15 replies to this topic

[Gil Bouffard]

The other day I got an email from a member of the Oval Track Racing History List. The guy was asking about Alfred Moss, Stirling's Dad.

I responded that I had an article someplace about Alfred and his exploits.I found it today and scanned both the photos and the article, which appears below.

This article appeared in the December 1984 issue of Classic and Sportscar.

STIRLING’S DAD

Stirling Moss's father, Alfred, was a talented racing driver in his own right, and even raced in the Indianapolis 500 back in 1924. Philip Newsome tells the story of the racing dentist.

The racing achievements of Stirling Moss are legendary. Less well known is the fact that his father, a London dental surgeon, was also a racing driver, and one of the first Britons to take part in the Indianapolis 500. That happened in 1924, and as this year marks the 60th anniversary of that event, it seems fitting to look back at the life of an amazing character: Alfred Ethelbert Moss.

Born in 1898, Alfred Moss chose dentistry as his profession, yet of much greater interest to him was his passion for motor racing. His first car was an AV Monocar, which was chain driven with an air-cooled two-cylinder JAP engine at the back. The Monocar was a two-seater but with the seats staggered instead of side-by-side. That its steering system, comprised of wires running round a bobbin, was not altogether satisfactory was revealed to Alfred's cost one day when both wires broke and he finished up in a shop window! Despite its shortcomings, Alfred considered the car to be extremely stylish and racy, and on one occasion, when he was proudly driving it down Park Lane, he noticed that many people were looking at it with what he took to be admiring and envious glances. When he happened to look back to check what traffic was about he discovered what they were really looking at - the engine was on fire!

The lure of the track was strong, and he began to spend much of his time at Brooklands, soon winning what was described as a "tame" Private Competitors' Handicap at the 1923 Easter Monday meeting. The car was a Sporting Crouch powered by a four-cylinder Anzani engine, with Alfred winning the race at a speed of over 65mph. This early racing success was soon followed by others at the circuit.

In 1924 Alfred decided to try his luck in America. On the face of it his intention was to study the latest in American dentistry, but his father must surely have had some doubts about the true motives when he discovered that Alfred had enrolled at the Indiana School of Dentistry, a stone's throw away from the Indianapolis Speedway! Certainly the Americans themselves were in no doubt as to why he was there. Alfred, never the shrinking violet, made sure that the American press knew the real reason behind his visit with the result that his name was emblazoned across the pages of the newspapers right across the country: 'London dentist in America to drive speedy car at Indianapolis'.

In spite of all this publicity it was by no means certain that Alfred would even secure a drive for the big race. He had several letters of introduction from the people he had driven for back home, but these carried very little weight in the 'States. One letter from the Mercedes agent in England to the Managing Director of Mercedes in America, said nothing particularly helpful to Alfred's cause, and on reading it the MD carelessly screwed it up and threw it in the waste paper basket, ostensibly telling Alfred that he could not give him a drive for the simple reason that Mercedes were not competing at all in the 'States that year, Alfred saw where the letter went and immediately a plan began to take shape in his mind,

He did nothing for a few days, but then called again and asked if he could have the letter back, as it might come in useful. Apologetically, the MD admitted that the letter had been thrown away, but if Alfred could remember what it had said his secretary would type out another copy and he would sign it. Not surprisingly, Alfred's version of the letter differed
somewhat from the original! This second letter stated that the Managing Director of Mercedes (US) had known Alfred for some years, that he was one of the very finest drivers in Europe, having driven for Mercedes in European races, and that any team able to acquire his services would be fortunate indeed. The plan worked just as Alfred had hoped: without bothering to read it, the head of Mercedes in America, a very influential man on the Indianapolis racing scene, signed this second letter.

With the nonchalant air of a man able to pick and choose, Alfred considered several offers for his services, and finally arranged to drive for Louis Chevrolet and his team of Frontenac-Fords. In 1920 and '21, cars designed by Chevrolet had won the 500: Gaston Chevrolet, one of the three Chevrolet brothers, won in 1920 driving a Monroe, and the following year Tommy Milton drove an eight cylinder Frontenac to victory with Jules Ellingboe finishing third in a four-cylinder version. Two 'Fronty-Fords' were entered in the 1922 race with little success, but by the time the 1923 event came round the Fronty head had undergone much development and a Fronty-Ford, entered as a 'Barber-Warnock Special', was driven by Lora 'Slim' Corum to fifth place.

Alfred Moss, therefore, found himself in a team with a good track record in the 500, and was entered for the 1924 race in one of the three 'Barber-Warnocks'. The team was financed by the parent Ford Company, and on one occasion Henry Ford came to the track to watch the cars in action. Alfred was lucky to make it to the race, for during a practice session a tyre blew on one of the turns. He hit both retaining walls heavily, but was not hurt. He was later told that he had been driving the car that had won the race two years previously, and that the tyres had not been changed since!

