David Purley

Originally posted by Alan Cox
[B]Some memories of a great sportsman

Now I can see how lovely and charming he really was! Never seen such pictures of him. He seemed very friendly, didn't he?


I see some people here knowing something more about him so I've got a question.
Does anyone have any interview or some kind of statement about the Silverstone '77 crash made by Purley himself?
I'd really like to know his point of view
And another thing. It may sound a little irrelevant but do you know sth more about his plane crash? How did it happen and how he actually died?
My curiousity sometimes bothers me but I can't resist
I'd appreciate any information about him.

Cheers!

Sayeeda

An article appeared in the Grand Prix International issue of the 1982 Swiss Grand Prix (held at Dijon) in which Purley gave some details regarding the injuries he suffered in his Silverstone crash. Unfortunately, my issue is out of reach at the moment, but if I get a chance I will try and locate it to get the details mentioned in the article.

In the 1981 edition of the Guiness Book of Records (page 24) the following details appeared regarding this accident :
"The racing driver David Purley survived a deceleration from 108 mph (173km/h) to zero in 26 in (66 cm) in a crash at Silverstone on 13 July 1977 which involved a force of 179.8 g. He suffered 29 fractures, 3 dislocations and 6 heart stoppages."
In David Tremayne's Racers Apart (page 170) Mike Earle mentions that Purley's knees were pushed back up to his shoulders and his head was back sideways through the rollhoop (and he was conscious).
The accident happened when the car's throttle stuck open on David's approach to Becketts. According to Earle they had a fire in the morning on the car "and it was the extinguishant that turned like cement in the rollers and made the throttle stick open." (page173).

As far as his plane crash is concerned, Mike Earle said the following (page 174) : "What happened was that a piece of rubber had come away inside a fuel hose and blocked one of the inlet ports in the injection pump as he came off the top of a roll, and as he flattened it out and aimed at the sea, the engine lost probably 10 to 15% of its power. People who saw it go in said the throttle was wide open until it went in, so he was obviously trying to get it back. It went in at a 45-degree angle, and the cockpit and the fuselage sort of jacknifed together. The thing that hurt him was that the seat belts didn't have doublers behind the panel, and the straps pulled out the back of the seat and he went on to the dashboard. He had severe chest injuries, ...."

My apologies for quoting such large sections from the above-mentioned books, but I hope this will clear some unanswered issues for you.

All I can remember about Purls was such a friendly unasuming gentleman I know in his early days after Sandhurst he joined the Parachute regiment as a junior officer and rose to captain and I was also informed he went to selection for the SAS I am not sure if if joined this band of elite men but it would seem the thing Purls would do, Mike Wilds told me all this plus stories of being shot at in Aden whilst with the armed forces and I beleive the ferret scout car he was commanding was blown up with Purls inside (obviously he survived ) , who said "he who pokes the tiger?"
We do not get these type of people in F1 these days do we?

Rodney Dodson.

Wow!
Now that was INTERESTING! Thank you guys sooo much
It surely cleared almost all my unanswered issues ( as some are still left )

Crowthorne, You just made me strongly interested in this book you mentioned above. Such a shame I can't find it in my country! Are there some more facts about David Purley? Or just what you've written?
If you find that article with Dave giving some details about his crash just let me know. I'd really appreciate it!
I think it's time to make his biography as someone has suggested!
My curiosity will never end

Now I miss him even more. He was really one lucky person until that unfortunate day...



Oh! There's one other thing ( these will also never end )
I know Purls was presenting an award to Niki Lauda. So I wanna ask if someone has more info about this.
Why did this happen?
I thought they were kinda enemies



Am truly sorry for asking so many questions but am just such a curious person. Can't help but ask

Thanks again!

Sayeeda

I found the copy of GPI (1982 Swiss Grand Prix) I referred to in an earlier post.

David Purley said in an article called "The Survival Game", that his left leg was broken in 10 places, his right leg in 7 places and he had 17 broken ribs. His pelvis was fractured in 7 different places and both his shoulders were dislocated. He said the pain was unbearable (which is quite understandable). At one stage a nurse asked him why he was feeling sorry for himself and his reply was that he realised that he would be hospitalised for 7 months. Her reply was that if they were to cut off his leg he could be out of hospital within 7 weeks. He said that made him realise to be thankful for what he still had and that he started fighting back from that moment on.
His watchword in hospital was one he learned from his days as a paratrooper : "Forget the pain, think of the glory".
After the accident his one leg was 2½ inches shorter than the other and on advice from Barry Sheene he went to Belgium where they managed to stretch the leg. He had to spent 3 months there and had 18 operations during this period.
Still, the most important thing for him was to get back into a racing car and get his nerve together. This must have been pretty difficult as he himself said that when his father sent a car to collect him (I assume it must have been at the hospital) he was frightened whenever the driver exceeded 25mph!

