Dorothy Patten

 Dorothy Patten was a British driver who mainly competed in rallies, but also raced before and after the war. 

Her origins are rather obscure and “Dorothy” was not her real given name. It is likely that she was originally named Alice Minnie Patten and had come from a working-class background. Both of her parents died before she was ten and she and one of her sisters were sent to St Mark’s Home for Girls, a domestic science school where Minnie trained as a maid. 

A 1939 summons for speeding close to Brooklands in the name of Dorothy Minnie Patten, in her car, seems to prove her identity. 

Alice Minnie Patten was born in 1906 in Flintshire. As a teenager, she worked as a housemaid in a surgeon’s house, but at some point in the 1920s or early 1930s, she seems to have come into some money and moved to the south of England.

She got her start in motorsport very early, in 1933. Her first car seems to have been an Alvis, which she drove in that year’s Alpine Rally, finishing fourteenth in class and 53rd overall. She tried again on the 1934 Alpine but does not seem to have finished. 

Starting from John O’Groats, she tackled her first Monte Carlo Rally in 1935, still with the Alvis. She was 79th overall.

Another of her early cars was a British Salmson, which was the first she used for circuit racing. She was second in the Unlimited Standard Sports Car class for women in the 1936 Brighton Speed Trials in it, narrowly beaten by Kay Petre in a Frazer Nash. The following year, she raced it at the Crystal Palace circuit, finishing third in an Unlimited Sports Car handicap at the United Hospitals and University Motor Club meeting.

She drove the Salmson in the 1936 RAC Rally and the 1937 Monte Carlo Rally. The same, or a similar, car, also finished the 1938 Monte. This car belonged to Rainer Dorndorf. It took her to a 43rd place in the 1937 Monte, from 81 finishers. Some results lists have Dorothy entered as a co-driver to Rainer Dorndorf in a Salmson in the 1938 Monte and crashing out, but this sounds unlikely given her own entry.

She was named as a car entrant for R.E. Dorndorf's special-bodied Darl’mat Peugeot in the 1939 Sydenham Plate. This was a car that Dorothy didn’t race much herself at the time, although she used it in rallies. Her first major result in it was probably an eleventh place in the 1939 Paris-St. Raphael Rally. She was fourth in Class B, for drivers with no previous podium finishes.

Later, she married Rainer Dorndorf, a German based in Ireland, and began styling herself “Baroness von Dorndorf”, although her husband does not appear to have held such a title. As a British national married to a German, she was briefly interned during the war, although she was soon cleared of being any risk and released. By 1942, the pair had divorced and Dorothy was apparently engaged to Captain Anthony Ryan. They never actually married. It was claimed in the Tatler that Rainer Dorndorf had died in a hunting accident in 1938, but this was untrue.In 1947, she did remarry, to David Treherne. 

Unlike many of her contemporaries, Dorothy was able to resume her career after the war. She entered the speed trials held at Elstree Aerodrome in April 1946, taking the Peugeot to a class win. She covered the quarter-mile course in 22.8s.

The following year, she went back to the Brighton Speed Trials, but could only manage 17th in class and sixth-fastest lady. Her only circuit race in this car seems to have been a three-lap contest at Goodwood in 1948, although her finishing position is not recorded.

She died in 1975, aged 68.

Thanks to Adam Ferrington for information.

Dorothy Champney

Dorothy (left) with Kay Petre at Le Mans

Dorothy Champney is most famous for racing at Le Mans in 1934. She and Kay Petre were thirteenth, in a Riley Ulster Imp.

A bout of diphtheria meant that Dorothy missed the 1935 race, but her car was driven by Elsie Wisdom and Kay instead. This seems to mark the end of her short motorsport career.

Dorothy Conyers Nelson Champney was born in Scarborough in 1909. Her first appearance in newspaper coverage of motorsport came in 1932, when she and co-driver Miss GJ Derby crashed their car into a telegraph pole between Honiton and Exeter during the RAC 1000 Miles Rally. Neither the drivers or their un-named female passenger were seriously injured. The car was a Riley, the marque to which she was loyal throughout her career.