Team finishers

All the Barber-Warnocks finished the race, but were soundly beaten by the all-conquering eight cylinder Duesenbergs and Millers which would dominate the race for several years to come. After starting 20th in the grid, Alfred finished a creditable 16th, averaging 84mph and winning $900 in prize money. All three cars finished, proving so reliable partly because Chevrolet insisted that every nut and bolt should be welded together, which really did stop things coming apart!

Several biographers of Stirling Moss have written that Alfred also took part in the 1925 500. This is not so, and neither is it true that Alfred was the first overseas driver to participate in the race. He was preceded by several foreign drivers, including three winners of the race, Jules Goux of France in 1913, Rene Thomas of France in 1914 and Dario Resta of Italy/England in 1916.

After the race Alfred signed a contract with Chevrolet to drive for his team of dirt-track cars. Although the cars were Fronty-Fords, similar to the type driven at Indianapolis, Alfred found the racing itself to be very different. Although the top speed of the cars was only 50mph, the racing was very spectacular. Experienced drivers were very skilled at handling these machines, and Alfred found that they could tuck a front wheel between his front and rear wheels on one side and accompany him around the bends at top speed. For this reason Louis Chevrolet had warned him not to look across at any car that came alongside him during a race: "If you do, you'll go off the track with fright!"

This year in Alfred's motor racing career proved to be very enjoyable. He often came up against the champion dirt-track driver, and the two would arrange beforehand that Alfred would go as fast as he could while his 'adversary' put on a demonstration of trying to pass, complete with near-crashes and fist shaking! Alfred, a foreign driver, was an ideal accomplice in this set-UP.

It was inevitable that in this travelling circus atmosphere of the dirt-track circuit, Alfred, being the character he was, would have many adventures. On one occasion, following an argument over the quality of some bamboo shoots in a chop-suey at Henry Chung's Chinese restaurant, he was arrested for non-payment of a 45-cent bill. After a heated trial in which Alfred spoke in his own defence, judge Dilbert 0. Willamette dismissed the case. As the Indianapolis Star reported at the time: 'Mr. Moss, smiling with British triumph, gave the judge five dollars for the police pension fund and left the court.'

All of this became too much to bear for Alfred's father, and in order to get him back to England, where presumably he could be kept under closer supervision, he offered to set him up in his own garage business. Alfred agreed, and the first of his garages opened at Thornton Heath in Surrey. Alfred was still involved in dentistry, so when the Thornton Heath business opened he had to leave the running of his dental practice and its 12 assistants-temporarily to his partner. Many of the innovations he introduced into his garage - such as patent jacks, cranes and cleaning sprays-were imported from America. The slogan 'U wreck'em; we fetch'em' must also surely have come from America! The idea to use carrier pigeons on the breakdown truck to summon extra help, however, was almost certainly Alfred's own!

Sense of drama

With his own garage business, there was even more scope for Alfred to pursue his love of motor racing, and he continued to drive the Fronty-Ford Speedport he had become accustomed to in America. The car had a Model T chassis with the wheelbase cut to 7ft, and the engine was the faithful Chevrolet Frontenac with eight-valve ohv head. At the 1925 August Bank Holiday BARC meeting, which saw the largest crowd at any race meeting since the end of the Great War, Alfred was one of 19 entrants for the 75 mph Short Handicap, winning the race at 80.75mph and setting the best lap at 85.13mph. With a sense of drama finely honed during his years in the 'States, Alfred managed to produce a really spectacular finish for the large crowd. An oil pipe fractured with the result that the exhaust pipe was sprayed with oil and lit up as the car crossed the line.

Alfred married in 1927, and his wife, Aileen, was a competent racing driver herself, having won the Ladies Trials Championship in 1926 at the wheel of a 11/2-litre Marendaz Special. With the responsibilities that go with married life and a young family (Stirling was born in 1929 and Pat in 1935), Alfred began to spend less time racing and more time in the dental surgery, building up his empire of practices to an amazing 17 at one stage. He still took part in the occasional race at Brooklands, however, and it was here that young Stirling became familiar with the sight and sound of racing machinery. Stirling and Pat grew up in a 'fresh-air' environment, and both became exceptional horse riders at an early age. The mental and physical co-ordination and balance they learned in equestrian competition' would serve them both admirably in years to come in their motor racing careers. Compared to his offspring, Alfred's skills in the saddle were not so well developed - he decided to give up riding after a bad fall.

