RAC Rally 1952 Appeal for Information

[Keith Clements]

Need to know the chassis number really to get from records.

[robert lintott]

In connection with the Triplex item just raised I have been re reading Gerald Palmers Autobiography. It is well known that before joining Jowett he made a one off sports car called the "Deroy", with some advanced features described in the book . However , after his move to Morris Motors he decided to sell the Deroy , I quote " it seemed sensible to sell it to the SouthWest Region representative for Jowett , a man called Hodgson ----. I have wondered whether the remains stii lie in a shed somewhere"

Now , this seems to be the father of the son with the Photographs is it not ? Does he have any recollection of the Deroy and where it might be ? Bob

[Jack]

Hi Bob,

Great work. I have asked Chris if he has any recollection of the car or if he knows anything about it.

Are there any photos of the Deroy anywhere? An image might help with tracking down a car which may be, as Gerald wondered, in a shed somewhere for us to find...

Jack.

[Jack]

Okey dokey. Now we are motoring (pun intended!)

Marcel Becquart's car was HAK 743, car number 191. I know this because the Autosport edition April 11th 1952 has now arrived, and there is a big old picture of his car straight on to the camera on page 454, and details "Marcel Becquart, from Annecy, in his Jowett Javelin in the final eliminating test. He was the winner of the closed car category" so I think we can now confirm that the RAC won its class and "Best Closed Car" at the rally, and that was Becquart.

I will work on scanning the article for more details of other cars and information, but there are 8 pages here on the RAC rally so it might take me a bit of time. Really good old fashioned motoring journalism though, definitely worth the £6 from ebay.

Interesting other cars noticed so far:
E.B.Booth, Jupiter, came second in the Castle Coombe Tests (Class 1 under 1500cc)
Tommy Wise, Jupiter, came second in the Appynt Test (Class 1)
Becquart won the same test in his Javelin, Class 2 (closed car under 1500cc)
Bert Hadley, Jupiter, came second in the Rest-And-Be-Thankful Test (Class 1)
Becquart won the same test in his Javelin (Class 2)
Becquart also won his class in the Olivers Mount Circuit, Scarborough Eliminating Test

Becquart went on to win the "Dail Telegraph" Award and £100 (Best Performance Closed Car Class) with a total score of 222.6

There is also a picture of one of the Jupiters on page 461, no identifiable registration number or other details, other than it is a dark colour and doesn't appear to be hugely modified.

Great quote: "One competitor at least reckons that his salvation lay in passing the check points too quickly for his numbers to be legible. About the same time, a list of eitheen drivers who had infringed the Highway Code during the rally - or had been seen to do so - was issued. Offences included exceeding 30mph in a built-up area, failing to stop at a Halt sign, cornering across the white line on bends. These offences carried a 30-mark penalty, and two instances carried the risk of exclusion; the latter fate duly overtook J D Leavesley, whose Hillman had seemingly led him astray."

I think I can identify the corner in the photo of the Javelin. It appears to be on the "Rest-And-Be-Thankful Hairpin" with the same group of spectators in another photo watching an Allard taking the same bend.

So far no mention of Hodgson and the Javelin, but it is clear from the article that there were a large number of cars entered, and a bit more research might turn something up - that may include the previous week's edition which had an RAC Rally preview that might have a list of entrants perhaps.

Jack.

[Jack]

From the same edition, page 469, an entry at Goodwood Sports Car Handicap over Easter Weekend 1952, one J. Kelly, driving a Jupiter. No further details, but good to see more competition and race history of cars at Goodwood - topical given the event last weekend.

Jack.

[robert lintott]

There is a great deal of historic information in these magazines , if only it can be found .
The Deroy was a one off car which started off with a body like a BMW 328 and was built in 1937. It had independent suspension all round although the rear was more of a De DIon type . Interesting , the rear springing was by torsion bars across the car! It suffered from a lowpowered engine from Scammell, GP's employers at the time . After the war GP joined Jowett and having kept the Deroy fitted a Javelin engine and an all enveloping body .It was registered EKE 611, a Kent series although he was living near Oxford at the time . It was sold to Hodgson around 1950,GP having returned to Morris in July 1949. As an aside his departure was soon after Javelins really went on the market and all the modifications and mistakes were not on his account ! Hodgson , who lived in Kent. may have registered the car after buying it . All this is in GP's Auto Architect book . I will try to copy the drawings and pictures to send on , unless Jack you have the book, it is a good read .

Also in the book is a picture of MNW 444 a 1948 Javelin in the Monte Carlo rally in Jan 1949, driven by Cuth Harrison --a Ford dealer in Leeds(?)who later became a Ford Works Team driver , Tommy Wise and GP as third man . They won their class. Another picture shows the works Javelin which won the 2 litre Touring Class in the Spa 24 hour race in 1949. regards Bob

[Keith Clements]

I have book for Jack to read.

[robert lintott]

If you Google "deroy sports car" there are lots of items on GP, his career and the Deroy, including a picture of the original car. Bob

[Jack]

Well, we have now successfully identified the tall chap on the left in the top photo. It is the dutch rally driver Maurice Gatsonides, who was in the Ford no 50 in the RAC rally.

Prize for the first person who knows what he invented without Googling.

Jack.

[ian Howell]

I Spy . . .!

[robert lintott]

I think Gatsonides was not a Jowett driver so he must have been "visiting".. He won the 1953 Monte Carlo in a MK 1 Ford Zephyr works car and drove an XK 120 in the 1952 Alpine . He could well have been on the 1952 RAC . He was a very inventive chap and built several cars of his own design apart from the dreaded camera. I imagine that like most of these folk he was completely mad at the wheel . GP said after his Monte Carlo trip he was afraid the driving would show up unreliabilities in the Javelin ! Bob

[Jack]

He was in the 1952 rally, he was driving car No 50, a Ford, so presumably they were parked up and the drivers of cars behind came up for a chat or something.

Jack.

[Jack]

Interesting article on the rally, not quite sure if I've got the upload right but hopefully can be downloaded successfully.

https://jowettnet/forum/download/file.p ... &mode=view

[robert lintott]

Jack , yes very successfull display . Some famous names from the old days . Interesting to see that Roy Lunn was with Becquart and the car was only picked up just before the event so was probably in standard form,is it HAK 730? There was no mention of the Hodgson car was there ? well done. I see Gatso was in a Consul not a Zephyr so it was not his car in the picture Bob

[Tony Fearn]

I know that this thread is about the early 50's RAC Rallies, but perhaps the following pictures will add to the information.

They were scanned from a book, in my possession, published in 1950. It's called 'Rallies and Races, The Adventures of Gatsonides' by William Leonard. The book was willed to me by my late friend Harry Brierley.

The third picture is from the flyleaf, and is the dedication of the book, by Gatsonides to R.B.Mabbett, as a thanks for the help in the 1952 Le Mans 24 hour race.

Maurice Gatsonides.jpg

Maurice 2.jpg

Maurice 3.jpg

Tony.