British Racing Motors (BRM)

Dutch GP 1959-Jo Bonnier......Dutch GP 1962-Graham Hill......German GP 1962-Graham Hill......Italian GP 1962-Graham Hill......South African GP 1962-Graham Hill......Monaco GP 1963-Graham Hill......American GP 1963-Graham Hill......Monaco GP 1964-Graham Hill......American GP 1964-Graham Hill......Monaco GP 1965-Graham Hill......Italian GP 1965-Jackie Stewart......American GP 1965-Graham Hill......Monaco GP 1966-Jackie Stewart......Belgian GP 1970-Pedro Rodriguez......Austrian GP 1971-Jo Siffert......Italian GP 1971-Peter Gethin......Monaco GP 1972-J-P. Beltoise......

The team was soon under the control of Alfred Owen of the Rubery Owen industrial empire based at Darlaston in the Black Country of England. The team itself was based at Bourne, Lincolnshire.

Bourne, Lincolnshire
(try the superb town guide of Bourne by Rex Needle to find out not only all about Bourne, BRM & Raymond Mays - but also how to set out a top class web site (much better than mine !).

	Bourne was the home of BRM and the previous team of Raymond Mays, the ERA.
	The town has interesting sites linked with the team and Mays.
	Motor racing still lives on in the area due to Hall & Hall (restorers) and Pilbeam (manufacturers)
	These photos of the 50th. birthday parade through the streets of Bourne in August 1999 were generously provided by David Smith.

Baldock’s Mill The Raymond Mays Room is in the Heritage Centre at Baldock’s Mill in Bourne.
"The Raymond Mays Room at the Heritage Centre in Baldock’s Mill in Bourne contains a wealth of memorabilia about the motor racing pioneer such as his goggles, some of his trophies, documents and photographs. The exhibition also remembers all of those who were involved with Raymond Mays in the production of those racing cars that brought prestige to Britain and international motor sport. This is a particularly noteworthy enterprise because it has been financed and executed entirely by volunteers anxious to preserve the name of someone who brought fame to our town. Its main funding comes from the publication of an illustrated booklet "Raymond Mays of Bourne" written in 1994 by Dr. Michael McGregor, a retired local general practitioner, and comprises almost 200 early photographs from Raymond Mays’ career which were found in a trunk in the attic of his home after he died. Sales of the booklet have already raised more than £10,000 for the project and copies are still available at weekends from Baldock’s Mill, price £6, and from the local bookshop Bourne Book World at 19 North Street, Bourne, Lincs. PE10 9AE, United Kingdom."

Eastgate House The family residence of Raymond Mays CBE (1899-1980) was an imposing Regency house in Eastgate and a plaque on the front wall reminds us that he was born here on 1st August 1899 and that this was his lifetime home. Mays established English Racing Automobiles at Bourne in workshops built on the orchard adjoining Eastgate House.

Spalding Road, Bourne was the main BRM factory having 100 employees by 1965. The site was later sold to Delaine Buses.

New workshops were erected in 1960 on the site of the Bourne gas works for the BRMs to be prepared for racing. It was sold and is now an auction salesroom.

Graham Hill Way, an industrial estate off Cherryholt Road, Bourne, is named in memory of BRM's World Champion.

Pilbeam Racing Designs, had it's Bourne factory opened in 1997 by Graham Hill's widow Bette.

Bourne Motor Racing Enthusiasts Club - Bourne Motor Club - The Club was founded in 1996 and covers all aspects of motorsport, from Karting right through to F1 - especially the town's links with B.R.M.

Darlaston, South Staffs.
The team, for most of it's life, was under the control of Alfred Owen of the Rubery Owen industrial empire based at Darlaston in the Black Country of England. The town is no longer part of the ancient county of Staffordshire, being part of the County of West Midlands (created in 1974).

The OWEN MOTORING CLUB website - Owen Motoring Club - is keeping the name of BRM alive. Owen Motoring Club was formed in December 1959 by a group of motoring enthusiasts from the Rubery Owen Engineering Company and keeps the link as Sir Alfred's son, David Owen OBE, is the club's President.

Folkingham Airfield a little way from the village of Folkingham (near Bourne) was used as a testing track from the BRM's official launch on 15th December 1949. The site was also used for early workshops. Engine testing continued on at the site. Later a further dyno testing house was added and was used for commercial projects and the CanAm Chevrolet engines – this is still in use by Hall & Hall for engine work. Hall & Hall (Rick and son Rob) currently have their restoration centre there in place of the earlier Hall & Fowler concern. Former BRM workers Rick Hall and Rob Fowler set up on their own after the 1977 season. In 1981, when BRM finally closed, the pair took over the engine test house on the airfield which now forms part of their more modern workshops.

