7 replies to this topic

[ChrisD]

I am trying to obtain a copy of the Jaguar Magazine issue #183 ....  or, to be more precise a copy of the article in that issue about Nick Haines (Nick Haines, Mystery Man). 

 

I have emailed the magazine and some of its staff members a number of times, but get no response.  I have also had a search on eBay for a while now, also with no luck.

 

Can anyone help, please?

[cooper997]

Chris, I'm assuming this is the Australian title?.

 

If so, I can't help with issues that late, but Les Hughes is on facebook. His mainly Jaguar related comments appear on Bob Williamson's photo site.

like here https://www.facebook...1&theater&ifg=1

 

Stephen

[les2ours]

Chris

What christian names do you have for L. H. 'Nick' Haines ?

 

cheers

Dave

[ChrisD]

Chris

What christian names do you have for L. H. 'Nick' Haines ?

 

cheers

Dave

Hi Dave.  'Nick' Haines was actually Leonard Harry Haines.  I have recently (since my posting 6/11 above) obtained a copy of the article I was after.  It is a short biog of Nick Haines.  If you are interested, I have converted it to a Word document and you are welcome to a copy

 

Chris.

[Rupertlt1]

Hi Dave.  'Nick' Haines was actually Leonard Harry Haines.  I have recently (since my posting 6/11 above) obtained a copy of the article I was after.  It is a short biog of Nick Haines.  If you are interested, I have converted it to a Word document and you are welcome to a copy

 

Chris.

 

Can I suggest you cut and paste the article here? RGDS RLT

[ChrisD]

Can I suggest you cut and paste the article here? RGDS RLT

Here is the text of the article.  There were also several photos of Nick Haines, mainly driving works Jags (it was in the Jaguar magazine after all) .  Chris

 

NICK NAINES, MAN OF MYSTERY

EDITION 183  JAGUAR MAGAZINE

We have featured very few, if any, truly mysterious people in this magazine.  Most are sufficiently known for us to have been able to speak to a contact who knew them, or at the very least we could research through archives.  Not so in this case, and even more astounding is the fact that this person co-drove with Donald Healey in the 1948 Mille Miglia, finished seventh at Le Mans in 1949 in an Aston Martin - and was 12th there in 1950 driving his works supported aluminium bodied Jaguar XK120.  That high placing encouraged Jaguar to create the XK120C, or C-Type, and win the race the next year ...

His name was Leonard Harry Haines, and he came from the affluent Sydney harbourside suburb of Rose Bay.  Known as ‘Nick’, he was a flamboyant character, but with the passing of time, and racing in an era before electronic international communications, he is an enigma.  Leonard Haines was born in Adelaide in 1911 before moving to Sydney with his mother Alice.  He joined the Royal Australian Air Force during WW2 while in the UK, probably at university, and was seconded into the RAF’s Second Tactical Air Force as a navigator.  2TAF was formed on June 1, 1943 as HQ Tactical Air Force to invade Europe a year later.  It took units from both Fighter Command and Bomber Command in order to form a force capable of supporting the Army in the field.  Flight Lieutenant Haines was highly accomplished, and it was recorded in the December 23, 1944 edition of the Australian Women’s Weekly, that:  “He played a modern Winged Cupid along with English pilot, Fl Lt. Peter Horsley, by carrying many messages between Prince Bernhardt and Princess Juliana of Holland.  He flew distinguished passengers into Europe and other secret destinations including Field-Marshal Montgomery, Lady Louis Mountbatten, Marlene Dietrich, Googie Withers, Noel Coward plus Flanagan and Allen.   “They flew Prince Bernhardt when he made his dramatic re-entry into Holland, and as a result, now know him quite well.  Their latest errand of friendship was to take him a parcel of spark plugs for his car ...”

It is certain Haines was very wealthy.  He lived at 83 Duke Street, Grosvenor Square in London with his glamorous wife Marjorie (Newbury)[1].  They married in Marylebone in 1947 and had a family.  He  owned a prestige car sales business, and Nick was in the right place at the right time. He formed strong associations with Donald Healey and David Brown of Aston Martin who were both fighting to get back into production. Haines sold, serviced and supplied spares for both Healey and Aston Martin, and was the official distributor for Healey in Belgium.

In April 1948 the Healey factory prepared its first two vehicles for competition, a Healey Saloon (GWD 42) and a Roadster (GWD 43).  Both vehicles were registered at Warwick on April 21, 1948 in readiness for the Mille Miglia. The first Post-War Mille Miglia in 1947, was made up entirely of Italian entries, and so in an effort to promote the British car industry, an official works Healey was a team of three cars, the factory prepared vehicles, and a Saloon, driven by Count Johnny Lurani.  They were the only non-Italian cars in the 1948 event.

