Jeffrey Walter Heselwood (1948-2019)
Always well turned out Jeff Heselwood was a battler.
He started out in racing in the UK as a mechanic, in the 1971 Formula 2 season, initially with Ron Dennis and subsequently with the Automovil Club Argentina team, running Brabham BT36s for Carlos Reutemann and Carlos Reusch. A season driving a Ford Escort Mexico racer followed in 1973. By this time Jeff had established a garage business, Jemwood Cars, at Cobham, Surrey.
By the eighties he had run out of road in the UK and decided to try Hong Kong, arriving in December 1984. He embarked on the precarious life of a freelance journalist, writing on motoring topics and every other subject under the sun. Credits included the South China Morning Post and Hongkong Standard where they typically paid $1HKD a word. He soon branched out into broadcasting and public relations. Covered the Asia beat, also Formula One on RTHK radio.
For the Macau Grand Prix he edited and produced a glossy magazime called Motorsport Macau, later named for the year, for example MotorSport'94.
He regaled us with yarns from the old days about Ron Dennis and other UK racing chums. He was a regular visitor to the British Grand Prix on trips back home.
Seen behind the bar in Pomeroy's Wine Bar upstairs on Level 3, The Mall, Pacific Place, HK, where he was Managing Director, in a brief business venture. Jeff also operated a bookshop franchise, Dymocks, in the Peak Tower for a while.
No stranger to the Old China Hand, Wanchai; Dublin Jack's, Central HK; the Foreign Correspondents' Club, HK; also Oskar's Bar, Holiday Inn, Macau.
Latterly Jeff lived and worked in Thailand.
RGDS RLT
Edited by Rupertlt1, 02 March 2023 - 07:19.
