15 replies to this topic

[Graham Gauld]

Thanks to David McKinney we now appear to have a separate and hopefully more serious element of the Nostalgia forum.

I am at present collecting material to write a biography of Bob Gerard for the Gerard family. If any of my fellow older members have any anecdotes about Bob THROUGH PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE or know of parents or grandparents who may have same I would like to find as many as possible as there are few of us left who were around to see Bob racing in the immediate post-war period.

I would emphasise that I do not want quotes from motor magazine reports, etc but reliable information from personal experience.

If anyone would prefer to send this information to me directly without publishing on the forum I can be reached in the usual way through the forum or else directly at Graham.Gauld@Wanadoo.fr.

Graham Gauld

[Sharman]

Graham
He was President of our College Motor Club. What I do remember particularly was his habit of repeating one's words when in conversation with him. If for example I was saying the previous sentence to him there would be an echo "when in conversation with him". I've got a nice autographed photo of him in the Cooper-Bristol.
John
I hope this isn't "fluff" David.

Edited by Sharman, 07 October 2011 - 12:49.

[Graham Gauld]

Graham
He was President of our College Motor Club. What I do remember particularly was his habit of repeating one's words when in conversation with him. If for example I was saying the previous sentence to him there would be an echo "when in conversation with him". I've got a nice autographed photo of him in the Cooper-Bristol.
John
I hope this isn't "fluff" David.

Not at all John, John Pearson was telling me today that after he had dropped out of racing he would come to the BRDC Suite at Silverstone and go and take pictures of the cars with a tiny camera from the BRDC Suite but the results must have been impossible to see as the cars were so far away

GG

[Paul Parker]

Graham
He was President of our College Motor Club. What I do remember particularly was his habit of repeating one's words when in conversation with him. If for example I was saying the previous sentence to him there would be an echo "when in conversation with him". I've got a nice autographed photo of him in the Cooper-Bristol.
John
I hope this isn't "fluff" David.

Perhaps he was going deaf, as some period racers did if they survived and repeated the words to make sure he had heard them correctly.

[Sharman]

Perhaps he was going deaf, as some period racers did if they survived and repeated the words to make sure he had heard them correctly.

You may be right Paul, is was 1959 when I knew him and he had been listening to racing engines since before the war but if you didn't take care you found yourself doing it too!!

[Paul Parker]

You may be right Paul, is was 1959 when I knew him and he had been listening to racing engines since before the war but if you didn't take care you found yourself doing it too!!

Sorry can you repeat that, I didn't quite hear what you said.

[Michael Ferner]

Fluff alert!!!!

[David McKinney]

I'm watching, Michael, be assured

In fact I'd tole myself one more OT post and delete them all, but yours can serve as the warning

[Michael Ferner]

Actually, I was only joking!

I hope we're not going to be THAT serious!!?

[Bauble]

My outstanding memory of Bob Gerard was from the very first Aintree meeting, I had gone up from London to Liverpool on the train and met up with another enthusiast on the way. Coming from 'the smoke' meant we arrived fairly late compared with the local crowd, who did not appear to be the usual motor sport types. There was very restricted spectator access around the circut, only the finishing straight as I recall, and we did not have much of a view, we were standing as close to the last corner as we could get, and after a while I said to my companion in a loud voice. "This looks very dangerous, if a car comes off the road here, there is nothing to stop it coming to the crowd." We discussed this in loud tones for a minute or so and soon found that the crowd had thinned somewhat enabling us to get to the front. We chuckled at the lack of savy of the locals, however, when Bob, charging hard in his Cooper Bristol, left the road aand scattered cinders all over us it seemed our forecast had come a little too true.

I saw Bob race many times but that occasion at Aintree is what I remember most.

[Dutchy]

Probably of little use but I am the present custodian of his Cooper 500 Mk VIII. I do have a couple of photos of him in the car but I suspect they are already in the public domain.

[Graham Gauld]

Thank you to everyone so far. The information is more useful than you think

However, another thing to look up. In the 1954 racing season Bob Gerard raced his Cooper MkVIII 500 at Brands Hatch May 7 in the Seniors race and the Whitsun Invitation Race. Can anyone find his finishing placings in those races ?

Edited by Graham Gauld, 14 November 2011 - 09:13.

[Dutchy]

Thank you to everyone so far. The information is more useful than you think

However, another thing to look up. In the 1954 racing season Bob Gerard raced his Cooper MkVIII 500 at Brands Hatch May 7 in the Seniors race and the Whitsun Invitation Race. Can anyone find his finishing placings in those races ?

I had a quick look at the 500 OA site which gives the date as May 1st not 7th. I don't know which is correct. Sadly no mention of him in the results listed.

[Tim Murray]

In 1954 Whit Sunday was 6th June, so are we sure we're looking at the right month? The 500 OA site lists the Whit Monday meeting at Brands on 7th June.

Edited by Tim Murray, 14 November 2011 - 12:20.

[HiRich]

The event in question was Saturday, 1st May, an international meeting. Rather oddly, this meeting had the "Whitsun Invitation Race" and "Whitsun Sprint", yet the meeting on the 7th June (Whit Monday National Meeting) didn't. Both cases, I am looking at the programmes.
1/05: Gerard had number 57, but to date I have no placings or even confirmation of attendance. Bob was also entered in the 2litre sports car race (18, Fraser-Nash Bristol). There are asterisks through the programme that suggest to me he did not attend (or start) - written-in results of that race include only "non-asterisked" entries got placings. But there's no asterisk against the Cooper.
Seems to have been an interesting meeting: Graham Hill drove the Kieft (perhaps the only time), Australian Reg Hunt turned up on his shopping tour and promptly trounced the Junior drivers; Ron Learnan trashed his Cooper (and rebuilt it as the RGR, which ended up back in New Zealand), and Jim Russell did a triple roll.
Bob had the Cooper at the International Trophy meeting, Silverstone, 15/05 and the Aintree opening, 29th May (James/Dutchy has a nice photo), but did not attend Brand, 7/06, instead going to Oulton a week later. Pal &progee David Clarke had moved on from 500s by this time, so it's unlikely he used the car.

[David McKinney]

Ron Learnan trashed his Cooper (and rebuilt it as the RGR, which ended up back in New Zealand)

Or, more correctly "Ron Learnan trashed his Cooper (and rebuilt it as the RGR, which he took back home to New Zealand, but which is now back in the UK)