28 replies to this topic

[Terry Walker]

The VSCC has reported that Allan Tomlinson, who won the 1939 Australian Grand Prix at Lobethal, died in Melbourne yesterday. He was in his mid-90s.

He was the only West Australian to win the AGP.

I last spoke to him two or three years ago at the VSCC headquarters at Caversham. He was then a tall, upright gentleman, trim and fit looking, and only slightly hard of hearing. Over the considerale babble of a large crowd we held quite a chat, standing the whole time. A gentleman.

I'm not sure, but he may have be the last pre-war West Aussie racing driver. All of the others have gone.

[Repco22]

The VSCC has reported that Allan Tomlinson, who won the 1939 Australian Grand Prix at Lobethal, died in Melbourne yesterday. He was in his mid-90s.

He was the only West Australian to win the AGP.

I last spoke to him two or three years ago at the VSCC headquarters at Caversham. He was then a tall, upright gentleman, trim and fit looking, and only slightly hard of hearing. Over the considerale babble of a large crowd we held quite a chat, standing the whole time. A gentleman.

I'm not sure, but he may have be the last pre-war West Aussie racing driver. All of the others have gone.

A wonderful gentleman indeed. I treasure a trophy he awarded when he was a VIP guest at the Albany RTH meeting in '99.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Allan in the MG special with which he won the '39 AGP.
RIP Allan. [aged 92 yrs]

[Ray Bell]

Indeed a fabulous figure...

We recorded a session with him a couple of years ago. That was also in Melbourne, and he still remembered tiny details of the things they did prior to the war.

I think we had a gent named Smith still alive, who was riding mechanic (or driver?) in a Hillman Special that ran at Albany in '39. But that's a few years ago and he may well have also departed.

Certainly, I can think of nobody else still around from the pre-war Grands Prix. At 95, Allan certainly had outlived a great many of his peers.

[Gabrci]

RIP. He was the last pre-war Grand Prix winner, wasn't he?

Of the European pre-war GP drivers I believe only Paul Pietsch and Heinz Brendel are alive and (to my knowledge) nothing is known about Herr Brendel's whereabouts and health.

[HistoryFan]

Was that race a Grand Prix race like that in Europa, I think that were touring cars, weren't they?

[David McKinney]

No, not touring cars. Australian Grands Prix were on the European model, but not to any formula

[Michael Ferner]

Sad news. RIP, AT.

[Ray Bell]

It's interesting that there would be very few here (I can think of two possibilities) posting who were even alive when he won his Grand Prix!

The wonderful thing was when he was reunited with 'his car', or the replica built a couple of years ago. John Medley can tell how he hopped so naturally into it.

[ken devine]

I was born in January 1939. RIP Allan

[nivola]

As a West Australian this has made me feel in some one like the last link to the past has gone.

Never got the chance to meet Allan but had seen him around at a few things.

For me last year getting to see the Replica at PI was amazing and the highlight of the trip. When i wasnt working for my day job i was usually there watching John and his mate working on the car which was being rather temperamental to say the least.

I think Allan will be having a laugh with Clem again.

[Gary Davies]

Some memories of Allan. These items are from the MG Car Club of South Australia website - link.

The colour photograph shows Allen being driven in the Bira K3 by the late and much lamented Phil Brady. One imagines they're having a good chinwag even as we speak.

I hope you find them interesting.

[johnny yuma]

Does anyone have that photo of him after winning the GP. Very young charismatic looking fellow,looked like somebody "from the future",everybody
and everything else around him looks --well--like a page from the history books, "Between the Wars", or some such,but he looked like he could step off the page
and be part of any new generation that came along. RIP young lad.

[ken devine]

I have posted this one on another thread it was taken during the race. I do have one somewhere af the presentation i will look for it.

[ken devine]

Sorry my system is playing up and i did not paste it.





Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[john medley]

Funeral Tuesday 2pm St Thomas' Church cnr College & Melville Streets Claremont, wake 4pm Freshwater Bay Yacht Club

The funeral notice includes the words "He was a great West Australian!"