He definitely was a determined man - something I will always remember when thinking about David Purley.

Originally posted by Crowthorne
.... After the accident his one leg was 2½ inches shorter than the other and on advice from Barry Sheene he went to Belgium where they managed to stretch the leg. He had to spent 3 months there and had 18 operations during this period.
Still, the most important thing for him was to get back into a racing car and get his nerve together. This must have been pretty difficult as he himself said that when his father sent a car to collect him (I assume it must have been at the hospital) he was frightened whenever the driver exceeded 25mph!

Not boasting, but about 20 years ago I had an accident not all that different to David Purley's, mine was in a road car though, and happened at much less than half the speed. I met a man from Greenland who wasn't too sure which side of the road we drive on here, which put me in hospital for over 6 months, with almost double the number of fractures that DP had, about 20 in my legs alone, and the all-time hospital record. I made a good recovery and don't suffer too much today, but I remember seeing a TV programme at least 15 years ago about Purley's leg-stretching operations. As I had one leg shorter than the other by a similar amount, I asked my Orthopaedic man at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge about having my short leg lengthened in the same way as David's. My Consultant knew all about David Purley's legs, along with Barry Sheene, we share the dubious distinction of having lengthy articles about our leg injuries & operations published in The Lancet, and my Consultant had seen the TV programme. He told me that the procedures involved were nothing special, and he'd be willing to do the same thing for me if I wanted him to. The only problem though, was that there was a "Considerably worse than 10% chance of losing the leg altogether", which after all I'd been through, rather put me off the idea. He thought that the only reason anyone would even think about putting themselves through a risky procedure like that would be vanity, which convinced me that it wouldn't be all that bad, having to live the rest of my life with a slight limp. Doesn't do anything to diminish David Purley's memory for me though, he's still in my personal Motor Racing Hall of Fame.

Crowthorne

Thanks A LOT for that info

It was very interesting to read about those details. Some of them I have never read before
Thx again!


As for...

Originally posted by kayemod
He thought that the only reason anyone would even think about putting themselves through a risky procedure like that would be vanity

Hmm...I wouldn't consider this as a vanity, especially when it comes to Purls.
I think I would do the same thing.
Well, maybe I wouldn't if the risk was much higher.
Anyway it was easy for the doctor to say that as he wasn't the one left with the limp
But that's just my point of view. It may be silly thinking but I never actually care whether I am putting myself into risk or not. And i'm not doing it out of vanity, I guess. Or at least hope so :D:D

Originally posted by Sayeeda
Crowthorne Hmm...I wouldn't consider this as a vanity, especially when it comes to Purls.
I think I would do the same thing.
Well, maybe I wouldn't if the risk was much higher.
Anyway it was easy for the doctor to say that as he wasn't the one left with the limp
But that's just my point of view. It may be silly thinking but I never actually care whether I am putting myself into risk or not. And i'm not doing it out of vanity, I guess. Or at least hope so :D:D

Look at it this way Sayeeda, how would you like to have to choose between walking with a slight limp, and losing the leg altogether? I was offered that choice, and with fairly recent memories of about ten major operations, like I said, well over twenty years ago in my case, I decided to try to live with the limp. Believe me, when you've recently recovered from serious injury involving lengthy stays in hospital and a few months on crutches, most people would see things a bit differently, even if they were ex-SAS. I think that attitude to life is probably one of a great many things that differentiate me from the late David Purley, though like I said, that doesn't stop me admiring him. I can enlarge slightly on my orthopaedic man's 'vanity' comment. He knew David Purley's surgeon quite well, and seemed to think that as well as the limp, DP was slightly sensitive about his height, I think the impact shortened his spine. Anyone know how tall he was before his big crash?

Originally posted by kayemod
He knew David Purley's surgeon quite well, and seemed to think that as well as the limp, DP was slightly sensitive about his height, I think the impact shortened his spine. Anyone know how tall he was before his big crash?

