18 replies to this topic

[Doug Nye]

Sad - if not entirely unexpected - news this morning that Edward, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, has died.  A good man, to whom the classic, vintage and Historic car movement really does owe a very, very, great deal. I developed tremendous respect for him during the years I have been working with him - and I would like to offer my most sincere condolences to his family, his long-loyal staff on the Beaulieu Estate, and to his many friends...worldwide.

 

DCN

[Gary C]

Oh dear, RIP. Every time I visit Beaulieu I am amazed at the various displays, pushed along, no doubt by the Lord's drive for all things automotive.

[P0wderf1nger]

Very sad news indeed, I feel like the godfather of British motoring has gone.

 

I owe him so much. He was so helpful to me throughout my Amherst Villiers project, and I’m sure he did the same for thousands of others.

 

TNFers who haven’t read his autobiography, Wheels Within Wheels, really ought to. The Beaulieu shop sells paperback copies – and they’ve stayed open today.

 

Sincere condolences to his family and all on the Beaulieu Estate.

 

Paul   

[Pullman99]

Very sad to hear this news.    Lord Montagu's achievements in many different fields are the mark of an incredibly busy and influential life.   In the world of historic transport he was a figure recognized throughout the world for his contribution to the preservation and continued use of vehicles that sixty or seventy years ago were more likely to be discarded than celebrated.   His championing of motoring - both modern and historic, and especially in dealing with the ever changing EU regulations - is of course only part of his legacy.     The National Motor Museum is undoubtedly the pinnacle of that and remains one of Britain's greatest visitor attractions as well as aiding the creation and development of many museums worldwide.   Somehow, next weekend's International Autojumble - a name that he invented back in 1967 - will never be quite the same.   

 

RIP

[Vitesse2]

Obituary by Michael Ware at Pre-War Car: http://www.prewarcar...tml#addcomments

[Tim Murray]

I'm saddened by this news. Earlier this year I went to Beaulieu for the first time in many years, and visited the Palace House as well as the NMM. I spoke to several of the Palace House guides asking about Lord Montagu and how he was, and it was obvious from the way they spoke about him that they held him in very high regard indeed. As Doug said, he was a good man, and he achieved a great deal, not just in the motoring field. RIP.

[AAGR]

Like Doug, I had the privilege and honour of working with Lord Montagu many times on a whole variety of automotive matters. He was extremely knowledgeable about many aspects of our great passion, and could be kind in so many ways. 

  'Off duty', and in the privacy of his home - Palace House, at Beaulieu - he was refreshingly 'unlordly', and amiable. Two lasting memories I hold are that he often pottered round in the house in carpet slippers, and that when dining in private, or with a very small group of visitors, he would often allow one or other of his dogs to act as a plate-cleaner when the main course was over.  

  RIP to Edward, of course - but I also want to welcome, on  behalf of all of us, his son Ralph, as the new Lord Montagu.

 

AAGR

[D-Type]

In African they have a saying "He cast a tall shadow"  which is definitely applicable to Lord Montagu.  

 

RIP

 

My condolences to his widow, sons and daughter 

Edited by D-Type, 31 August 2015 - 19:33.

[AAGR]

See today's Times, and Daily Telegraph, for long and detailed Obituaries.

 

AAGR

[Lola5000]

RIp peace as a child i treasured his book on vintage cars.

 

On a side note I googled his name ,what a disgrace the Daily mail paper is and there article on his passing.

[Vitesse2]

RIp peace as a child i treasured his book on vintage cars.

 

On a side note I googled his name ,what a disgrace the Daily mail paper is and there article on his passing.

Well, as the Michael Ware piece I linked above put it when discussing his autobiography: "This includes a very frank account of those matters I am sure the general press will pick up on in their obituaries." The Daily Fail never disappoints in that regard. I'm sure they would have loved it if they could have somehow associated him with Hitler too. Or blamed him for harbouring illegal immigrants or causing cancer (everything else does, apparently!)

 

However, we have the NMM as his lasting memorial. With luck, it will still be standing when the Mail has gone broke - although I'm not holding my breath for that!

[Odseybod]

Have a happy memory of visiting the Montagu Motor Museum (as it was), I suppose in the late '50s or very early '60s and then I think located mainly in the house rather than in separate buildings. Two things stuck in the mind - the beautiful tulip-wood Hispano, parked on the gravel outside, and the pleasant gent who paused to share his enthusiasm for all sorts of motors with this young kid, without being condescending or full of 'lordliness' (it was only afterwards I was told he was 'the proprietor').

 

It's hard to over-estimate the debt we owe him. RIP and thank you.

[Allan Lupton]

Ah yes, Tony, in 1961 I and my first Lea-Francis went to a gathering at Beaulieu which was for cars that featured in Lord M's "The Lost Causes of Motoring" published the year before.

The gathering had Edward, ably supported by Michael Sedgwick (as he was with the book), as its host, sadly in the pouring rain, but 'twas dry in the house where we could take refuge for a few minutes from time to time.

[David Birchall]

Sorry to hear this news. I grew up in England with Lord Montague and the NMM as the peak of the "old car" world. I wish his son well with the Museum.

[elansprint72]

http://www.telegraph...u-obituary.html

[f1steveuk]

Another one of those incredibly helpful, generous people who have had the pleasure of knowing and being involved with on various book and TV projects.

Bluebird K7 was removed from Beaulieu for the Orpheus conversion in 1966, and Edward and Donald Campbell were quite the party duo in London in the 1950s and 60s.

Not that many years ago I was sitting in his private library, making notes from some of his father's journals ( his father had suggested an M25 style circular road system in 1920 odd, saying it should have at least ten lanes in either direction to allow for the growth of the motor car, and yet here we are with no where near that still, and massive congestion!!!). Anyway, he came in with a mug of tea for me, and was obviously struggling through age, he had even begun to look old, as we all do. I asked him a question about something, and he quite matter of fact said, "I don't know, let's ring my mother"!!!! He later said she was well into her hundreds and I expected him to follow the family trend, but he wasn't a well man.

I'm sure, even though he's more of a steam train man, Ralph, the new Lord Montagu will keep Beaulieu at the forefront of motor museum's and continue his father's legacy.

[Tim Murray]

His mother died in April 1996, aged 101. I always found it remarkable that he had a father who was born in 1866 and a mother who died in 1996.

[Lola5000]

watching the 1980s film "The thirty nine steps"

 

a number of the Montague cars were in the film including the Silver Ghost and a Prince Henry.

[Glengavel]

I visited the NMM as a young lad in 1976 (persuaded the family to go on holiday in the area) and was very impressed. It would be twenty years before I paid a repeat visit and, whilst I enjoyed it, I thought it seemed a bit tired and faded round the edges. Perhaps, with almost another twenty years(!) behind me, it's time to give it another go.