena Lovich, whose single Lucky Number went to number 3 in the UK chart in 1978.
 
He might well have become a veterinary surgeon, following in his father’s footsteps, having acted as his assistant as the course vet at Wolverhampton Race Course. However, his father was also a keen amateur rally driver, kindling Neil’s interest in all things automotive.

Neil got into motoring journalism in the passenger car market, working for Autosport, Autocar and Which Car? magazines, where his prowess behind the typewriter was equalled by his abilities behind the wheel.

Neil moved to commercial vehicles in 1993, when he became the editor of What Van? He held that position for more than 16 years, leaving to establish the VansA2Z website with close friend Kevin Gregory in 2010.

Neil was a very popular member of the commercial vehicle press, both with colleagues and with manufacturers. Having attended van and pick-up launches and exhibitions across Europe and beyond for many years, he was a highly skilled driver and an experienced editor. Yet he was happy to share his expertise and knowledge with others, making everyone feel welcome and included.

Steve Banner said: “Neil and I attended umpteen vehicle launches, at home and overseas. Driving together, we managed to get lost in almost every country in Europe, due mainly to my inability to read a map. Thankfully Neil was a far better driver than I was a navigator, and we always reached our destination, eventually.”

Dan Gilkes added: “It was always a pleasure to spend time with Neil, whether tackling unknown city streets behind the wheel of a van, discussing digital camera technology or simply finishing a bottle of red as we watched the sun set on a far-flung launch event.

“Seeing his name on a list of attendees meant that it was going to be a good trip. A great journalist, a great driver and a great friend.”

Everyone within the Guild and the wider automotive media world will, I’m sure, wish to send their sincere best wishes and condolences to Neil’s wife Sirpa, and to all of his family and friends at this time.

By Steve Banner and Dan Gilkes

Sirpa has created a JustGiving page in his memory and in aid of the Princess Alice Hospice. Donations are welcome.

Neil’s funeral will take place on 15 July, at 11.20am, with a webcast on this link. After clicking on the link, on the top right of the screen enter the username:

Toyu5726

followed by the password:

313270

before clicking the ‘log-in’ button.


Photo: Neil McIntee (centre) at the 2018 Silverstone Classic, with Jim Loveridge (left) and Guild vice-chairman Guy Loveridge.  Taken by George Loveridge.

Erik Johnson 1929–2020

Colleagues and friends pay tribute to Friend of the Guild and long-time Mercedes-Benz PR Erik Johnson, who has died at his home in Poole Dorset at the age of 90, following a short illness.

Rob Halloway
Former Mercedes Benz Communications director

Erik played an important part in the story of Mercedes-Benz in the UK, primarily thanks to his long service to the company as public relations manager.  From 1962 until 1987 he represented the brand to journalists, made incredible contacts and friends, and left a long-lasting legacy that echoes through to this day.

Erik retired back in 1987, and even when I joined Mercedes-Benz some 14 years later, his name and his reputation were still well-known among colleagues and writers. 

One of his fellow PRs in the 1980s was Nigel Emms (who himself later became a public relations veteran of some repute at Iveco).  Nigel said Erik was ‘the best-connected guy of his generation in Fleet Street’, then the home of UK newspapers. 

Described by Nigel as an ‘absolute gentleman’ and a ‘bon viveur’, Erik used his skills to ‘get the first airbag on British television’ and even got the UK’s press excited at the introduction of the ‘jumping windscreen wiper’. 

He could conjure a compelling story out of a technical feature.  Nigel also told me Erik was very good at ‘handling situations’ – which is PR-code for turning a potential problem into an opportunity.  I’ll give an example.

Terry Davies, the late chairman of Gohebwyr Moduro Cymru (Welsh Motoring Writers) once told me of a media test day at Silverstone, in the early 1970s. 

Manufacturers had cars for assessment on track and the roads surrounding the circuit.  Erik, in his PR role, beckoned Terry into a pit garage and asked if he’d mind being a passenger for a few laps. 

It was because the retired racing driver they’d brought along for the day had nothing to do, and was just waiting, parked, behind the wheel.  He couldn’t let him get bored or irate.

Obligingly, Terry sat in the large saloon, and indeed beside him was the ‘old driver’.  The old driver in this case was none other than Juan Manuel Fangio, five-time Grand Prix World Champion and still regarded by many as one of, if not the greatest, Grand Prix drivers of all time. 

