Letters from readers, June 2004

Write to: Motor Sport, Somerset House, Somerset Road, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 8RT, United Kingdom E-Mail (please include address): motorsport@haynet.com

The Editor reserves the right to edit all letters

A sporting life

Sir,

I read with interest Brendan Lynch’s article about SCH Davis in his Guildford apartment because, at about the same time, my wife and I went there to meet him. I warned my wife not to look surprised when Sammy and his wife Susie both lit their pipes.

Susie painted wonderful full-colour pictures of abdominal operations as a guide to future surgeons. These were done in operating theatres, and could put you off your tea.

SCHD told me that racing drivers were of more interest than their cars. For a long time I didn’t agree, but I came eventually to see what he meant.

For the record, Davis was not Editor of The Autocar; he was its celebrated Sports Editor. He competed in many races, trials and rallies, usually following up his reports with fascinating personal experiences. Motor Sport described his MCC Trials, with a big variety of cars, some time ago. He went to Westminster School and was a very capable cartoonist — his ‘sleeves chasing poppet valves away’ at the launch of the first sleeve-valve Daimler, for instance.

Sammy was very helpful to young enthusiasts. His sense of humour was evident in his writings and he could make even the dullest trial seem an adventure. After reading about his drive with Count Zborowsld in the Miller in the 1924 French GP, I was more than ever hooked on racing.

Bill Boddy, Powys, Wales