Guide to Committee Members

Q: How many years have you been on the committee, and what was your first post?
A: I joined in 1969. I was on the committee within six months and then I was Social Secretary for 3-4 years. I've only ever held three positions - that, Chairman on and off, and President at one point.

Q: How did you get involved in motorsport?
A: I used to ride motorbikes until a rather bad accident put me off work for about a year. I was recently married and one day Andy Bennett came into my flat in Streatham and suggested we went to the Mitcham Fete where we saw the SCC stand. We found they met at the Driftbridge so we staggered off there the next Wednesday (as club nights were then). They seemed a reasonable bunch so we joined just because it was something to do. It was smaller then, about 30-40 members. We became joint Social Secs - we probably looked like mugs! Andy had a Mini so I said I'd navigate (it wasn't called co-driving then) even though I didn't know one end of a map from another. We did the Regis rally but although it was fun we just didn't gel as a crew. Then SCC assimilated Eden Park and Ravensbury motor clubs and I met Mike Wade - an ex-Army drummer turned florist(!) He was more than 10 years older than me, a very good driver, and he and I teamed up in his very rapid 1098S. We did local championships, then Motoring News events and it all went from there.

Q: What sort of events did you organise as Social Sec?
A: I really enjoyed inventing and organising a "What The Papers Say" forum. I'd invite all the motoring press editors - Motoring News, Autosport, MotorSport, CCC, the lot - and I'd act as chairman and ask questions. We would get 2-300 people turning up. I think that's how I got into the mainstream of motorsport.

Q: What does being Chairman involve?
A: That's a very leading question - I've never done a job spec for Chairman! I think it is to... I hope... have more balls than anyone else, to be slightly hard if I have to. But at the same time to remember that all committee members do it voluntarily, most of them want to contribute because they're nice. This makes it very difficult to handle people who don't do things well.

Q: How have you seen the club change over the years?
A: I've always said that clubs survive and prosper by being high profile, and I am always working to raise Southern's profile. We have done a lot of things people said couldn't be done, and the club as a whole should be proud of this. In 1973 we hadn't run a championship road rally for 15 years so while I was spending more time in hospital I designed one and we got 120-150 entries for three years. Then in the mid 70's we decided that road rallying was not the way to go and we should try and organise a major stage rally. I got talking to Adrian Grinsted, he organised excellent sponsorship and the Happy Eater Southern Stages was born - using stages as varied as the Beddington Sewage Treatment Works, Crystal Palace and forests round Cranleigh. The sponsorship got us an astonishing profile; 100 journalists came to the press lunch at the Heathside. That ran its course and in the early 1980's we started to work with Croydon to create a round of the National Rally Championship in Southern England - again something people said would never happen. The Winter Rally Committee now isn't just Southern members - it's a collection of all the finest organisers in the area. Another example is Paul Smith's BTRDA-round PCT. People said it could never be organised this close to London. Organisers in Wales were slipping farmers a bottle of Scotch to borrow a field, and the first time we organised it we paid £500 for the venue - because we knew our organisation was so much better than anyone else's. And the London International was another example, where other people had been struggling to organise it for over 18 months. We drew up a proposal with our own team, replacing their people, and we got it organised. That's what drives me.

Q: That's the major events, what about other club events?
A: I strongly support the social side of the club - there's a lot of truth in the saying that people who play together stay together. It's so important that the club meets every week so that people know they can come down whenever they want.

Q: I hear you are encouraging other members to consider standing for Chairman.
A: Yes, to be honest I believe the club needs a change of chairman every three years - perhaps we should redraft the constitution to say that... and that could apply to all the roles because people do get stale. But whatever happens I'll still contribute - I've been a member for 30 years, I hope I've contributed a massive amount and I would never ever let this club down. But I do believe it helps to have variety.

Q: Have you ever been tempted to drive?
A: No, I've never been a driver - I've only driven in one 12-car in my life. I've always wanted to be a co-driver. I think they make better organisers because they are used to worrying about maps, timescales and organisation. It's fun to work with competitors and I like to make events good for them. I also enjoy my work on the judicial side - I'm on the RAC judicial committee, a steward and a tribunal chairman. It's unpaid but good fun.

Q: What was your worst event?
A: My best and worst was the 1981 RAC, which I did with John Weatherley in a Citroen Visa - the world's best 1400cc car, now, then and in the future. We were seeded 91st behind Philip Wombaugh who was the French works entry. The RAC ran for five days then and on the morning of the 4th day we were 14th overall and 20 minutes in front of Philip when John chucked it off in Kielder. We would have been in the top 10, the equivalent of Stig's recent Skoda drive.