GWD 42, car #37, was the first Healey to leave the starting ramp at Brescia, driven by Haines and Rudolfo Haller - the first non-Italian and British car to take part in the event Post-War.  After passing Rome, and at around 300 miles, the torque rod broke so they found a local garage where it was welded and refitted within 50 minutes.  It only lasted another 50 or so miles.  They continued until the Futa Pass, around two-thirds distance, when the gearbox mainshaft seized and forced them out. He ran it in the Spa 24 Hour race, finishing an excellent runner-up in class, second only to a full-race works Delage, which re-passed it  close to the end of the race.  The Healey was re-sprayed British Racing Green - from light copper metallic - to form part of the British team sent to Montlhery near Paris for the 12 Hours race.  It joined another Westland, two Aston Martins and four HRGs.  Both Healeys retired because of suspension failure, caused by the banked track and poor surface, although a month later at the same circuit, a 100 mph record was achieved. The same team ran at Goodwood, and that year Haines and Donald Healey partnered for the 1948 Alpine Trial - which they would have won outright had they not lost 45 minutes helping an injured competitor! In 1949 Haines joined with David Brown to race Aston Martins in one of just three team racers produced by the firm that year.  The DB1/2 prototype was fitted with a two-litre engine. Arthur Jones and Nick Haines drove it at Le Mans, had numerous issues, but they were the only Aston Martin factory team car to finish, taking seventh outright.  It is recorded that Haines was a personal friend of William Lyons, and his competition results also left an impression on the head of Jaguar’s fledgling XK120 racing team, Lofty England.

Jaguar entered the only three XK120s it built in the One Hour Production Car race at Silverstone in 1949 - and won.  Such was the demand for the spectacular sportscar that Jaguar rushed it into a form of slow production, sending all but six of its aluminium bodied cars overseas where they quickly sold. Lofty hand-picked just a few potential owners in the UK, and offered them one of four XK120s available - if they ran them in competition in order to gain maximum publicity for Jaguar.  Nick Haines got his, the second car - chassis #41.  Chassis #40 was allocated to Leslie Johnson, #42 to Peter Walker, #43 was for Italian legend Clemente Biondetti while #44 was NUB120 for Ian Appleyard and William Lyons daughter Pat Appleyard. It is the most famous XK120 of all time and was one of the historic few owned by Jaguar Cars during Sir William Lyons’ tenure. Jaguar retained ownership of chassis #43, and Tommy Wisdom got chassis #57 in which young Stirling Moss would win spectacularly that year in a very wet Dundrod Tourist Trophy race in Northern Ireland. On the business front, things were going very well too for the ambitious Australian, who was recorded as a British competitor, as was the done thing then, especially with a works-supported entry.  Because of his acumen, and links to Belgium, Lofty England and William Lyons set him up as co-founder and owner of the Jaguar distributorship in that country.  His co-partner was the forthright and somewhat notorious Madame Joska Bourgeois who had flown illegally to the UK soon after the War in controversial circumstances.  She apparently got herself to William Lyons’ home - and approached him to take on Jaguar sales in her home country!  She and her sister came from a very noble and wealthy family, but this lady was determined to be a success in her own right.  Lofty and Lyons though were not so sure, so agreed only if Nick Haines was her equal partner.  The Belgium market was such a success for Jaguar that MkVs were even assembled there in the very early 1950s after a tax was imposed on imported cars.

Haines upheld his end of the arrangement with Lofty, and debuted the factory-prepared car in the Mille Miglia in April.  The car was officially delivered to him in March, but spent almost its entire time in the Experimental Department under Phil Weaver, being prepared to Nick’s demanding satisfaction.  A huge number of modifications were made to all aspects from the engine to carburettors, seats, fuel pump, lights and a kilometres speedometer - because it was registered in Belgium.  That Mille Miglia was held in appalling weather with scores of accidents, some fatal.  He and Rudi Haller worked their way up to ninth, but near the end Nick crashed into a wall in the middle of Moderna.  

Le Mans was in June, and Nick wrote to Lofty England with a long list of changes he wanted - particularly to the brakes.  Each of the three XK120s was allocated a works mechanic, and he was loaned Joe Thrall.  His co-driver was Peter Clark, and at the end of lap one the car was in seventh place.  Haines later stated it was difficult not to exceed the top revs on Mulsanne Straight, which equated to 130 mph.  They suffered clutch slip but still brought it home in a splendid 12th place.  It was the first Jaguar to ever complete a Le Mans 24 Hour race, and it is possible Haines could have been part of the winning C-Type team in 1951 had fate not taken a hand.   He and Clark ran in the Alpine Rally, and again had braking issues, running off the road three times - but - they finished.  Tony Rolt was second outright in it for the Silverstone International in September to record a Jaguar one-two finish.