Fangio took them around the track at colossal speed, gracefully passing much faster sports cars (like the De Tomaso Pantera) with barely a movement of the wheel.  And Terry still spoke of this, to me, some 30 years later.  Fellow writer LJK Setright confirmed the story in a separate anecdote. 

That is excellent PR – creating a moment around a car – and a story that lives on in the memory.  It all really epitomises Erik Johnson, for me.  He knew a lot of the great names in the company’s past – Fangio, Alfred Neubauer, and Rudolf Uhlenhaut, with whom he regularly sailed.  Erik wrote extensively, and was a stickler for accuracy and history. 

In my formative years as PR manager, Erik would make notes at my annual Mercedes-Benz Club presentation and, with his wife Dora at his side, would then quiz me on details over dinner.  I still refer to Erik’s excellent book The Dawn of Motoring, and have a copy at home and another copy in the office.  I think he was testing my Mercedes mettle with his perceptive probing, and it was very clear that although long since retired, he had never lost his interest in or connection with the company.

In more recent times, Erik and I enjoyed each other’s company, and we would email each other about his cars or about newsworthy company moments.  We last met at the Mercedes-Benz Club’s Christmas party in 2018 – two former PR men, both in silly festive hats, and had a photo taken together, which I then tweeted.  Many journalists commented on the pic, which shows how long and how fondly Erik remained in their memories.

Eric Dymock
GOMW member

It was August 9, 1983 and there I was having dinner with Joanna Lumley, Stirling Moss and Erik Johnson.

It wasn’t every day you sat with National Treasures. Celebrities of one sort and another yes. National Treasures not often; Lumley and Moss treasures beyond question yet for motoring writers, Erik Johnson exemplified another sort of treasure. A top motor industry PR, he took the Guild of Motoring Writers seriously.

It scarcely mattered what you wrote for; if you were a member you were heard. The Guild, in recognition, elected him a Friend.

We were in Italy driving over the 1955 Mille Miglia course, which Moss won in a Mercedes-Benz 300SLR. Johnson, head of public relations at Mercedes-Benz UK, arranged the expedition to publicise its new 190, a saloon about the size of a Cortina.

I was doing a piece for The Sunday Times Magazine and Johnson had a publicity gig going with Joanna Lumley. In some mountain retreat Moss was his customary talkative self. What a hero. I had watched him win the British Grand Prix at Aintree the year he won the Mille Miglia. Joanna Lumley, unforgettable. Stunning beauty, liquid eyes; she even seemed to pay attention to whatever you were saying.

Senior industry PRs tended to be directors or vice-presidents in those days and Guild membership opened their doors. I was a road tester for The Motor and fresh to the Guild. Johnson kept our conversation going even when I became a struggling freelance.

There was a queue for Mercedes-Benz test cars. Access to its boardroom on Great Western Road, when they were still building the Hammersmith flyover, was crucial. Johnson provided it without a break and with consummate style. He provided access to Rudi Uhlenhaut, Juan Manuel Fangio, Moss and more, right up to his retirement as General Manager Public Relations Mercedes-Benz UK in 1987, after 25 very distinguished years. A great communicator and fond friend.

Stuart Bladon
Former GOMW chairman

Erik was always a great companion on a long drive, with entertaining conversation and had a great show of patience against all adversity.”

Stuart says that things didn’t always go right for Erik, one incident he recalls happened at Mallory Park where had loaned the newly arrived and immensely powerful 6.3-litre to ex-Formula One driver Innes Ireland to carry out some demonstration laps between races. 

Unfortunately Innes suffered a puncture on the way to the circuit, and arrived very late saying that he needed to check the tyre pressures. No time for that, said Erik; they’re waiting for you.

Innes went off at high speed but lost it in a big way on the last corner before the straight where all the spectators were thronged and finished with the car on its roof.  It was all the more unfortunate that the new 6.3 was the managing director’s personal car.

Frances ‘Erik’ Johnson started his working life as a journalist training on the Bedfordshire Times before joining the Oxford Mail in 1950 and the Watford Observer in 1954.

His transfer to public relations took place in 1958 when he began working for the London Press Exchange and later for BBD&O and Grey Advertising prior to joining Mercedes-Benz and Auto-Union in September 1962 after a period working for Auto Union as a freelance.