[hiteknz]

Yes thats sad to hear,another link with the past has gone RIP

[Terry Walker]

A few pics from Allan's career:

On the podium, Lobethal, 1939:



Lobethal, 1939



Lobethal 1940



Lobethal 1940: the wreck of his car. You can see how the carby was set up to breath relatively cool air from the cockpit.



The newly finished body for the MG TA, 1939

[Terry Walker]

Western Australian racing

Winner, Albany, 1938:



Bunbury, 1939:



Allan (right), 1938 with mentor and friend Clem Dwyer, also a race driver and race mechanic of note - (Clem had motorcycle speed recorrds, and built the famous and enduring Plymouth Spl)

[Ray Bell]

Hard to believe that just ten or twelve years ago I used to regularly phone Allan, Clem and Jack Nelson to get information for stories...

I guess I'm fortunate to have been able to do so.

[Terry Walker]

I'd forgotten that Alan was born in June 1916. He's had his 95th birthday a short while ago. When I last saw him he must have been 92, and was fit looking, tall and straight, and would easily have passed for a fit 75 year old. Amazing man. And such a short career - Bought the MG TA new in 1937 after a few minor races at Lake Perkollili in a Ford V8; promptly started winning feature races in Western Australia; won the AGP (and second fastest time, that was a very quick TA) two years later, and finished his career in after just three years. He would undoubtedly could have carried on later, but by the time he recovered from the crash, WW2 was well under way and racing was finished for the duration.

One of the major factors in the sheer speed and reliability of the TA (and you don't associate reliabilty with a supercharged prewar MG in racing) was meticulous prepartion and insistence that the insides of the engine were as perfect as could be. It's doubtful if the TA revved that much faster than others, but it could certainly sustain those high revs for long periods on the very long Lobethal straights.

[john medley]

Some AGT admirers in the east of Australia had a sort-of-wake this week. Are we able to hear of Perth funeral and wake?

[Repco22]

Some AGT admirers in the east of Australia had a sort-of-wake this week. Are we able to hear of Perth funeral and wake?

John, in the absence of a report I offer what little I know; A service was held in a church on a hill overlooking the Claremont showgrounds, not far from where Allan had lived before leaving Australia. Don Hall was at the cemetery and tells me that there were not many people present there and only a few that he recognised from the motoring fraternity.
At 95, Allan probably outlived most of his contemporaries. Ed Farrar and Mike Sherrell arrived in their vintage MGs to pay tribute to Allan's racing achievements. Don didn't attend the wake which was to be held at the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club at nearby Peppermint Grove. After Allan quit racing he took up sailing and was a life member at that club.
A few years ago, maybe seven or eight, Jean and I visited him at his Claremont home, partly to discuss a model I was making of his GP car. He was a gracious host and we enjoyed a chat. I mentioned that I had been the source of a story about him that had recently appeared in the local press. He had been wondering how it had come about.
I had phoned an ex colleague, a leading feature writer, at 'The West Australian' and suggested he write a piece about WA's only GP winner as the Australian Grand Prix was coming up next week. "What Grand Prix?" he had asked. I had to explain that it was a CAR race. The article duly appeared with photo and even a cartoon and soon after, the journo was complimented on ABC radio for a great story. Talk about a news hound!
At the time of our visit, Allan was planning to move to New York to live with his daughter whose place, I understand, overlooked Central Park. As he became more frail he later decided to return to Australia and passed away while living with his son in Melbourne.

[ken devine]

I am told there will be a story in tomorrows Weekend West, Alex Forrest contacted me during the week for photos and i put him onto Terry.

Edited by ken devine, 12 August 2011 - 03:35.

