It was with great sadness that I learned today that Lord Strathcarron of Banchor has died at the age of 82.
President of the Guild of Motoring Writers for more than 30 years, some of you may remember him as the motoring correspondent for The Field, as well as contributing to Advanced Motoring and Hoot! a website magazine.
An Old Etonian, David William Anthony Blyth Macpherson to give him his full name, was a pilot, appeared in vintage motor car racing and was a champion of transport on two wheels as well as speaking on motoring subjects in the House of Lords.
He founded the Strathcarron automotive supply company, remaining a consultant to the firm right up until his death at the end of August.
A charming and delightful man who treated everyone as an equal, I spent many an hour in his company over dinner at various events; we were regularly entertained about his vast fund of stories about his motoring experiences, many of them extremely amusing.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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My father was in the motor industry and he took me (then a teenager) once or twice to the Guild of Motoring Writers' (I think) press test day at Silverstone in the early 70's. Here journo's could thrash cars like Maxis, Capris etc. round the circuit .
I had been pestering my dad to get me a ride in a car. Eventually he fixed up for me and two other people to ride a few laps of the circuit in a metallic blue Jensen Interceptor SP (7.2 litre with 'six-pack' carburettor) driven by Lord Strathcarron. I remember the car got up to about 150 mph, with dizzying acceleration. It also got boiling hot inside .
Strathcarron was regarded as a safe driver, I think, compared to some of the others. While we were out on the circuit, there was another famous motoring journo, Bunny Tubbs, trying to keep up in a 'newfangled' Jensen Healy.
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>>press test day at Silverstone>>
It was held at Donington during the years I used to go, later switched to the MIRA track.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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David William Anthony Blyth Macpherson, 2nd Baron Strathcarron (23 January 1924 - 31 August 2006)
Was best known as the "motorcycling peer". He inherited the Barony on his father's death in 1937, and was the longest-serving member of the House of Lords when, along with most other hereditary peers, he lost his seat in Parliament 1999 after the introduction of the House of Lords Act 1999. He served in the RAF in the Second World War, and raced motor vehicles after the war. He was the motoring correspondent of The Field from 48 years, from 1954 to 2002. He died seven weeks after an accident involving a dustcart.
Lord Strathcarron's father was Ian Macpherson, a government minister in the cabinet of Lloyd George who had been created Baron Strathcarron in 1936. He attended Eton College and Jesus College, Cambridge. After the outbreak of the Second World War, he joined the RAF in 1941, flying Wellingtons for Coastal Command in the Atlantic. He continued to fly as a private pilot after the war, until the 1980s.
His interest in motor vehicles began in his youth, and was bought a Morgan Super Sports for his 16th birthday. He took up motor racing after he left the RAF, competing against Stirling Moss in 500cc racing. He raced vintage cars from his own collection, including Bentleys, Alfa Romeos, Austin Healeys and Jensens. In 1963, he wrote an account of his experiences in motor racing, entitled Motoring for Pleasure. He won the Lords versus Commons motor race at Brands Hatch in 2000, aged 76. After he retired as motoring correspondent of The Field in 2002, he wrote a column for the website Hoot!, entitled "View from a Peer".
During his time in Parliament, Lord Strathcarron was involved in many motoring issues, and was chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Motorcycling Group. He was involved in creating the system of Compulsory Basic Training for learner motorcyclists, introduced in December 1990. He usually voted with the Conservative Party, but rarely spoke.
He married four times. The title was inherited by Ian David Patrick Macpherson, 3rd Baron Strathcarron, the elder of the two sons from his second marriage.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Further to my earllier post, my father, who is in his 80's, was quite upset to learn of Lord Strathcarron's death. He knew him quite well and was in the Cambridge Air Squadron with him (I only just learned this).
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Met Lord Strathcarron on the same occasion as Clarkson. ne turned up on time and was a gentleman, the other was an hour late and expected everything to start again for him.
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