Toby Hartwell in conversation with Jo Hall

Brooklands Belles

The Women Racers Who Took on the Men

T.J. HARTWELL comes from a family of car and motor-racing enthusiasts and his great-uncle raced at Brooklands. He has had a lifelong love of books and was managing director of The Folio Society where he launched the Folio Society Prize for Literature. For some years he has been fascinated by the Brooklands Belles and their unique contribution to the rich history of motor racing at Brooklands.

About Brooklands Belles

‘Brooklands Belles’ is the true story of the pioneering women racing drivers who competed at the world’s first purpose-built’ motor racing track, the famously fast and dangerous banked circuit at Brooklands in Weybridge.

The courageous exploits of these female racers, who were eventually allowed to race on equal terms with the men at Brooklands after a 20-year ban, are at the heart of the book. It also places their achievements in the context of the times, when women generally faced many societal constraints in daily life and considerable barriers to sporting participation.

The book explains how the building of the circuit came about due to the unstinting endeavours of Ethel Locke King, the ‘first lady of Brooklands’, who steered the development of the massive track through almost insurmountable financial and engineering challenges to ensure that it opened on time in July 1907.

Women were allowed to take part in a single one lap race in 1908 by the Brooklands Automobile Racing Club (BARC) committee before they instigated their lengthy ban on female participation in any events they organised. The Brooklands Belles were a fascinating cast of very individual, talented and determined women drivers who finally enjoyed an extraordinary racing heyday in the 1930s. Beating both men and track records with glamorous panache, they courageously braved the vertiginous banking at speeds often in excess of 120 mph.

Of the luminous characters in the book you may be surprised to meet a young social news reporter and ‘It’ girl, Barbara Cartland, who in her desire to see women racing on equal terms with men staged a fake ‘race’ for the news cameras of the day which featured nine society girlfriends apparently tearing around the Brooklands track in their MG cars with a suspiciously close finish for the benefit of the cameras.

The story of the Brooklands Belles is full of fascinating individuals. Take Kay Petre, the 4 foot 10 inch ‘Queen of Brooklands’, who drove a huge 10.5 litre Delage at over 130 mph with the help of wooden blocks on the pedals and cushions on her seat so she could see out of the cockpit. She kept a specially designed tray containing her ‘beauty kit’ under her seat which included lipstick, and a powder compact so she could ensure that she always looked her best when she finished a race. Her cars were sprayed a special shade of light blue that she created and she would race in matching silk overalls.

A very different character was the feisty contrarian ‘Formidable’ Fay Taylour, a champion motorcycle and car racer but also an IRA sympathiser and avid supporter of Oswald Mosley who ended up in Holloway Prison more than once. The story of the Brooklands Belles is not well-known but it is captivating and has important historical relevance for women today who continue to fight for equal rights in sport and society.

Illustrated with 48 photographs, ‘Brooklands Belles – The Women Racers who Took on the Men’ brings to life a fascinating and inspiring piece of social and sporting history that merits a wide audience.

About Jo Hall

Jo Hall is a freelance copy editor and mentor for Jericho Writers. Prior to this, she was a teacher of English and Theatre Studies at Gillingham School and Assistant Head for nine years. She continues to use her teaching experience by tutoring both A Level and GCSE students. This will be her sixth appearance at the Mere Literary Festival.