Her Le Mans achievements are her most documented, but she was more of a rally driver and actually rarely ventured onto the circuits.

Despite an inauspicious start, she became a fine rally driver. In 1933 she entered the Brooklands, Scottish, Ulster and RAC Rallies in her Riley, coming sixth in Class 3 in the latter. 1933 was a “hat trick” year for her, as she secured Ladies’ Prizes in the RAC, Scottish and Ulster Rallies. Her Scottish win helped Riley to a clean sweep in the Small Car class. Dorothy’s own car then won her a class second in the coachwork competition.

She also won the Coupe des Dames in that year's Alpine Rally, co-driven by a Miss L Hobbs. Using the same car, she competed in a Shelsley Walsh hillclimb, and in the Women's Automobile and Sports Association's Cotswold Trial.

In January 1934 she tackled her second international rally, the Monte Carlo. She made the finish in 58th place, having started at snowy Umea in Sweden. A second run in the Alpine Rally followed in summer, after Le Mans, after her third RAC Rally.

She married Victor Riley, of the Riley car company, in 1934. They had two children, a son and a daughter. Dorothy died a widow in 1968, at the age of 58.

Mary Handley-Page

Mary in a Sunbeam Rapier

Mary Handley-Page was one of a group of British female drivers who were part of works teams for British manufacturers in the 1950s and 1960s.

Her family was involved in engineering; her father, Frederick Handley-Page, gave his name to a series of aircraft, and his company built the famous Halifax Bomber. Mary was his youngest daughter, born in 1923 and originally christened Patricia.

As a girl and young woman, she rode horses and hunted to hounds. Equestrianism has proved to be a surprisingly good training for rally drivers, the best example being Pat Moss. When Mary was just eight, she was awarded a prize in the Stanmore Gymkhana for "Trotting". The cup was awarded by Amy Johnson, the pilot. She was at the height of her fame and also a rally driver herself.

Her first major appearance seems to have been the 1956 RAC Rally, driving a Rover. Her co-driver was Jo Ashfield. They were second in the Ladies’ standings. The pair rallied together again on the Tulip Rally, sitting in the opposite seats. The car was a Standard, and they were 169^th overall.

She was involved with the social and organisational side of motorsport, too. The 1957 Monte Carlo Rally Ball, a charity event, was put on by a committee including Mary and Stirling Moss. The ball's President was Sheila van Damm. Mary and Sheila were friends who sometimes drove together.

Mary returned to the Tulip Rally in 1957, at the wheel of a Sunbeam Mark III. She was back in the driver’s seat, with Francoise Wilton Clarke on the maps. They finished, in 134^th place. 

She was part of the works Sunbeam team from 1958 to 1960, driving one for their ladies’ team, with other female drivers. For the 1958 Monte Carlo Rally, she was the leader of a three-woman Sunbeam team, with Lola Grounds and Doreen Reece. Mary and Lola were a good team. As a duo, they were 21^st in the 1958 Tulip Rally, in a Rapier. Mary was then sixteenth in the Alpine Rally in the summer.

Lola had moved to the Ford team for 1959, and Mary had a new co-driver in Daphne Freeman, who had got into motorsport through her work as Stirling Moss’s secretary. The new pairing entered the Monte, with Joyce Howard as a third driver, but had an accident and could not finish. As a two-woman team, Mary and Daphne were 39^th in the Tulip Rally, again in a Sunbeam Rapier.

Away from rallying proper, Mary was part of a team of female Rootes Group drivers sent to prove to the Belgian motorsport authorities that a Hillman Minx was able to manage 15,000 miles of bad Belgian pavé. Averaging 40mph, the team covered the distance in three weeks during the Rallye des Routes Pavées. The team included Nancy Mitchell, Sheila van Damm, Patricia Ozanne and Francoise Clarke. They were said to be responsible for a sharp spike in continental Hillman Minx sales.

At the beginning of 1960, Mary went back to the co-driver’s seat for the Monte, assisting Jimmy Ray to eleventh place. It was quite unusual for her to be part of a mixed team. With a new co-driver again, Nesta Gilmour, she finished 105^th in the Tulip Rally, in a Rapier. The Alpine Rally was another of her favoured events, and she was 27^th in 1960, co-driven by Patricia Ozanne.