It was by no means a foregone conclusion that Stirling would become a racing driver. His father held some hopes that he would follow in his own footsteps and take up a career in dentistry, but Stirling was none too sure about this and when he failed his final school examinations the following conversation took place:

"Well, what are you going to do now?"

"I thought I'd have a go at being a racing driver."

"WHAT!"

"Well, you were, weren't you?"

"You're mad! You couldn't afford it. Nobody can afford it these days. I couldn't afford it, even before the war!"

"I mean as a professional. I've got some money saved up from my jumping, and I could sell my car and buy a Cooper. I'd soon be. . . "

"You can't make a living out of driving cars! I never made a penny all the years I drove. And, anyway, wait till your mother hears all about this ... '

More arguments followed, but as we now all know Stirling won through. From that moment on Alfred was 100 per cent behind his son's chosen career, taking on his new role as professional adviser with relish. On one occasion, at the start of 1954, it was Alfred who decided that Stirling, on holiday in the Bahamas at the time, ought to have a more competitive F1 car for the forthcoming season. So he simply went out and bought a Maserati 25OF (with Stirling's money, of course). Stirling was presented with this fait accompli on his return home ...

The rest is well known. Stirling went on to climb the highest peaks of motor racing achievement, and

Alfred witnessed it all. He died in 1972.

[fines]

Nice story, Gil, thank you! And some food for thought for Wolf's thread...

[Giraffe]

A great little story which augments Sir Stirling's renowned pecuniary nouse, Dr. Philip Newsome whom I met for the first time yesterday when he visited Sid Taylor in Birmingham is a Professor of Dentistry in Hong Kong and is also a part time motor sport journalist and author. The first ever interview he conducted was with Sir Stirling at his home in London and he obtained the interview on the basis that he was researching his father Alfred's racing career.
Philip was understandably a little apprehensive of meeting the great man at his home, but Sir Stirling was most welcoming and the interview was going swimmingly. However soon the real reason behind Philip being granted the interview became apparent.....
Now Stirling had lost his front teeth in his Goodwood accident; "You're a dentist aren't you?" "Er yes" replied Philip. "What's your professional opinion of these?" said Stirling, and Philip suddenly found himself sat infront of his hero with his dentures in his hand...........

Edited by Giraffe, 25 May 2011 - 14:06.

[Derwent Motorsport]

As an aside what became of Stirling's son? I think I've only seen the odd photo of him and that was when he was quite young. I can't remember him ever accompanying his parents at any events I have seen them at.
Was he discouraged from the sport by his parents or just not interested? What is his chosen profession?

[Tim Murray]

He currently runs the Moss property empire, having previously been an estate agent:

http://www.smltdprop....com/about.html

http://www.smltdprop...om/profile.html

I've never heard of him doing any racing, but here's a film clip of him driving one of his dad's old cars:

[RogerFrench]

Well, it may be a Lotus 18, but one of his dad's?
Not in its time, surely?

[2F-001]

Agreed - that's a FJ isn't it? So, unlikely that Stirling raced it 'in period'. There's information about his son on SCM's own website - and mention of him driving at Hethel; sounds as though driving has not been a significant part of his life, though, and he seems to involved in business interests with his father.

[Tim Murray]

Well, it may be a Lotus 18, but one of his dad's?
Not in its time, surely?

Agreed - that's a FJ isn't it? So, unlikely that Stirling raced it 'in period'.

Absolutely - I jumped to conclusions without reading the info properly - the car is described just as 'a Lotus 18'. Apologies.

The blurb also says that this was his first time ever on a race track.

[Alan Cox]

I can't remember him ever accompanying his parents at any events I have seen them at.

I do recall him visiting the Coys Festival at Silverstone with his father some years ago, and have a photo of the pair of them in the pit lane which I have posted here before, but I can't locate it at present.

[Odseybod]

From the Lotus Festival at Snetterton last year - certainly looked the part!

[Giraffe]

All his own teeth, I suspect.

[David McKinney]

The longer you continue to make such unnecessary and puerile personal comments, the more people are going to take exception

[Giraffe]

The longer you continue to make such unnecessary and puerile personal comments, the more people are going to take exception

I was making reference to my lighthearted post that brought this thread back after ten or more years David, or did you not realise that?

[David McKinney]

I was making reference to my lighthearted post that brought this thread back after ten or more years David, or did you not realise that?

Yes, but I still don't see that it was necessary

[Giraffe]

Yes, but I still don't see that it was necessary

I can see that David. Oh, I've just noticed your post on the Mike Hawthorn autograph thread.........

Edited by Giraffe, 26 May 2011 - 12:22.

[David McKinney]

Ah you suggesting there's a similarity?

One is a tongue-in-cheek response to an old friend, the other a facetious comment about a young man who, as far as I know, is not a member of TNF