Journalistic 'noms de plume'

Still looking for 'Boanerges', 'Cyclops' (possibly 'Blick' Hodgson?), 'Auslander' and 'Overdrive' ...

Oh yes, and am I not right, that the thoughts of the legendary 'Edgar Jessop' were usually collated by Ian Norris ?

Just bumping this, but I'd also now really, really, really like to know who 'Short Stroke' was. He took over from Walkerley in 1939 and wrote for The Motor throughout the war years.

It seems he may have perhaps been a staff writer for the magazine who moved (or doubled up) from another job there when 'Grande Vitesse' was called up. Alternatively, he might have been in a reserved occupation and just moonlighting. Circumstantially, he might also have been one of the Oxbridge set which rotated around Seaman, Martin, the Evanses, the Bolsters etc. In fact, thinking about it, could it have been JVB himself? "Motoring is My Business" makes no mention of the war years at all - quite understandable as he lost both his brother and his wife, of course.

Whoever 'Short Stroke' was, he seems to have been a great admirer - and possibly a close personal friend - of Dick Seaman. Although I realise that probably doesn't narrow it down much ...

Even inspired guesses would be useful, since most of the people I can think of were in the services.

Another one I'm hunting is 'Vizor' of The Autocar - again through the war years. Seems to be older (at least in his 40s or 50s) and definitely a sports car man.

Just bumping this again in the hope that someone may have some clue on who 'Short Stroke' and/or 'Auslander' were!

The short-lived successor to Hastings as 'The Blower' in Light Car was apparently Dennis May. Editor FJ 'Eric' Findon then took over what little sports news there was - so he was presumably 'The Scrutineer' (see post #37)

Dennis May's tenure at Light Car was short because he went to work for Thomson & Taylor, who were making parts for Fairmile MTBs.

Source: Charles Mortimer - 'Brooklands and Beyond'.

One Angus Wilson who wrote very occasionaly in Autosport years ago -and mostly contentiously- was Marcus Pye-his middle two names are indeed Angus Wilson hence MAWPs

I doubt that.

AFAIK MAWP is Marcus Alan Warren Pye.

Wondering if any one knows who the "MJT" at MotorSport was ?

It appears he was a photographer, he also wrote a 50,000 mile road test report on a Porsche 911 in April 1970.

Muchos Gracias, Alan   

I mentioned 'Cyclops' in an earlier post. He was Peter Chamberlain, author of the scurrilous 1937 motor racing novel Sing Holiday which, after several years of having it on my ABEbooks wants list, I have just finally managed to obtain a copy of. Rarer than rocking horse poo!

I'm still looking for 'Short Stroke' and 'Auslander' ...

A few months before Rodney Walkerly died (late 1970s or early 1980s, I forget), on a Motor magazine group test to Wales, four staff members including me stopped in Tewkesbury and took him to lunch. He seemed very touched by that but was evidently already on his last legs. Maurice Rowe, Motor's Chief Photographer, persuaded me to attend the funeral. As the hearse pulled away to take Rodney to the crematorium, Maurice remarked, "Oh dear, Rodney wouldn't like that - far too fast." Grande Vitesse was a famously slow driver.

Edited by P.Dron, 02 April 2014 - 16:48.

But again thanks to Rivers' book, I've now found 'Vizor' It was HS Lindfield, who Rivers says was "in charge of road tests" in more normal times. I assume this is him - ex-RAF, ex-Royal Irish Constabulary:

http://theauxiliarie.../lindfield.html
 

Good old TNF, there whenever I need it. I photographed an undated press clipping at Dartington recently. Clearly very early post WWII, describing how the Duke of Richmond & Gordon has been made President of the Junior Car Club, and among the 40 members at the AGM was Whitney Straight, intending 'to resume active racing as soon as there are some races to compete in'. 

Not knowing who Vizor was, or what magazine his 'Sport Notes' appeared in, I recalled this thread, and now know that Mr Lindfield appeared in The Autocar.

Thank you, Vitesse 2!

Edited by P0wderf1nger, 04 October 2014 - 20:53.

You are entirely welcome! That was one of the reasons I started this thread in the first place.

Cross-referencing to Walkerley's Brooklands to Goodwood shows that this was a report of the first post-war AGM. Walkerley doesn't date it but it's probably January/February 1946, since he says that most of the discussions centred around the recent sale of Brooklands.

And I'm still looking for the identities of 'Short Stroke' and 'Auslander' ...