His rose through the ranks and retired after 25 years with the company, as general manager public relations in December 1987. He was well known to many GOMW members and remembered for his many unique press events and promotional campaigns. He also supported numerous Guild initiatives and events.

During his working career he also found time to race DWK Junior and Auto Union sport prototypes before turning to sailing, a hobby he continued when he moved to the south coast.

“Dad’s great passions were Mercedes, motor racing and sailing,” commented his daughter Laura.

In retirement Erik maintained close links with Mercedes-Benz journalists and the Guild. He was a regular attender at the GOMW annual dinner and awards and along with his late wife Dora took part in at least one Guild Euro Classic.

The Guild sends its deepest condolences to his daughter Laura and her family.

Photo: Erik Johnson (left) outside the Guild Chalet at Silverstone presenting a framed photograph to Stirling Moss which he is accepting on behalf of the BRDC Collection. It shows Moss and Denis Jenkinson after winning the 1955 Mille Miglia in a Mercedes-Benz 300SLR being congratulated by Alfred Neubauer the Mercedes-Benz racing director. On the very left edge of the frame is their engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut. The photograph was hung in the Guild Chalet until the building was demolished to make way for the new BRDC club house.

Martin Holmes 1940–2020

Rallying journalist and competitor, long-standing GOMW member Martin Holmes died earlier this month aged 80. His GOMW colleague Maurice Selden looks back at his career.

I first met Martin around 1975 when I was a staff photographer at LAT.  He became for me a constant presence in the world rally championship together with Hugh Bishop, who I often spent a lot of time with. So, when Martin suggested I join Martin Holmes Rallying in 1987, I jumped at the chance, as by then rallying had also become my first love. We also both lived in Woking and it seemed perfect for us: he wanted a full-time photographer and I wanted to specialise in rallying.

It was clear to Martin at that time that rallying was going through a change after the madness of the Group B era and that Group A would attract more teams and manufacturers into the sport. This would bring an increase in work opportunities for journalists and photographers. This proved to be the case and I was privileged to be a part of an amazing time in rallying.

I was soon impressed by Martin’s professionalism and his clinical attention to detail, probably stemming from his legal background. He would never send out a story without first verifying all the facts from his extensive archive. Martin, Ursula (his PA) and I became a well-honed team during my time with him in Pyrford. Every event was organised to the last detail.

In the early days, Martin and I would both photograph stages but gradually he left the photographic side to me while he concentrated on fact finding and conversations with competitors, team personnel and organisers in the service area and press rooms. From then on Martin used a compact camera for his detail pictures and candid shots.

Meals were merely pit-stops as far as Martin was concerned. Everywhere we went around the world the joke was that he would always order a soup and a steak, devour them as quickly as possible before rushing back to the Press Office to continue working, while I preferred to relax over a leisurely meal with friends and colleagues, unwinding after a busy day.

Martin (left) with Sir Stirling Moss (Photo Jeff Bloxham)

Martin (left) with Sir Stirling Moss (Photo Jeff Bloxham)

Martin’s work and the World Rallying Annuals that he produced for 33 years are highly respected by everybody in the sport and are used as a primary reference. I am proud of my contribution to each edition from 1987 onwards; we mostly agreed on the photographic content. He was also author and co-author of many other books, including Rally Navigation, A History of the New Zealand Rally and the Rally Encyclopaedia in Estonia.  The final book he was involved with was in 2019 – The Great British Rally with Graham Robson. His rally reports and feature stories were published in magazines throughout the world.

Martin was interested in all forms of motorsport as well as aviation and engineering. We had some great experiences together, (I won’t mention his driving…), we often used private planes in Kenya and helicopters in other countries. He hired a helicopter from Fairoaks for me once so that I could practise using a hand held GPS system before our first attempt on a rally. Such was his attention to detail that on many rallies, he would ask me to go to the event a month before it was held to recce all the stages and take GPS co-ordinates for suitable helicopter landing places on the stages. We were once both invited to a glorious day at the Fangio Museum in Balcarce in Argentina where we were given unprecedented access to the treasures and memorabilia this excellent museum has to offer. I remember taking outside solid gold trophies to photograph, which shows the respect that the curators had for Martin’s reputation. One of my favourite memories.

