The Brooklands Podcast

On the night of 16/17 May 1943 the RAF’s recently formed 617 Squadron carried out what was probably the most famous air raid of all time. A combination of the genius of Barnes Wallis and the astonishing courage and skill of the crews saw two major German dams breached and a third damaged, leading to loss and disruption to the Nazi war economy. Normally kept top secret, the aerial reconnaissance photos of the ruptured dams and consequent flooding were transmitted around the world, giving the Allies a major propaganda coup.

How was the technology for the raid developed? Was the raid worth the lives of the 53 aircrew who perished on the night? How accurate was the epic 1955 Dambusters movie?

Harry Sherrard presents a fascinating talk on the 80th anniversary of the raid for a fascinating presentation about one of the greatest feats of arms of World War 2.

Philip Hogge first learned to fly in 1958 by completing a gliding course with the Air Cadets. He then obtained an RAF Flying Scholarship while still at school and learned to fly a Tiger Moth, gaining his Private Pilot’s Licence. In 1962 he joined BOAC where he flew the Britannia 312 (the last propeller service across the Atlantic), then Brooklands built VC10s, Boeing 707s and eventually 747s. He was Flight Training Manager on 707s and then 747s, before becoming Chief Pilot on 747s, and finally GM Flight Operational Services in British Airways’ flight operations department.

Airline flying in the 1960s was still an era of glamour, adventure and excitement in what Phil fondly recalls as the Golden Age of Flying. He has written two volumes of short stories in which he recalls, in fictional form, the challenges and enjoyment he and his colleagues shared in those days.

Patrick Lynch, the author of "At The Greatest Speed", tells the story of Gordon Bennett who was an American millionaire who inherited a fortune from his publisher father. He supported emerging technology and sport and, in 1899, fascinated by the new motor cars, he instigated the International Gordon Bennett Cup. The inaugural race took place in 1900 between Paris and Lyon, with three countries participating. The 1903 Cup, which was held in Ireland, was a world first in its use of a closed-circuit course, setting the template for future circuit racing. It was also the first international motor race in the British Isles, and was contested by future Brooklands racer Selwyn Edge. Bennett’s promotion of these events boosted the global car industry and established international motorsport.

This episode is given over to the VSCC Winter Driving Tests held at Brooklands at the end of January.

Britain’s V bombers comprised the RAF’s strategic nuclear strike force aircraft during the Cold War. The three models of bomber were the Vickers Valiant, the Handley Page Victor and the Avro Vulcan, which famously flew extremely long-range ground attack missions against Argentine positions in the Falklands War in 1982. Our speaker Andy Richardson served in the RAF from 1960 to 1980, including six years crewing on the Avro Vulcan. His talk will cover the need for these machines in the Cold War era, their design and development, how crews were selected, trained and lived and how events would have unfolded if they ever had to launch in anger.

People lie, cheat, steal and even kill for a variety of reasons, one of which is to go motor racing, a particularly expensive and egotistical sport. This intriguing book, the result of years of research, encompasses not just those who have been ‘driven to crime’ in order to pay for their sport but also characters within motor racing who have been involved in wrongdoing, sometimes through no fault of their own. Over 60 true stories cover webs of deceit and numerous crimes including drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement, robbery, fraud, murder and money laundering. The author investigates misdemeanours at all levels, from drivers, designers and mechanics to team owners, entrants and sponsors. This book will appeal not only to motor racing enthusiasts and cognoscenti on both sides of the Atlantic but also to anyone who enjoys reading about crime.

Tim Morris looks forward to events taking place in the first three months of 2023 at the museum and highlights Mike Wilds talk of nearly 60 years in motorsport.

Tim looks back at two guest speakers who are no longer with us, Paddy Hopkirk and Tony Brooks. He links Synth Pop with Brooklands and in the news section looks at the new events from 2022 and those to look forward to in 2023 and the success of Innovations day in November.

Brooklands welcomes an FIA world champion – Mike Wilds, who won the 1986 Group C2 World Sportscar Championship with Ecurie Ecosse. Mike began racing in 1965 and has competed in a vast array of machinery, including Formula 3, Formula 5000, Le Mans prototypes, GTs and Touring Cars, driving for works teams and collecting 12 British Championships along the way.

In the early 1970s Mike reached Formula 1, securing a works BRM drive, before famously being sacked by the team’s mercurial owner, Louis Stanley, for impugning the BRM engine! Mike, who is one of Britain’s most popular racers, will share with us a wealth of anecdotes from his incredible 50 + year motorsport career.

Tim looks back at what was delivered at Brooklands in 2022 and highlights our last talk of the year, car designer Peter Stevens.