1936 Bentley 4¼ Litre Park Ward ‘Close Coupled’ Sports Saloon
A very well-specified example, with a plethora of extra instrumentation and switches on the dashboard, twin fuel fillers, twin side-mounted spare wheels, and various other deviations from ‘standard’.Originally built for Geoffrey Smith, managing editor of ‘The Autocar’ magazine, and specified with many extras and deviations, well documented in various publications, including mentions in four different editions of ‘On The Road’, the contemporary magazine produced by Bentley in the thirties. The history file with the car has copies of some of these, together with other documentation, handbook, etc. The car is in good all-round condition, and has a very impressive frontal appearance, with its selection of lamps and horns. Driving well, sounding good, and looking very handsome in two shades of cream, with red double pinstripe and red leather interior. Offered MoT tested.
Chassis No. B100GA.
Reg No. CXR 3.
Price £47,500.
Snippets: Autocar & A Double Royal Connection
George Geoffrey Smith (1885/1951) was best known for his involvement with the Autocar & Motorcycle publications however it should also be noted that during WWI he was the Inspecting Officer of the Motor Machine Gun Service of the Royal Artillery. During this period, he recruited over 10,000 despatch riders, mobile machine gunners & armoured car drivers – in 1919 in acknowledgment of this remarkable achievement he was awarded and MBE. In 1917 Geoffrey Smith transferred from the army to serve with the Royal Flying Corp. After war ended he returned to work for the Iliffe company and in 1923 he became a director of the firm. In 1927 his wife Margaret died leaving Geoffrey with two sons to bring up and this he did with the help of a governess Joan Arnull who he married in 1935. G. Smith also wrote several books with subjects being: Frederick Royce, Aeronautical Theory & practice, Modern Diesel engines & also Gas Turbines.
By 1937 B100GA was with the Hon. John H. Hare the 1st Viscount Blakenham, his wife was the Hon Nancy Pearson daughter of 2nd Viscount Cowdray and grand-daughter of Lord Edward Spencer Churchill with infinite connections to the Spencer Churchill family tree and of course our current Royal heirs via the Spencer family. During WWII John Hare served with in Italy with the Suffolk Yeomanry, as a result of his war actions he was awarded the Legion of Honour.
Just after the end of WWII the Bentley was acquired by Major Hubert Melville Martineau of Philberds, Holyport. The Martineau family came to the UK in the 1700s, family members included master surgeons, politicians, bankers, sugar refiners, political reformists and shippers. Francis Martineau Lupton was the great-great-grandfather of Catherine, the current Princess of Wales. Hubert Martineau (1891/1976) was a keen sportsman and hosted matches against New Zealand, Australia, West Indies & India teams at his own private cricket field at Philberds, Holyport. His other great love was that of the winter sports including sking, skating & bobsledding! He was the president of the St Mortiz Bob Club. His private life was also fascinating & complicated – his first wife was Maud Morris Schwab, daughter of Nelson Morris and the ex-wife of Henry Schwab, and when Maud died in 1966 he received the majority of her estate which was in the region of £6m! In 1969 he remarried a “very pretty young widow” but she has yet to be identified!
From 1949 to 1963 the car was with John Robert Ferguson (1914/1963) who was a pupil & later a governor of Rydal School which is in North Wales, after his death the car, via various dealers, found its way to Canada with Donald Spiers who owned it from 1971 until 2001.