I'm afraid I can't help you on either 'Short Stroke' or 'Auslander', but thanks for narrowing down the date of the JCC AGM. That will give me rather fewer magazines to trawl through. Whitney was decommissioned from the RAF on 29 January 1946 and was weighing up his options. When he went to the Palace to receive his DFC and CBE two months previously, the Evening Standard asked him what next, and he replied, 'It will, I hope, be something in civil aviation' - as indeed it proved to be. 

Interesting, too, that the Duke of Richmond & Gordon was getting so involved at the beginning of 1946. I wonder when he had that conversation with Tony Gaze in Charles Follett’s showroom about using the perimeter track around RAF Westhampnett?   

H.S.Linfield (not Lindfield, please note ....) was the much-respected road test editor of THE AUTOCAR in the 1930s, who went on to become Editor in the late 1940s/early 1950s, when his sports editor, Sammy Davis, returned from Military duty.

  He was a very modest man, who rarely blew his own trumpet (unlike his opposite numbers on THE MOTOR), but one of the most memorable events took place at Brooklands in the 1930s when he jumped a Railton high over the crest of the Test Hill - and he always swore that there was no photo-trickery in the image which was later published .... ....

Edited by AAGR, 05 October 2014 - 10:05.

H.S.Linfield (not Linfield, please note ....) 

Not Lindfield, noted and amended in my notes, thanks. 

All of which leads me to go slightly Off Topic, and ask - who has been the most industrious 'ghost' of the more modern era ?

Dear old Eoin Young used to 'ghost' columns for several characters, including of course Bruce McLaren, and of course Martin Holmes 'ghosted' a number of regular rally columns for super-stars of this sport in AUTOSPORT.

Any more nominations ?

Edited by AAGR, 05 October 2014 - 10:06.

From the late 90's, early 2000's.

F1 News - Eff One

F1 Racing - The Scrutineer

Where they uncovered?

Graham: I think both Lindfield and Linfield may be correct - it looks to me like he may perhaps have dropped the first D in later life.

If I've identified the right chap then there's a travel record on Ancestry showing him arriving from South Africa as Master H S Lindfield in 1910 and he later flew as an observer - Harry Stephen Lindfield - with the RAF in the latter stages of the Great War, having joined the Army Service Corps in August 1914:.

http://1914-1918.inv...60#entry1747263

http://www.airhistor...ple_indexL.html

http://www.flightglo...918 - 1123.html

The now broken link above was to records of the RIC Auxiliaries at the time of the separation of the Irish Free State, which also mentioned his RAF service, His army and RAF records give an address in Brighton, in which town he was married in 1921.

As well as the Rivers Fletcher reference, according to an old listing I've found of magazines for sale, WB also thought he was Lindfield: I don't have the magazine to check but WB apparently wrote an article about him in Veteran & Vintage Vol 20 No 2 (October 1975)

I've also found some phone book records for a Harry Lindfield in Brighton in the mid-60s, but the only HS Linfield references I can find are from 1950s phone books with an address in Worcester Park in Surrey.

From the late 90's, early 2000's.

 

F1 News - Eff One

F1 Racing - The Scrutineer

 

Where they uncovered?

I think Eff One was Joe Saward?

Has anybody mentioned Aramis yet, who appeared in Motor Sport in 1947 for instance.

 

Good old TNF, there whenever I need it. I photographed an undated press clipping at Dartington recently. Clearly very early post WWII, describing how the Duke of Richmond & Gordon has been made President of the Junior Car Club, and among the 40 members at the AGM was Whitney Straight, intending 'to resume active racing as soon as there are some races to compete in'. 

 

Not knowing who Vizor was, or what magazine his 'Sport Notes' appeared in, I recalled this thread, and now know that Mr Lindfield appeared in The Autocar.

Thank you, Vitesse 2!

 

Rather a 'late edition to the published programme' but I've just stumbled across my late father's wartime diaries during a major house clearance. He had his first full-time job in motoring journalism at The Autocar, after being invalided out of the RAF (he contracted typhoid fever of all things, while serving with Coastal Command in Belfast). Anyway, he joined The Autocar in mid-November 1944 (while V1s were falling, with much talk about the forthcoming V2s), recruited by the acting Editor, H.S. Linfield, and was soon putting together most of the Sport Notes pages, along with writing artcles, occasional editorials and as many other bits and pieces as he could handle - plum job for a 27-year-old, but they were very short-staffed. There's a note in his diary for 4th December that reads: "Discussed question of 'Vizor' with Linfield. Said I had told people our name was legion, for we were many and Vizor was a collective noun. Agreed that was best, failing any other method save announcement of handing over and the position would sort itself out in time." 