Rolt, a War hero and winner of Le Mans in 1953, and Haines were paired to drive the XK120 in the final race of the season, the TT in Northern Ireland.  The track comprised a temporarily closed public road, not unusual then, but it was also notoriously dangerous, and the weather was foul. An accident seems to have become a tragedy when Nick crashed heavily in the first practice session on the seven and a half miles long track.  The circuit comprised fourteen right hand and seven left hand bends, littered with potholes, white lines and broken surfaces.  It had no run-off areas, and deep roadside drainage ditches to cater for the Irish weather.  Twenty-two motor cycle racers and two officials died on the Dundrod circuit in competition.  Four others were killed in cars between 1951 and 1955 when it closed for car events.  Three of those fatalities occurred on the same day in 1955.

Nick and Tony were car number #8, Moss’ ‘sister’ XK120 wore the number #7 - which became his traditional visual moniker for the rest of his hallowed career.  Nick crashed at Quarterlands, turn five, in the Dundrod village, and on a sweeping right hand bend. The XK120 would not be seen for over thirty-five years.  Nick would never race again - and indeed, he totally disappeared. 

Stirling Moss drove an heroic TT to win the most impressive race of his short but busy career to that point.  He declared that victory in the Wisdom-owned chassis #57, was the most important of his career.  Lofty signed him up on the spot.

It seems likely the injuries sustained by Nick in the crash incapacitated him seriously.  The car was retained in the Haines family’s possession until 1986, when Jaguar historic racer and restoration specialist John Pearson bought it for his wife Ursula.  It was untouched from that day in 1950, but John rebuilt it in his best style, retaining all of the original components including engine, gearbox, axles, the undamaged body panels and most of the interior trim.  The engine was overhauled by Jaguar factory expert George Hodge, the gearbox and axles by Alan George and the body by R.S. Panels in Nuneaton.  The Pearsons displayed it often until 2001 when it was sold to Charles Bromage, and a few years later to Hans-Martin Schneeberger in Switzerland.  He uses it often, and has fitted painted wire wheels in place of the original solid steel units. Joska Bourgeois bought Nick Haines’ share of their business, and went on to make a fortune from Jaguar and other marques including Toyota.

Inchcape bought Joska Bourgeois’s Japanese car distribution business, the International Motor Company, for £14,600,000 in 1979.  She was never far from controversy, and a huge scandal erupted in the late 1990s when it emerged former Jaguar CEO, Geoffrey Robinson, then Labour member for Coventry North West, had been loaned, by Joska Bourgeois, the money to set up a new business, TransTec.  She took such a shine to Sheffield-born Robinson that, on her death at the age of 81, she left him a trust fund in Guernsey worth £12,000,000. Her tax-sheltered offshore bequest played its part in undoing Robinson’s political career.  Its existence came to public notice just when, after a quarter-century of intermittent activity on the Labour back benches, Mr Robinson had become a Treasury minister in Tony Blair’s new government.  Not long after he, of all ministers, was put in charge of a government effort to winkle out offshore tax havens.  An indignant Robinson, who abruptly replaced Lofty England as the head of Jaguar in 1973, could see nothing hypocritical, let alone illegal, although he had not forgone his ministerial salary, and set up blind trusts.  Robinson was forced to resign his ministerial job.

Nick Haines entire life story is still elusive after 1950, but he joined the British Racing Driver’s Club in 1948, and was a member until his death in 1969 in Palma, on the Spanish Balearic Island, Majorca.  According to BRDC membership records, he had been ill for a very long time.  Perhaps since the crash?  Cruelly, he was only fifty-eight years old. It seems likely he never came back to Australia, and has been unrecognised in his home country as a Le Mans racer.  It is worth pondering where the future could have taken Nick Haines with Jaguar, but when Jaguar PR executive Bob Berry crashed his D-Type at Dundrod in 1955, his boss, Sir William Lyons, gave him the ultimatum to either quit racing or working at Jaguar.  A principle which stuck in William Lyons mind?

It is refreshing that Nick Haines has been found and given the credit due to him.  If we uncover more about the man with the help of Chris Starkey, we will publish it here,

[1] Marjorie (Maggi), on 9th January 2018, aged 96, peacefully in Winchester, formerly of Majorca. Wife of the late Nick Haines and a much loved aunt and great-aunt.   http://announcements...s/220701/haines

[Jager]

Thanks for  sharing the article. As an Australian I've always wanted to know more about Nick Haines since acquiring a model of his 1950 Le Mans Jaguar.

 

[les2ours]

L.H. 'Nick' Haines.

 

Leonard Harry Haines (AUS)  b. 09/05/1911 Adelaide SA. d 13/05/1969 Palma Mallorca (E)

 

can't be sure on day/month of Birth!

cheers

Dave