[john medley]

You may not realize the impact Allan had on us over here 3000 miles east of you

Kevin Shearer 1980? threw me the keys of his 1938 lolopping yellow American sedan to drive around Lobethal, so starting my Lobethal obsession. I drove and researched that place for the next 30+ years. I organized good modern racing drivers in modern road cars to vainly match Allan's times. Early 2000s Kevin S gave me Ed Farrar's contact details because I needed to talk to AGT -- and I did, each week. Ed blames me for his contacting Allan, and Ed appointed himself Allan's minder( sometimes it was hard to discern who was minding who) . I told lots of my friends about the place, the man, the time, the achievements. 2006 Beechworth prewar MG Rally I met Ed Farrar and the astonishing Allan: and Mike Conway aided by Harry Hickling and the cinecameraman called Molly made several films. Some of my friends built a replica of the car. Allan 2009 slipped into the replica like a hand in a glove -- and solved the louvre problem. The builder of the replica cried. The 2009 locals at the Woodside Hotel where Allan and Clem and co stayed in 1939 said " what about you blokes on TV? What about that Old Bloke?" We said " That's him here" They said "Cant be. He's not an Old Bloke" Allan cried and was so graceful and gracious at the 2009 Lobethal presentations. My 7 year old proudly shook Allan's hand --and Benny will proudly recall that when he becomes Allan's age as the next century turns. We all saw the man, Rod, who welcomed you and yours to his Claremont home. He was a great human being. Johnny Yuma was spot on when he perceptively identified Allan as a Man Of The Future
Some of us over here on the east coast of Australia had a need to talk, to meet emotionally, and to counsel one another when we heard of his passing. We agree: we are very upset about losing a great man, but we understand that we are privileged and honoured to have known Allan and to have been happily close to him. Robert Rowe and John Lackey and Ed Farrar blame me; I blame Kevin Shearer; but all of us really blame Allan Tomlinson for that

[AnnieOz]

It saddened all of us here in SA to hear of Allan's passing.

John, I'm not sure who Tony Parkinson should blame for his start on the passion for Lobethal and Allan, but there are a lot of us here that lay the blame fairly at Tony's feet for starting us all out on a marvellous adventure. I too remember very clearly Allan speaking at the Sporting Car Club rooms with a memory for detail that stunned us, and then to be at the final presentation with such a humble man who managed to move all of us, himself included, to tears. What an honour and a privilege to have had achance to travel a little way with Allan on his journey.

Thank you Allan for a great ride!

[Vitesse2]

I am told there will be a story in tomorrows Weekend West, Alex Forrest contacted me during the week for photos and i put him onto Terry.

A bit underwhelming if the short piece on their website is all of it ...

http://au.news.yahoo...ad-of-his-time/

[ken devine]

Allan Tomlinson and Tony Parkinson 1957 Anniversary Caversham 2007.




Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Ray Bell]

That photo does no justice to a giant of a man...

It was no less a personage than Doug Whiteford who started me on my personal Lobethal obsession. Predating John's and some others, Lobethal became something of a Mecca to me after I first went there in 1972. To meet Allan Tomlinson was a necessity of my trip to the AGP at Wanneroo in 1979 and, I'm happy to say, a suggestion to the WASCC that they get him to present the trophy for that race was acted upon.

It turned out that the only WA-born winner of the AGP, who won it in SA, presented the only SA-born AGP winner the trophy for winning in WA. That was not lost on John Walker, I'm happy to also relate.

I did meet Allan on that trip and happily I was in a position to awaken more of his presence and the grandeur of Lobethal by virtue of articles I was able to put in Racing Car News. And I asked for the task of recounting the story of that pivotal AGP in the Chevron AGP book, another opportunity to explain to the world that this was simply just not another race result.

We must do something with the 'footage' we took of us interviewing Allan about his life and racing career in Melbourne a couple of years ago. I think he was 92 at the time and it's stunning how much he recalled and was able to easily recount in a most lucid manner.

[Terry Walker]

Alec Forrest gets slightly less than half a tabloid page week for a short column on historric motoring and this week he gave all of it to Allan Tomlinson. He couldn't have made it any longer or added any more pics if he wanted to.