She continued to drive private Sunbeams in 1961, including a Rapier on the Monte Carlo Rally, with Pauline Mayman and Daphne Freeman. They had been running well, but a puncture prevented them from claiming a penalty-free run. An unusual part of their rally plan was the delivery of smoked salmon to Prince Rainier and Princess Grace. The fish had come from a manufacturer in their start city of Stockholm. It is unclear whether the delicacy reached its intended recipient. Mary and Pauline drove the same car on that year’s Tulip Rally, and were 43^rd overall.

For the 1962 Monte, she co-drove for Patricia Ozanne, in a Mini, which Patricia had bought from the works BMC team the previous year. They started from Warsaw, but do not appear to have finished. This was Mary’s last major rally.

She died in 1992.

(Image copyright alamy.com)

Nancy Mitchell

Nancy with the MGA

Nancy Mitchell was one of BMC’s squad of British lady rally drivers in the 1950s, and competed all over Europe. Although  her career never reached the heights of that of Pat Moss or Anne Hall, she was still a versatile and respected driver, winning two European Ladies’ championships. She was a professional in her sport for many years.

Nancy got a relatively late start in motorsport, at 31. Douglas Mitchell, her husband, bought her an HRG sports car, a rare Aerodynamic model, and their first event together was the Eastbourne Rally in 1947. They apparently won one of the awards, although it is unclear which one.

Between then and 1950, Nancy entered not only rallies, but hillclimbs, sprints, trials and circuit races in HRG cars, first the Aerodynamic, then a faster 1500. Her results are proving difficult to locate, but she is said to have driven in the Alpine Rally and Alpine Trial at least once, as a member of an HRG works team. Her season in 1950 was apparently curtailed, due to a family situation, but she did manage a seventh place in a Silverstone international meeting race, in the HRG.

In 1951, she appears on the entry lists for the RAC and Scottish rallies, finishing second in the 1500cc Open class in the RAC Rally. She was second in the Ladies’ Open class to Anne Newton, later Anne Hall. She also competed in the Paris-St. Raphaël event and was second in class. Away from rallying, she drove a Healey Silverstone in hillclimbs, including the Rest And Be Thankful event, in which she was tenth in class.

From 1952, Nancy really showed her versatility, using the HRG and a series of other cars, including a Sunbeam Talbot. In this car, she drove in the Monte Carlo and Alpine rallies. She did not finish the Alpine after losing a wheel, but seems to have finished the Monte, driving as part of an all-woman team with veteran Elsie “Bill” Wisdom and Sheila van Damm. On the track, she managed second places in races at Silverstone and Castle Combe, in the HRG, and a fifth place at Silverstone in an Allard.

As well as rallying, Nancy competed extensively in hillclimbs during the 1950s, using several different cars, including a single-seater Cooper 1100, in which she set a ladies’ record at Prescott in 1953. She is also known to have hillclimbed in Cornwall, and taken part in the Lands’ End Trial.

Her rallying year was also quite busy. She drove in another Alpine Rally, in a Ford Zephyr this time, and was 36th overall. In the same car, she was sixth overall in the Lisbon Rally, winning the Coupe des Dames. She apparently drove a works Standard in the RAC Rally and an Alvis on the Monte, but the results have been lost. 

In 1954, she drove the Zephyr again on the Monte, starting in Glasgow. She used the same car for the Tulip Rally, and was 50th overall, with Joyce Leavens on the maps. Later in the year, she entered the Stella Alpina in an Austin Healey, but retired after an accident. She may have won a team award in the RAC Rally in a Ford Anglia, but the result has been lost, although she is down as an entry in that car. In British domestic events, she apparently competed in several different cars, including a Morgan in the London Rally, and a Triumph TR2 in the MCC National Rally, and had her last outing in the HRG.

Her hillclimbing highlight this year was a Ladies’ Record at Shelsley Walsh, set in the Cooper. It was to stand for three years.