I'm only speculating here, but a super-fit and highly active former paratrooper may be more purtubed than most about any degree of physical infirmity. I think it said in Racers Apart that they offered to cut a bit out of Purley's other leg to even them up. Purley told them that he was already shorter than his girlfriend and went for the 'break, stretch and regrow' option. If Purley was vain, he certainly wouldn't be the only racing driver, and indeed man, to be so.

I'd like to share a couple of pictures with you. All were taken at Oulton Park and I think his friendly nature shines through in the first two.




With the lovely Davina Galica in September '76




With Dave Walker in the paddock in March '75.


And my earliest picture of David in action, at Old Hall in the Cobra in 1968:






Peter McFadyen

Good to see some more of your shots, Peter, and of a great subject.

Originally posted by Lec CRP1


I'm only speculating here, but a super-fit and highly active former paratrooper may be more purtubed than most about any degree of physical infirmity. I think it said in Racers Apart that they offered to cut a bit out of Purley's other leg to even them up. Purley told them that he was already shorter than his girlfriend and went for the 'break, stretch and regrow' option. If Purley was vain, he certainly wouldn't be the only racing driver, and indeed man, to be so.

This is supposed to be about David Purley, not my personal medical history, but there's a bit more I can add. After talking to DP's surgeon, my orthopaedic man offered me similar choices, shorten the 'good' leg, or if you're feeling expecially brave, we could have a go at lengthening the short one. The first option meant a fairly simple op that left a metal rod in the femur, to be removed at a later date, and about ten weeks on crutches. The second involved several ops, the fixing of something similar to old fashioned calipers on the upper half of the leg for three months, then turning screws by a precise amount each day throughout that time. Finally, another biggish operation to remove the metalwork, hoping that everything had gone according to plan, with no real guarantee that the leg would ever regain it's original usefulness. I was also warned that the stretching option meant a lot of pain for 3 to 4 months, and crutches all that time, just imagine how anyone would feel after all that, if the procedure was unsuccessful. Being less brave than David Purley, also having had enough of crutches to last me a lifetime, I opted for the limp. In any case, my surgeon felt he had to advise me against having further work done on my badly damaged legs, and I suspect that DP was given much the same advice, didn't he have to go to somewhere like Holland to have the work done? Presumably because he couldn't find a surgeon here who was prepared to do it. There's a further consideration though, which one of DP's legs was the shortened one? In my case it's the right leg, and this has left me unable to heel & toe. For me, that's no great loss, but it would have been if I was a racing driver who wanted to return to the sport. All we can really be certain of today, is that in all respects, David Purley was an uncommonly brave man, it takes a lot of courage to gamble with your future mobility.

Forgive me if I've mentioned this before somewhere, but I'll never forget two things about Purley's comeback in 1979.

One was him walking down the pit lane at Brands Hatch with Val Musetti to look at the other cars and to chat with some of the drivers and team personnel. His progress was slow, very slow. But not because he was stopping to talk every few yards, but simply because even with the aid of a walking stick he was very clearly struggling. No matter, he was smiling and laughing with everybody. I wish I had a picture to show you. It was practice for the Aurora AFX round and at one point the spectators in the grandstands gave him a much deserved round of applause. He stopped and waved his stick at them!

The second was another Aurora round at Snetterton where he was due to race in a Shadow DN9 which Mike Earle's team was preparing. I watched him - from a respectable distance - getting into the car and having some of the pedals and such like adjusted to his liking. It took what felt like an age. The pain was evident. How on earth he managed to drive the car, let alone practice it and then race it beggars belief. I had to stop watching - I moved on.

I didn't see him after practice, but wondered if he'd be in any fit condition to take to the grid.

He finished fourth in the race.

Hero.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Purls, MCS.
He was truly determinated and that's one of the things I admire him for.
Wish I had ever talked to him


And where do you guys get such personal pics of him?
I'm used to seeing drivers in cars with helmets on haha
But surely such pics can tell a lot about person, who lived years ago. They are all what's left of them actually...
Anyway, also thanks for sharing



As for kayemod.
I'm sure you did the right thing, in your case.
You don't have to explain yourself, nobody's getting at you ;)
Frankly, I am admiring you for your ability to accept the reality as it is. I am myself not that kind of character and it really bothers me.
I would definitely not be able to live with any kind of limp, and maybe that should be called vanity? I don't really care
That's just the way I am.


