The Birkin family home was Ruddington Hall a large white building on the east of the A60 Nottingham-Loughborough road. When I last went passed it was a nursing home.
Sir Henry served in WWI first in the Sherwood Forresters and subsequently, I believe in the RFC from where his Captain's rank comes. He was known in the early 20s locally as a fast and furious driver and certainly owned a sports Salmson at one time.
It's worth remembering that Wally Hassan rode with Brikin as his mechanic in the German Grand Prix in 1928 when the race was run for sports cars. Birkin drove a 4.5 litre Bentley and finished 8th behind 4 Mercedes-Benz and 3 Type 35 Bugattis. Wally Hassan considered the drive to have been outstanding in an outclassed car and believed that Birkin was the Jim Clark of his day. An opinion which should be respected as he knew them both.
A hero for sure
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23 Mar 2007, 15:08 (Ref:1874538)
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