1955 saw her driving for Daimler, in a Conquest. She scored her best result in the Monte Carlo Rally: 17th, navigated by Lola Grounds. Among the other rallies she contested was the Tulip event in the Netherlands, in which she was third in the Ladies’ standings. Driving the Daimler, she also won two circuit races, a Ladies’ race at Goodwood and a scratch race at Silverstone. 

The most remembered part of her career, her time with BMC, began in 1956. Nancy usually drove MG models, and her rallying year began with a 59th place in Monte Carlo, with Doreen Reece and Susan Hindmarsh. Nancy and Doreen also drove a Magnette in the RAC Rally, and seem to have finished. During the summer, Nancy and Pat Faichney were 15th overall in the Alpine Rally, third in class, with a Coupe des Alpes and the Ladies’ prize. Their car was an MGA. Nancy also drove it in the Liège-Rome-Liège rallies, with Anne Hall, finishing 26th, with a Coupe des Dames. She always preferred to compete alongside other women. Her achievements were enough to win her her first European Ladies’ Rally title this year.

Away from pure rallying, Nancy and Pat Faichney also drove together in the Mille Miglia, in the MGA (a famous car, still extant, christened “Mabel”).  They were 72nd overall, and first female crew.

Nancy and “Mabel” continued to work together in 1957. Nancy was 16th overall in the Liège-Rome-Liège Rally, with Joan Johns, and 32nd overall in the Lyon-Charbonnières Rally, with Doreen Reece. She won the Coupe des Dames both times, leading to her second European Ladies’ championship.

She and Pat Faichney attempted the Mille Miglia again this year, in a Triumph TR3, but they did not finish. Nancy had not abandoned circuit racing either, and managed a fourth place at Silverstone in June, driving an MG Magnette.

By 1958, “Mabel” was no longer Nancy’s first-choice car. She stuck with an MG, another Magnette this time, for the Monte Carlo Rally, with Joan Johns, but seems to have been unplaced. In the Alpine Rally, she drove an Austin-Healey 100-6 and was twelfth, two places behind the Coupe des Dames winner, Pat Moss. She drove the same car in the Liège-Rome-Liège Rally, finishing 15th overall, sixth in class, and helping BMC to the team prize. Later in the season, she was driving a Riley 1.5 in the RAC Rally, skidded on ice and ended up down a steep drop. She was not seriously harmed.   

1959 saw a partial change of team for Nancy; she was part of Ford’s Ladies’ team, driving a Zephyr. Alongside Anne Hall and Lola Grounds, she finished the Monte in 78th place. During the summer, she and Anne entered the Alpine Rally, run as the Critérium International des Alpes, but a broken propshaft put them out. Going back to BMC power, Nancy and Pat Allison finished the Portuguese Rally, in 54th place, in an early rally Mini.

Her final year of competition came in 1960. Her major events were in her favoured mountain terrain. The Monte only brought a retirement for Nancy and Pat Allison in their Austin Seven, but the Alpine Rally, her last rally, went better. She and Rosemary Seers were 24th overall, second ladies’ team, in a Sunbeam Rapier.

After retiring from the circuits and the stages, Nancy did not abandon the motoring world. She was the motoring correspondent for Vogue magazine, conducting road tests of luxury cars, for several years. She was also involved in motorsport administration, as part of the BTRDA.

She died in 1996. Some of her cars have remained in her family, and have even been entered into historic events by her daughter, Sue Chapman, and granddaughter, Anna Chapman. 

(Picture from this article by John Sprinzel)

Pauline Mayman

Pauline (standing) at the 1964 Tour de France, with Val Domleo

Pauline is remembered by many as navigator to Pat Moss in 1962, as well as being a driver in her own right. Most notably, she and Pat won the Baden-Baden rally together, in a Mini. Also in a Mini, they were third in the Geneva Rally. In the Austin-Healey 3000, Pat’s signature car, they were second in the Polish Rally and third in the Alpine and RAC Rallies.