Ordnance Survey 130/TF050300. West of Aslackby (between Bourne and Folkingham along the A15)

1940 Situated a few miles North of Bourne, Lincolnshire near the village of Folkingham, the site was opened as a decoy airfield which was set up to divert enemy aircraft away from nearby operational airfields.
1941 The dummy airfield was abandoned in 1941 when daylight air raids had almost ceased.
1943 The same site was probably developed as a standard pattern bomber station for No 5 Group, Bomber Command.
Main runway 2000yards
Two subsidiary runways 1,400 yds.
Standard width 50yds.
Perimeter track 50ft. wide approx 3 miles
1944 when Folkingham was ready for use it was handed to the US IXth Air Force, opening on 5^th February. The unit supported four squadrons with a total of 70 C-47 Dakotas transport aircraft.
1944 The unit took part in the D-Day landings delivering 1,181 paratroopers of the 508th Parachute Infantry and the 82nd US Airborne unit to Normandy.
1944 90 transport aircraft delivered paratroopers of the British 1st Parachute Brigade to Arnhem.
1945 Folkingham closed to flying on March 20 1945 and was finally handed over by the USAAF on 15^th. April 1945 to RAF Maintenance Command.
1945 Technical Training Command took over until1946.
1947 Folkingham closed down (again!) on June 27.
1959 From late 1959 three Thor ICBM missiles were operational at Folkingham.
1963 This unit disbanded in August 1963 and the airfield was closed (for the final time!).

New Hall, Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire.
New Hall, Walmley Road, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham.

Alfred Ernest Owen (1869-1929) had his Rubery Owen Company based at Darlaston where he was a major manufacturer of automotive and aerospace components.
Like many successful Victorian industrialists, Ernest (as he was known) invested som of his walth in a property to match his standing.

"Ernest Owen lived in an ancient moated mansion known as New Hall, although it was originally built about the year 1200 in the manor of Sutton Coldfield. It was extensively rebuilt in the sixteenth century and both the great hall and the banqueting hall have their walls lined with beautifully carved-oak paneling of the period and ceilings of moulded plasterwork, elaborately ornamented and painted. Surrounded by a deep clear moat, spanned by two stone bridges, New Hall is set in beautiful gardens and extensive wooded grounds which contain an ancient water mill and old fish ponds.
Ernest Owen acquired the property early this century for his family home and it provided the room to display his collections of furniture, paintings and object d'art. The dry dark vault, affectionately known as "the dungeons", provided the ideal storage condition for his large print collection, hence the brilliant clean state in which they were rediscovered after 60 years, on the eventual disposal of the property."
The previous information was found in the site detailing Ernest Owen's important collection of early Victorian colour prints by J.M. Kronheim & Co. of London to the Baxter patent oil colour printing processes - http://www.acid.co.uk/acid/hp.htm.

Despite its name, Sutton Coldfield's New Hall is reputed to be the oldest listed inhabited moated house in England. Seven miles from Birmingham, it is set back from the roadside, surrounded by 26 acres of gardens and boasts an eventful history. William The Conqueror executed its first owner, and subsequent residents included several Earls Of Warwick. After his father, Ernest, Sir Alfred Owen, as chairman of Rubery Owen and Company Limited took over the property. Industrialist Michael Blakemore was the last person to live at New Hall as a private residence before Thistle Hotels bought it in 1985.
Now a luxury country house hotel run by Ian and Caroline Parkes, its proximity to the NEC (National Exhibition Centre) has meant visits from stars such as Robbie Williams and Cliff Richard. And if the lounge, with its views of manicured lawns and topiary, evokes the sort of showbiz grandeur demanded by Pavarotti (whose picture hangs above the reception desk), then the restaurant recalls the lives of the English nobility. The dining room dates back to Anglo Saxon times and still contains the original 17th century fireplace, along with windowpanes made of 16th century Flemish glass. The restaurant has an impressive pedigree, having held the highest RAC award, the Blue Ribbon, for the last six years. It is also listed by this year's Harden's guide to top restaurants in the UK.
With the ever-watchful Caroline Parkes making sure the restaurant runs smoothly and the guests are pampered, it is difficult to find anything sub-standard about our visit. Our bill, which included pre-dinner drinks from the bar, came to £106 for two. This seemed on the expensive side but, given the superb food and location, New Hall is nothing less than a total gem.
From a "Food and Drink" review by Annette Rubery for the Metro, 28/3/2001