1925 Morris Oxford 'Red Flash'

[PAH]

This car was raced at Brooklands in Surrey between 1926 and 1928 by HR Wellsteed and Cyril Paul. Does anyone have any details of which races it took part in and whether any photographs exist of it in action.

I am aware it is currently in the Heritage Motor Museum at Gaydon as went to see it there two weeks ago.

I am researching this as I am a member of the Wellsteed family, grand-child to RK Wellsteed who owned the car after HRW's death in 1930.

Many thanks

[John Turner]

Welcome PAH. I hope that you get some responses. Do you have 'Bill' Boddy's book 'Brooklands - The Complete Motor Racing History'? I haven't found any photos but Wellsteed is mentioned a few times and in the first mention, Boddy refers to him driving a Morris Oxford with a cowled radiator and an old racing body from a 'racing Gwynne Eight'.

[TimD]

This won't be complete, but these are the only events I have the Red Flash competing at:

April 5 1926
75mph Short Handicap - unplaced
75mph Long - unplaced

August 6 1928
75mph Short - unplaced
90mph Short - unplaced

HRW also raced in the 1929 BARC 6 hours, sharing E Thomas' Lea Francis.

I've found one picture of the car in period. It's in AB Demaus' "Motor Sport in the Twenties" published by Sutton in 1989. The pic on page 19 shows the car at the 1928 August meeting, where it was entered as the "Wellsteed Special" with two people on board. One is Cyril Paul, but the other is not identified by Demaus.

Not a difficult book to track down, should be stocked by most of the usual suspects, even though it's long since been seconded and out of print.

[PAH]

Thank you both for your replies.

I have brought a copy of the AB Demaus book which arrived this morning. My Mother is not sure of the identity of the passenger but there is a possiblity it was HR Wellsteed. It looks from the photo as if the Wellsteed special was the original name and Red Flash came later.

The Boddy is on my list to get, bit expensive so I may borrow from the library first.

For your interest there is a picture of Red Flash on the Gaydon website in the museum section. I am sitting in her and my mother is standing next to the car.