Pauline began her driving career in club rallies in the 1950s, and her first international event was the 1959 RAC Rally. Her car was a Morgan 4/4, which she had been using previously on British rallies. Daphne Freeman was co-driving. Pauline’s husband, Lionel, was also a Morgan driver. It was as his navigator that she got her start in rallying.

In 1960, her biggest achievement was probably a second place in the Express & Star Rally, driving the Morgan once more, with Valerie Domleo. This was described as a difficult event, and many crews missed the first control.

She made her first Monte Carlo appearance the following year, driving a Sunbeam Rapier, with Mary Handley-Page and Daphne Freeman. Her finishing position is unknown. A return to the Express & Star Rally led to a very swift retirement - after ten minutes of navigational test, the electrics failed on her car. She also drove in the London Rally in an MG 1100.

For 1962, she was contracted to BMC as a navigator, so driving was put to one side for a time. Although she was a successful co-driver, Pauline, however, wished to return to the driving seat, which she did in 1963. She was retained by BMC, and drove the Mini Cooper with Val Domleo. They were 28th in Monte Carlo, and 21st in the Tulip Rally, with a third in the Ladies’ Cup, behind Pat Moss and Sylvia Österberg. They won the Coupe des Dames in the Trifels Rally, as well as winning their class. The Alpine gave Pauline probably the best finish of her career: sixth, with a Coupe des Alpes. She was 30th in the season-ending RAC Rally.

In 1964, she was involved in a serious accident in Monte Carlo. Her Mini was hit by a farmer’s truck, and she suffered multiple injuries, including a broken leg. After five months out of action, Pauline returned in time for the Alpine Rally, and was thirteenth, sixth in the Touring class, and first lady, driving a Mini with Valerie Domleo. She later drove in the Spa-Sofia-Liège marathon rally, as well as the RAC Rally, in an MGB.

As well as rallying, Pauline raced on the circuits occasionally. Before her rally career began in earnest, she drove a Cooper T39, and her Morgan, in handicap races. Later, she and Elizabeth Jones drove a Mini together in the 1962 Brands Hatch 6-Hour race, and she also took part in some rallycross events. She participated in the Tour de France twice, both times in a Mini: in 1963, she and Elizabeth Jones failed to make the finish, but in 1964, she and Valerie Domleo were 28th, first in the one-litre Touring class.

1965 was Pauline’s last year of competition. She was still experiencing trouble from her 1964 Monte injuries and had had enough. The highlight of this year was a thirteenth place and class win on the Alpine Rally, which was always her best event.

After her retirement from the stages, Pauline helped to run her family autoparts business, and was involved in the management of the Kieft racing car company. She also devoted a lot of time to breeding and rescuing Irish Wolfhounds.

She died of cancer in 1989, aged 61.

(Image from http://www.pinterest.com/pin/129056345547260391/)

Female Rally Drivers Before 1950: Part I

Mildred Mary Bruce

As rallying became popular and widespread in the late 1920s, female drivers began to enter these events as drivers, rather than merely as car owners. In the UK, large rallies such as the RAC Rally attracted hundreds of drivers, with a good many more ladies among them than is seen nowadays. Some, such as Kitty Brunell, even won rallies. It was similar on the continental scene.

Below are short profiles of some of the early female rally drivers, mostly from the UK. Louise Lamberjack, Claire Descollas and Mrs AC Lace now have their own profiles.

Andrée Alexander (Jellinek-Mercedes) – drove a Steyr in the 1927 Monte Carlo Rally. She was 42^nd overall, and third in the Coupe des Dames standings. Her start point was Vienna. She entered again in 1928, but did not finish. Her car is not recorded. Andrée, who went by the name Maja, was involved in the motor industry through her family; her father was Emil Jellinek, whose daughter Mercedes, Andrée’s half-sister, was the namesake of the German marque.

Jackie Astbury - rallied from 1933, when she drove a Wolseley Hornet in the RAC Rally and an MG Magna in the Scottish Rally. In 1934, she finished the RAC Rally in a Singer. Using the same car, she won the Thistle Cup for best Scottish driver in the 1935 Monte Carlo Rally. She also won her class in the RAC Rally. In 1936, she repeated her Monte Carlo achievements, still in the Singer. She is normally credited as "Miss J. Astbury".