But as was said, in Purley's case it wasn't the vanity. It was determination.

Originally posted by kayemod
Anyone know how tall he was before his big crash?

He was still the same height after that but how much it was - no idea. I bet he wasn't small. After seeing a picture with many drives together he was quite tall - compering to them.



Cheers!

Originally posted by kayemod

There's a further consideration though, which one of DP's legs was the shortened one? In my case it's the right leg, and this has left me unable to heel & toe. For me, that's no great loss, but it would have been if I was a racing driver who wanted to return to the sport. All we can really be certain of today, is that in all respects, David Purley was an uncommonly brave man, it takes a lot of courage to gamble with your future mobility.

It was his left leg, as you can tell by the built-up shoe on this pic

I remember his bravery in Zandvoort.
I never forget him.
His behaviour in that moment is more important than any race's win.

Taking an opportunity I'd like to show you a clip.
It is a Tribute to David Purley made by Shay, some of you might not have seen yet ;)

To my mind he did an excellent work
Finally a totally deserved tribute

A very good tribute for Williamson and Purley.
I saw the accident in many clips before, but this one touch my heart.
I think race's safety is improved now, the marshalls of Zandvoort were very bad and their equipment was very poor and tragically ridiculous.
An iniquitous destiny and a horrible death.
When, I saw these horrific accident and these flames in a film (in Italy the title was "Formula 1 febbre della velocità") I was schocked.
I was fourteen, for months I never saw motorsport races.
In that clip, now, I've found feeling and pity, but in that film these images were used only to show the death of a young man.

Thank you for this clip.

Bye
Fr@nk

Originally posted by Fr@nk

A very good tribute for Williamson and Purley.
I saw the accident in many clips before, but this one touch my heart.
I think race's safety is improved now, the marshalls of Zandvoort were very bad and their equipment was very poor and tragically ridiculous.
An iniquitous destiny and a horrible death.

Fr@nk

I think the really ridiculous thing is the guy with the fire extinguisher isn't in flame proof overalls!

When I met David Purley later that year it was still affecting him deeply. You can see from the footage how frustrated he gets and that frustration was still there months later.

His frustration was also the mine too.
It's ever hard to accept the death of a friend or of a person you tried to help, but in this case it is impossible to understand.
Also in the clip you could appreciate the difefrent behaviour between David Purley and the "rescuers" (?!), I think it's really unforgivable one.
If you are a "rescuer" you can't only try to escape, also if you haven't any proof suit.

bye

Was any conclusion reached as to the cause of David Purley's fatal plane crash? Pilot error or mechanical problems?

Apparently, the Department of Transport department said the plane had a fuel blockage. It failed to come out of a dive and went straight into the sea. Purley, though seriously injured, lived long enough to drown.

Originally posted by Lec CRP1
Apparently, the Department of Transport department said the plane had a fuel blockage. It failed to come out of a dive and went straight into the sea. Purley, though seriously injured, lived long enough to drown.

Well, I don't quite get it. When he was doing a dive did he fly down and went straight into the sea or, like Crowthorne said, at a 45-degree angle?
Frankly, I don't have a clue about aerobatics so can't quite imagine it.

I always thought he died instantly. Well, at least he was unconcious when he was drowning but it seems to me that he could have been saved :



All the best in this New Year 2007.
How quickly time passes by...


Cheers!

I've just this evening read part of David Tremayne's book "The Lost Generation" when he writes -

"On 2 July 1985, Purley was prodding the tiger yet again as he flew his bright red Pitts Special out over the sea off Bognor Regis. As a result of a technical fault it failed to pull out of a dive, and this time, even 'Brave Dave' could not survive. He drowned while trapped in the wreckage."

He could not have been saved as sadly there were no boats in the area at the time.

Hi,

David would have been 62 today – we shared a common birthday albeit he was a year older ;-)

David is not forgotten as we were at Sandhurst together, though after many many hours of enjoyable time with him RMAS, Barrosso, London, Petworth, Brighton, Fittleworth, Storrington and many more ‘when we were young!’, after RMAS our paths only crossed a couple of times and I went to Africa at the end of the 1960s.

I hope Jane made and enjoyed a new life after David – David was always larger than life and still is to those of us who shared time with him.

Will someone give Jane a big hug for me.

I was lucky – I lived on but he was immortal!

