Obituary: Bob Shepherd

I was very grieved to hear that Bob Shepherd died last March after a short illness, at the age of 67. He was a Founder Member of the VSCC of Australia and his immaculate drawings and paintings of the older motor cars are well known. They have appealed not only in the Club’s magazine but in several books. Shepherd became keen on cars from an early age and he attended every meeting at Maroubra Speedway, which was built close to his home when he was 12 years of age. He was apprenticed to a die-maker and engraver and worked all his life, until his retirement, at Davis Geletine. Bob never actually owned a car or held a driving licence but he and his family took a very active part in VSCC of A affairs, until his two daughters grew up. Shepherd was a great Bugatti enthusiast and received a letter from Ettore himself, and he had shares in a number of vintage cars owned by friends. I have hanging in a prominent place in my house the beautiful painting he did of a Type 55 Bugatti, which was presented to me by the VSCC of A in September 1945 as a mark of their appreciation for my part in keeping Motor Sport going for the duration of the war. In that great country Bob was the background of the vintage movement; he influenced greatly and in the best possible way. To his wife and daughters, our heartfelt sympathy. — WB.