I think Vizor may have reverted to being a single person after the war, perhaps Sammy Davis when he returned as Sports Editor, though can't be sure. Poor Linfield seems to have been sidelined to make way for the returning heroes, with Geoffrey Smith being shown as Managing Editor come March 1945 and E.J. Appleby as Editor, while Linfield appears as Assistant Editor and six others (including Major S.C.H. Davis) are still listed as being on National Service with their ranks. By July 1946, Linfield is just an Associate Editor (along with Douglas Clease) and S.C.H. Davis in enconsed as Sports Editor. As a Linfield recruit/protege, my Dad seems to have had an increasingly tough time, leaving in 1947 to join Garage & Motor Agent (where he met my Mum) and then of course The Motor.

Hope this fills in a few more gaps.

Edited by Odseybod, 29 December 2014 - 21:12.

Every little helps! Nobody seems to have thought it important to record this stuff at the time. Now it may be too late ...

Some more info to add to that. According to my research Ernest James Appleby died in late 1945 (sources differ on 3rd or 4th quarter, but I'm 99% sure it was the latter). So perhaps in late 1944 he was on sick leave with no immediate prospect of a return? As acting editor Linfield was presumably also writing as 'The Scribe' at that point and looking to pass 'Vizor' on - either temporarily or permanently. Could perhaps also explain the creation of a managing editor role in early 1945.

Sport Notes appeared under the byline 'Vizor' until 'Casque' returned from war service.

EJ Appleby was of course the father of Barry Appleby the cartoonist, who drew for The Autocar and later created The Gambols.

Sorry, I'd forgotten SCHD was Casque - comes of being brought up with 'the other weekly', I s'pose.  And never realised the Appleby connection with the Gambols - thanks, Pete. But I think The Scribe (at least during the War) was another multi-person title, as the diaries also refer to various bits for Disconnected Jottings (which carried The Scribe's byline).

In case it's of any interest to anyone (beyond ourselves!), here's The Autocar's full cast list for March 1945 (what we nowadays refer to as The Flannel Panel) - or at least the leading players:

Managing Editor: G. Geoffrey Smith M.B.E.

Editor: E.J. Appleby

Assistant Editor:  H.S. Linfield

Technical Editor:  Montague Tombs

War Correspondant Accredited to S.H.A.E.F.: H.E. Ells

On National Service:

  Major S.C.H. Davis

  Lt Col A.G. Douglas Clease

  Capt. John Dugdale M.C.

  Wing Cdr C.S. Watkinson

  E.C. Lester M.A.

  Radio Officer Michael Brown

And from July 1946:

  Editorial Director: G. Geoffrey Smith

  Associate Editors: A.G.  Douglas Clease, H.S. Linfield

  Technical Editor: Montague Tombs

  Sports Editor: S.C.H. Davis

(and that's yer lot)

Taken from two unruly folder of tearsheets of my Dad's contributions to The Autocar and other publications, which I'll have to take to my Desert Island to digest properly.

Edited by Odseybod, 30 December 2014 - 10:52.

As an ex-AUTOCAR staffer myself, I can confirm that 'The Scribe' was prepared by any number of contributors at any one time, with major contributions including, in the 1950s, Michael Brown, in the 1960s John Davey and in the 1970s Michael Scarlett. 

Slightly Off-topic, how many people know that the distinguished personality Gordon Wilkins used to claim that he had been THE AUTOCAR's Technical Editor in the early 1950s - yet his name never appeared in that capacity on the magazine's mast head ?

I never knew why ....

AAGR

Rather a 'late edition to the published programme' but I've just stumbled across my late father's wartime diaries during a major house clearance. He had his first full-time job in motoring journalism at The Autocar, after being invalided out of the RAF (he contracted typhoid fever of all things, while serving with Coastal Command in Belfast). Anyway, he joined The Autocar in mid-November 1944 (while V1s were falling, with much talk about the forthcoming V2s), recruited by the acting Editor, H.S. Linfield, and was soon putting together most of the Sport Notes pages, along with writing artcles, occasional editorials and as many other bits and pieces as he could handle - plum job for a 27-year-old, but they were very short-staffed. There's a note in his diary for 4th December that reads: "Discussed question of 'Vizor' with Linfield. Said I had told people our name was legion, for we were many and Vizor was a collective noun. Agreed that was best, failing any other method save announcement of handing over and the position would sort itself out in time." 