Greg

Originally posted by Paul Rochdale
I've just this evening read part of David Tremayne's book "The Lost Generation" when he writes -

"On 2 July 1985, Purley was prodding the tiger yet again as he flew his bright red Pitts Special out over the sea off Bognor Regis. As a result of a technical fault it failed to pull out of a dive, and this time, even 'Brave Dave' could not survive. He drowned while trapped in the wreckage."

He could not have been saved as sadly there were no boats in the area at the time.

Well, as there were no boats around he surely couldn't have been saved but I meant it rather theoreticaly, that - since he was (apparently) still alive and survived the impact - there was a chance of saving him if only he could have been gotten out of the water on time

Originally posted by Greg L-W.
Hi,

David would have been 62 today – we shared a common birthday albeit he was a year older ;-)

David is not forgotten as we were at Sandhurst together, though after many many hours of enjoyable time with him RMAS, Barrosso, London, Petworth, Brighton, Fittleworth, Storrington and many more ‘when we were young!’, after RMAS our paths only crossed a couple of times and I went to Africa at the end of the 1960s.

I hope Jane made and enjoyed a new life after David – David was always larger than life and still is to those of us who shared time with him.

Will someone give Jane a big hug for me.

I was lucky – I lived on but he was immortal!

Greg

Then Happy Birthday, to both of you

Hi,

thanks for the salutations Sayeeda.

David was generous to a fault, great sense of humour, huge spirit of fun, massive zest for life and always had guts for a challenge.

I remember him falling base over apex in mud having tried to avoid it and then hooting with laughter as he gave up on dignity and yomped through it!

Perhaps there was some feeling of jealousy amongst those who were his detractors, always behind his back, this was a guy who was so outstanding he was awarded a G.M. - anyone else on this list, in Motor Racing or amongst his critics happen to have A George Medal for Bravery?

I remember in North Africa with him when we were ALL knackered he shared the load of one of the 'Commonwealth' lads, either Mohammed Yasir (little Mo) or Grey Msonthi, both of whom died years ago in service, who had just run out of ANY residue of energy.

Vanity I think not - with his wicked smile, inate charm, and not to gainsay his not inconsiderable wealth he NEVER used his ability to out gun and had he been a dwarf with warts his charm would not have needed vanity. If I know David he had his leg pulled longer so that he could get the balance on some stunt or challenge right.

He did of course have the great advantage of NOT joining the brigade of Grumpy Old Men we have all now become! But I never once heard him complain when we were young either ;)

Anybody know where Jane is these days or how life mapped out? I've just discovered my ex of those times wrecked her yacht off the Cook Islands and had a day of paddling in a dingy to reach an uninhabited island! It was a GREAT generation and never once did any of us ever ask anyone else to carry the can when we screwed up.

I hope someone flags this up to Jane and reminds her he is not forgotten.

The Chinese say: "You are alive for as long as you are remembered" perhaps he will outlive all of us

Regards,
Greg L-W.

Originally posted by Greg L-W.

Perhaps there was some feeling of jealousy amongst those who were his detractors, always behind his back, this was a guy who was so outstanding he was awarded a G.M. - anyone else on this list, in Motor Racing or amongst his critics happen to have A George Medal for Bravery?

Mike Hailwood...;)

Originally posted by ensign14

Mike Hailwood...;)

Hi,

kind of proves the point I guess. David PURLEY G.M. & Mike HAILWOOD G.M.

I have always found it very humbling to see so many of the great and the good of racing who drove past Williamson when it might still have saved him.

David DID stop, David DID try, David DID risk his life, David DID risk hideous burns, David DID ALL he could - the heroes of Motor Sport DROVE PAST and left David ALONE TO TRY not just to save a fellow racers life but save him from being the days barbecue.

I know who was the heroe - I know who won that day and I know who the great losers were - they finished the race!

The race is NOT everything, the win is worth NOTHING if you lose sight of humanity in getting there. When winning is a pact with the Devil we all know who will be the losers.

You choose!

The Day Is Over & we have all remembered the winner - the man of stature - the man who offered and gave the most.

'So long & thanks for all the fish'.

Greg L-W.

Hi,

despite requests, off list, I am unable to provide any memorabilia of the time I spent with David Purley G.M., or that era, having lived and travelled a great deal since.

I am sorry I am therefore unable to contribute to the very valid proposals of a biograph.

