Obituary: Louis Giron

Louis Giron who was very much part of the National Motor Museum for many years. died on Friday 25th July.

Louis served his apprenticeship with Bugatti at Molsheim and it is actually known that he helped to build the 1924 Grand Prix Bugatti which is at present on show in the National Motor Museum.

He came to England in 1930 and worked on cars — mainly Bugatti — in and around Brooklands. After the war he went into partnership with Rodney Clarke in a firm called Continental Car Sales which stood on the site of Connaught Garages outside Guildford — again specialising in Bugattis.

He later went to work for Duncan Hamilton when he was racing 5 CLT Maseratis and then later D-Type Jaguars. After this he went into business on his own again in Weybridge restoring and rebuilding historic sports cars. In 1963 he came to Beaulieu to head the staff of the Restoration Department of AC Marvin & Son Ltd. Four years later in 1967 he came to run the new Workshops attached to the then Montagu Motor Museum.

In his mid 70s he left the National Motor Museum Workshops but carried on his restoration work on the cars of a few special friends. However, he still retained a close working relationship with the Motor Museum as a Consultant.

Over the years Louis had built up in his head possibly the greatest knowledge !hat anybody could have on a very wide range of older vehicles.

He will be sadly missed by all his friends and colleages at Beaulieu. — Montagu of Beaulieu.