 

I think Vizor may have reverted to being a single person after the war, perhaps Sammy Davis when he returned as Sports Editor, though can't be sure. Poor Linfield seems to have been sidelined to make way for the returning heroes, with Geoffrey Smith being shown as Managing Editor come March 1945 and E.J. Appleby as Editor, while Linfield appears as Assistant Editor and six others (including Major S.C.H. Davis) are still listed as being on National Service with their ranks. By July 1946, Linfield is just an Associate Editor (along with Douglas Clease) and S.C.H. Davis in enconsed as Sports Editor. As a Linfield recruit/protege, my Dad seems to have had an increasingly tough time, leaving in 1947 to join Garage & Motor Agent (where he met my Mum) and then of course The Motor.

 

Hope this fills in a few more gaps.

Very interesting, Odseybod, thanks. Please watch out for a PM.

Happy new years to all TNFers.

Paul

Edited by P0wderf1nger, 31 December 2014 - 11:12.

What about "Jaggy Bunnet " ? 

Has kept us up to date with Scottish Motorsport stories for years.

Not quite on topic but not wholly off it, I can say that Roger Collings has posted the following in another place:

"Steady" Barker in hospital.
Steady has suffered a nasty stroke but is making good progress.
Try and send him a card if you can.
He is on Neptune Ward, Great Western Hospital, Marlborough Road, Swindon SN3 6BB

I should like to echo Vitesse's repeated requests for help in identifying 'Short Stroke'. It doesn't surprise me that he seems to have been an admirer of Dick Seaman. In his 'Open Exhaust' piece in The Motor of 25 March 1942, Short Stroke completes what must have been a series about those he considered to be the best drivers to that point with an article about the man he nominated as one of three reserves to his First XV, Whitney Straight.

Short Stroke clearly knows his stuff, and I look forward to learning which drivers comprised his First XV, and who Whitney shared the reserves' bench with.

But in the meantime, anyone, who was Short Stroke?

Thanks

Paul 

Happy to weigh in on a couple mentions of my noms de plume.

Eric Nielssen in fact was the first name under which I wrote professionally as the technical editor of Auto Age. I'd written a piece revealing the coming Lincoln Continental II so editors Harvey Janes and Diana Bartley decided it was best to keep me under wraps. This was a combination of my middle name and my grandmother's surname with two s's.

Eric came in handy later. While working at GM in New York in the early 1960s Eric was the technical editor of Car and Driver. Dave Davis and I used to recall Eric to life occasionally "Not a bad writer that guy." Then in the 1970s when I was writing for both The Motor and The Autocar I was myself for the former and Eric for the latter.

Other pen names were needed for Automobile Quarterly, in which I would not infrequently have more than one story in an issue. That's where Elliot Miles often surfaced, my son's given names in reverse order. I also quite liked racing driver "Jack Scales" and used that occasionally.

Three from the 'bike side' - all sourced to Bob Currie's book Great British Motorcycles of the Thirties.

I mentioned Blick Hodgson above - he wrote for The Motor Cycle as 'Ambleside', while the identity of his colleague 'Ixion' remained a closely-guarded secret until his death in 1962; Canon Basil H Davies. Barry Appleby - the cartoonist and son of Autocar editor EJ Appleby - who I also mentioned, was apparently another who cut his teeth on The Motor Cycle in the 1930s, under the name 'Falshaw Junior', writing pieces for younger enthusiasts.

Sort of on topic, found while hunting something entirely different, some more on HS Linfield, again by WB, from Motor Sport August 1967. Scroll down to Durability — pre-versus post-war.

https://www.motorspo.../matters-moment

In 1904, the European correspondent of the American magazine Motor Age, Chicago, was known as "Count Chassis de Garage".
I think he was not related to the Chasseloup-Laubat family.
Any idea concerning Count Chassis's real identity?

Example - article concerning Madame du Gast, who was not allowed to start in the French Bennett elimination - from Motor Age, April 1904:


 

Has anybody mentioned Aramis yet, who appeared in Motor Sport in 1947 for instance.

I never received any response to this, so can anybody tell me, unless of course I missed it somewhere.