I would however appreciate it is ANYONE can assure Jane that neither David nor she are forgotten and there must be few men who were big enough to leave a noticeable hole in life and values, spirit and adventure, generosity and valour so long after their demise.

Once again - if Jane is out there eMail me or my phone number is easy to track.

& now again:
'so long and thanks for all the fish' - as a 'Pilgrim' it is the sport to 'BEAT THE CLOCK' ;)

Regards,
Greg L-W.

Greg

It may interest you to know that I visited David Purley's grave at St.Nicholas' Churchyard, Itchenor, near Chichester, on New Years Day. It was a warm sunny day and a peaceful and beautiful setting, close to the ancient flint-built church. His headstone was both striking and tastefully carved, and he was at peace with the World.

http://forums.atlasf...y=&pagenumber=7

Paul

Hi,

thanks for that Paul.

I didn't know he had children.

Anyone know how to get hold of Jane OR the children - I knew David when he was younger than his children would be today - It might be fun for them to hear from his contemporary was like when he was nearly their age.

'this fish is begining to repeat!'

Greg@GlanceBack.Demon.co.UK

Regards,
Greg L-W.

I have left a message on Jane's answering machine for you.
Loti

Hi,

thankyou Loti.

She can phone 12 mid day to midnight most days.

or she can just e her number or she can send a message to say she has moved on!

I just wanted her to know.

Thanks again.

Best regards,
Greg

While reading through these posts a memory formed in the back of my mind of David Purley racing a Ford Capri in Production Saloons in the mid 1980s.

Just to check I wasn't going completely mad, I checked through some race reports and indeed I found a report from the latter stages of the 1984 season,where he guested in Jess Yates's 2.8i Capri at Oulton Park in a round of the Monroe Production Saloon Car Championship. He led the first two laps before the car expired in a cloud of smoke.

Does anybody recollect whether he raced the car on any other occasions that year and was he attempting a serious comeback to racing?

Spoke to Keith Holland a little while ago about David and he points out he was very lucky that there was a paramedic amongst the spectators at Beckets, who ran down the bank to the car to give him the heart massage to revive him (6 times)!

It's been 22 years since Dave is gone. Oh, how fast it passed.
Let's hope he's happy up there in heaven.


We miss you Dave, R.I.P

So sadly missed. R.I.P. David...

A true hero, and a wonderful character. RIP David.

We arrived at Chichester for the Revival early this year. We had a drive down to West Itchenor on Chichester harbour, and had an excellent pub lunch. Afterwards we took a stroll down to the waterfront to gaze at the hundreds of boats. I sat on a wooden bench with my camera. Then I noticed that attached to the back of the bench was a small plaque bearing the words:

David Purley GM
From his friends.

Very nice pictures of David Purley. Many thanks for Mr. Horat, copyright http://www.motorsportfriends.com/


1976 Thruxton with winner trophy


1976 Brands Hatch waving on lap of honour



1979 Silverstone

Originally posted by asag
Very nice pictures of David Purley. Many thanks for Mr. Horat, copyright http://www.motorsportfriends.com/


1976 Thruxton with winner trophy


1976 Brands Hatch waving on lap of honour



1979 Silverstone

GREAT PICTURES I really really love them. Especially the last one - beautiful shot


Big thanks

Still greatly missed, this the second in a series of letters between '71 and '73 which show what a unique and genuine man he was. I will post some of the others in due course.

26-Jan-2009

Just think - David would have been 64 today.

Will someone give Jane a big hug for me.

I was lucky – I lived on but he was immortal!

Greg

See Post 75, this thread!

YOU can contact me via my blogs which can be found via
http://GregLanceWatkins.BLOGspot.com

Happy birthday David...and happy birthday to you too Greg.

I drove through Bognor this morning, which made me think.

I have been considering writing a book on "Purls" for some time, after Mike Earle said that it was about time someone did, and as each year passes, I am beginging to think that there is a demand for it, my only British racing hero..........................

On the picture of post 3364 on Personal photos from the paddock is a nice D.Purley Humber to see!

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related


TV interview from 1979


PAR

It's been 25 years today since he's gone and he's still sadly missed.
R.I.P David

I drove through Bognor this morning, which made me think.

I have been considering writing a book on "Purls" for some time, after Mike Earle said that it was about time someone did, and as each year passes, I am beginging to think that there is a demand for it, my only British racing hero..........................

I would love a book on David Purley!