9 o’clock on May Day morning saw an amazing collection of superbly prepared
classics assembled in the car park of the ever popular Royal Oak Pub.
It was the second bi-annual Spirit of Dacorum Historic Vehicle Run organised by
David Furnell and his team whose presentational skills seem to include the provision
of glorious weather.
Fifty odd cars, plus an 1914 American steam driven nine seater Stanley Mountain
Wagon owned by Peter Williams, began a tour of the local countryside with the smell
of oil, coal and Peter Bones’ excellent bacon rolls and fresh coffee in their nostrils to visit the three other starting points at Ashridge Monument, Markyate and Tring before 200 plus vehicles came together for a static display in The Marlowes Shopping Centre in Hemel Hempstead.
A clutch of local enthusiasts from Chipperfield included Lee Gilmour in his Austin
Healy who also arranged the start in front of Tower Hill Garage, Chris Glen in a
Bentley Continental, Lars Ringertz in his MGB, Kevan Cassidy in another Austin
Healey and the writer in a recently repaired fire damaged Jaguar V12 E-type. Peter
Lawrence in his 1915 Ford Model T Speedster probably had the oldest starter and,
indeed, finisher. Of course these cars, although much cosseted by owners, and often
representing a large slice of negative equity, do not always obey the demands of the
route.
The stylish start line on the garage forecourt was reminiscent of the Mille Miglia
events of the 1950s and many drivers coming under the Union Jack starting flag of
Mayor Roger Taylor must have imagined being Stirling Moss all those years ago when
he won the race in a C-type Jaguar at a non-stop average speed of just under 100 mph
for a 1000 miles. One competitor had even more reason to dream as Adam Painter
was driving a 1935 Maserati 4CS which actually took part in no less than two Mille
Miglia. The Dacorum Tour was a much more sedate affair but no less enjoyable.
Hopefully it will run again in 2013 and again make a significant contribution to the
Dacorum Community Trust, a charity to help those in need in the Borough, which this
year realised close to £15,000.
Peter Ingram