Brooklands Revised

WE ARE glad to be able to announce that, following many requests, Bill Boddy’s classic book, “The History of Brooklands Motor Course — 1906 -1940”, which had been out-of-print for some time and so has become a costly “collector’s item”, has now been re-issued by Grenville Publishing Co. Ltd., in a new edition, with later revisions by the author.

The 1980 edition follows the format of the earlier volume, covering the full history of the old and famous Motor Course from the time of its construction, with many details of this, to the last meeting held there in 1939, on the outbreak of the war, and what subsequently happened to the historic Track and Aerodrome, up to the formation of the Brooklands Society, but W.B. says he has done his best to eradicate some of the errors that crept into the original volume and that he has added additional material.

So this book of 362 pages. measuring 10″ x 7″, represents the standard history of Brooklands, supplemented by 120 art-paper plates of photographs. 293 illustrations in all, with the maps. As the late Lord Brabazon of Tara says in his Foreword, “It is given to few people to write a standard reference work that will for ever bc referred to, but this is what Mr. Boddy has done . . factually it is remarkable, yet readable, and enjoyable from cover to cover.”

It is all there, the early days, the long-distance races, including the JCC 200 Mile Races and the BRDC “500s”, etc., the personalities and the cars that raced on the old Track, both famous and obscure. The book was written after W.B. had studied the official BARC archives, lap-speeds and record-books, and he also drew on a mass of correspondence he had conducted with those who raced at Brooklands, before embarking on his weighty task. The new edition of “The history of Brooklands Motor Course” contains a Vehicles Index, which the first editions lacked, for quick reference to any car or aeroplane in the book, as well as a Personalities Index, and among the extensive Appendices the list of Brooklands Certificates has been brought up to date. lt is significant that the different cars mentioned in the text alone run to well over 400, from ABC to Zedal, and the Personalities Index is, it anything, longer, while 25 different aeroplanes are included.

This book, the standard reference work about Brooklands, is priced at £15.90 and is available from the MOTOR SPORT offices or from any good bookseller.