I will miss him and all his idiosyncrasies. He was one of a kind and I was fortunate that we joined forces at the right time for us to work together so successfully for so long.

A well-known figure in the world of rallying as a reporter, photographer, author and competitor, Martin Holmes was a regular contributor to publications across the world as well as the author of Rally Navigation and publisher of the Pirelli World Rally Annuals.

His rally co-driving career included professional drives with Vauxhall, Datsun, Toyota, Ford, Lancia, Skoda, Chrysler and Renault.

He won the GOMW Timo Makinen Trophy in 1978 and the GOMW Rootes Gold Cup in 1981 as well as the Fleet Street RAC Rally award in 1980 and 1981.

The Guild sends its deepest condolences to his son Jim and his family.

Rev for Martin on 01 July is an initiative to celebrate the life of Martin Holmes. The idea comes from his son Jim who says that as numbers will be limited at the funeral it will be a way for his friends and colleagues to remember him and be involved in the day.

Jim is inviting all those who knew Martin to get into a vehicle at 1pm on 01 July (the time of his funeral service) and rev the engine in his memory. There will be a memorial event for Martin once the current Covid-19 situation has eased.

Martin’s grand-daughter Florence has set-up a Facebook page where people can upload photographs and videos.

Main photo: Martin co-driving for Timo Makinen on route to finishing sixth on the 1980 RAC Rally  (courtesy Guy Loveridge)

Sir Stirling Moss 1929–2020

Sir Stirling Moss, OBE, one of the greatest names in the history of motor sport, has died at the age of 90.

Widely regarded as the best Formula 1 driver never to win the world championship, Sir Stirling finished runner-up four times and third three times between 1955 and 1961.

The Guild named him Driver of the Year in 1954 and 1961, and in 2015 he was again honoured by the Guild, attending the annual dinner (above) alongside his wife Susie to receive an award for his book Stirling Moss: My Racing Life written with Simon Taylor.

Moss was born in London in 1929 and, like his younger sister Pat, had an early interest in horse riding. Winnings from equestrian events funded the purchase of a Cooper 500 in which he demonstrated his ability. His first major race victory came the day before his 21st birthday in the 1950 RAC Tourist Trophy at Dundrod, driving a Jaguar XK120 entered by former Guild chairman Tommy Wisdom. 

He also competed in rallies, winning three Alpine Rally Gold Cups and finishing second in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1952.

Moss with Denis Jenkinson at the Mille Miglia in 1955 (above). Their famous win was the subject of a James Dugdale painting which became a Guild greetings card (below).

After demonstrating his talent at the highest level in a Maserati 250F in 1954, Moss joined the Mercedes-Benz team for 1955. He won the Mille Miglia for Mercedes with journalist Denis Jenkinson as co-driver, and at Aintree in July he became the first British driver to win the British Grand Prix.

He finished second to Juan Manuel Fangio in the F1 championship that year and again in 1956 and 1957. In 1958 he won four Grands Prix but lost the championship by a single point to Mike Hawthorn. Moss had sportingly stood up for Hawthorn to the stewards at the Portuguese Grand Prix after Hawthorn had been excluded following a spin, and the points gained from his second place finish in the race (behind Moss) gave him the championship.

Following Mercedes’ withdrawal from motor racing Moss mainly drove British cars, first the front-engined Vanwall and later the rear-engined Coopers and Lotuses. He won the Monaco Grand Prix in 1960 and famously in 1961, beating the new V6-engined Ferrari Dinos of Richie Ginther, Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips.

Moss in characteristic pose at Goodwood in 1957 driving an Aston Martin DB3S (above) and after sharing victory in the 1957 British Grand Prix with Vanwall team mate Tony Brooks (below).

In 1962 Moss crashed heavily at Goodwood in a Lotus, and was left in a coma for a month. He retired from front-line racing but continued to make occasional appearances, including two seasons of saloon car racing in Audis in the 1980s and numerous historic events. He finally retired in 2011 at the age of 81.

Moss became a well known commentator on motoring and motor sport, engaged to give his views on everything from Aston Martin’s revival of the ‘DB’ brand to the introduction of the Sinclair C5.

Moss survived falling down the lift shaft at his London home in 2010, despite breaking both ankles. In 2016 he was admitted to hospital in Singapore with a chest infection.

He is survived by his third wife, Lady Susie, his daughter Allison Bradley and son Elliot Moss.