Browsing the Autocar archive I came across an article simply entitled '18b' in the February 2nd 1945 issue. 18b refers to the regulation introduced by the wartime UK government to extend the scope of the Defence of the Realm Act and enable the arrest and detention without trial of UK citizens suspected of subversive activities. Fay Taylour is probably the best-known example of this from the motor sporting world, but there were others, including Donald Marendaz.

The author, identified only as 'Cyman', recounts how - about two years previously - he had been visited by two Special Branch officers after having been denounced as a possible traitor or spy by an anonymous letter writer. As a young man he had been involved in motor sport and in the article admits to having been something of a kleptomaniac, with a penchant for stealing amusing signs and other odd memorabilia - amongst which were a swastika flag and armband which he'd purloined in a German garage. He was able to explain all this away and apparently heard nothing more from Special Branch, although he doesn't seem to have got the flag and armband back!

So, I wondered, who was 'Cyman'? Luckily he had left a very big clue, as he recounted how he had partied in Harlem with Dick Seaman after the 1937 Vanderbilt Cup. And there - plain as day on page 153 of 'Dick & George' - was the answer. 'Cyman' turned out to be Ralph Cecil Vickers MC, a stockbroker, whose obituary - and a photo of him at Brooklands - can be found in the November 1992 issue of Motor Sport, page 1064.

Oh crikey,  DMK Marendaz .... shudder. I may have told this story before , but when I started work as an articled clerk for  Lincolnshire County Council in 1975 , I was given the Marendaz file to sort . It was a vast litany of complaint about a used Mercedes estate car Marendaz had bought , which failed to meet his lofty standards - cue endless extracts from ancient magazines about the Marendaz specials . There was no Trading Standards angle but he seemed to think the Council was his very own private firm of solicitors . He thought the same about the library service - he'd order lots of books , and point blank refuse to ever to return them , He  ended up being banned for life - and it didn't help that his party trick was doing a ' Don't you know who I am ? ' routine and being abusive to young female members of staff - one of whom is now Mrs Aston 

Edited by john aston, 22 November 2021 - 09:13.

I remember hearing from 'The Bod' and from Cyril Posthumus that Marendaz was a rather special case - a real charmer...  Very interesting to see this confirmed.

More fun-reading on 'Captain' Marendaz can be found here: 

https://www.key.aero...ase-mr-marendaz

DCN

Edited by Doug Nye, 22 November 2021 - 08:08.

A further expose on the nefarious Captain Marendaz . On mentioning this thread to Joanne , after uttering the words 'oh, that old git ' she reminded me that he lived in the very grand sounding Asterby Hall , out in the depths of the Lincolnhire Wolds (an area of rolling chalk  hills for those unfamiliar  with the term ). It was the sort of address I expected , and Lincolnshire can be a mysterious place , with forgotten big houses up narrow lanes , miles from anywhere . 

But 'Asterby Hall' was nothing of the sort . It was a couple of country cottages knocked together and fitted with mock Tudor  half timbering by DMKM in 1972.  

PS - I can't remember really clearly but I think 'Baladeur' was several people, most often the great Kent Karslake.

Fast reactions are the essence of motor racing, but I'll respond nineteen years later.

Somewhere in shelves full of Motor Sports is the story of Kent Karslake coming up with the name. He'd acquired a brochure for a French veteran car, which advertised it as having (I think) "quatre baladeurs." No example of the car still existed, and it wasn't certain any had been built. No linguist, no Frenchman, and no engineer could tell Karslake what a "baladeur" was, so he thought it an excellent pen name for a recounter of tales.

 

 

But 'Asterby Hall' was nothing of the sort . It was a couple of country cottages knocked together and fitted with mock Tudor  half timbering by DMKM in 1972.  

I know the place, not far from me! For the record, my father - George Turnbull - was billed as 'Read GT on the TT' in the telegraph. Not quite a nom de plume, but getting there!

I've read through the thread but didn't find who used "Boanerges" as a nom-de-plume.  I'm interested because for some 90 years Boanerges has been used as the name for the 1902 James & Browne car owned by the students of Imperial College City & Guilds.

I've been sent a 10 page article from a French magazine or book about Ken Tyrrell from the early 1970's. The author is one Colin Hornsey, which appears to be his native language, but I can't find anything else written by him. Any idea if it's a pen-name for Jabby Crombac?

The Lotus links are obvious in the name but not in the article. 

For reference, the article is Dans la Coulisse but the provider of the article can't remember where the article came from.