Lotte Bahr - driver and co-driver in rallies in the 1930s. She was eleventh in the 1930 Monte Carlo Rally, driving a Steyr. Earlier, in 1928, she had entered a Steyr in the Alpine Rally, and she would use one again in the 1932 event. In 1933, she began driving for the Adler team, and was third in class in the Alpine Rally, as well as finishing the Monte. She continued to rally for Adler for the next couple of seasons. Her best result was probably a joint win in the 1934 Liège-Rome-Liège Rally, driving an Imperia with von Guillaume. The Liege was a favoured events for her, and she was third in the 1935 rally, as a co-driver to von Guillaume, and second in 1937.

Dorothy Bean – competed mostly in rallies and trials in the 1930s. She was an active member of the Women’s Automobile and Sports Association, driving an Aston-Martin and a Singer in their trials in 1933 and 1934. The same years, she drove the same cars respectively in the RAC Rally, finishing 101^st in 1933, in the Aston. After 1934, she appears to have stopped competing.

Gaby le Bigot - French driver who was a member of the French Ladies' Automobile Club. She started rallying in a Rosengart in 1929, including an unsuccessful run in the inaugural Paris-St. Raphael event. She did better in the Paris-Vichy ladies' rally, finishing sixth. In 24th place, she was also the leading female finisher in hte Rallye des Capitales, a mixed event. Her 1930 highlights included a penalty-free run in the Rosengart in the Tour de France. Her final event seems to have been that year's Paris-Vichy Rally, run that year as a mixed rally. She was tenth overall, driving a Bugatti T40 instead of the Rosengart.

Ludmila Boguslawska – winner of the inaugural Rajd Pań (Women’s Rally) in Poland, in 1926. Her car was a Lancia Lambda. It is unclear whether or not she competed in later editions of this event, of which there were many. Earlier, in 1924, she was the only female driver in the Wyscig Plaski races in Warsaw, driving the Lancia. She was second in the 3000cc class.

Shelagh Brunner - competed in rallies in the late 1920s and early 1930s. After her marriage to the Prince of Liechtenstein, her nom de course was sometimes "Princess Liechtenstein". She was eleventh in the 1930 Alföld-Alpenfahrt, driving an Austro-Daimler, and won the Coupe des Dames. In 1931, she and her husband both drove Austro-Daimlers in the Coupe des Alpes. They divorced in 1934 and Shelagh retired.

“Dona M la Caze de Noronha” - Portuguese driver who rallied in Europe in the 1930s. She drove an Amilcar in the 1932 Monte Carlo Rally and a Mathis in the 1934 event. Her start points were Lisbon and Valencia respectively. Her given name is never used in starting lists, but it was Maria. She was also active in the women's rallies and races held around Paris at the time, including the Paris-St. Raphael.

Lady Iris Capell - rallied in the British Isles in the early 1930s. She is listed as a finisher in the 1932 RAC Rally and the 1933 Ulster Rally. She drove a Talbot on both occasions and started at London. As well as stage rallies, she was a regular entrant in trials in the 1930s, particularly those organised by the Women's Automobile and Sports Association (WASA), of which she was a leading member. She competed in several of their Cotswold-based trials, as well as donating a trophy to the club. She was also a member of the JCC, both before and after the war. She is more famous for her voluntary work during WWII, and her nursing during WWI.

Jeanne Conche - rallied in France in the 1930s. Her usual car was a Mathis, which she drove between 1931 and 1933. She also drove a Salmson later on, in 1934 and 1935. She was a regular in the rallies put on by the Automobile Club Feminin and took part in four editions of the Paris-Raphael Rally. Her best finish was eighth, in 1935, although she did win her class in 1931. Other favoured rallies included the Juan-les-Pins, which ran from either Paris or Antibes and had Jeanne on the entry list four times. 

“Mrs MJ Cotton” - relatively successful rally driver of the 1930s. Her first big rally seems to have been the Monte Carlo Rally in 1935, driving an MG from John O’Groats. She repeated this in 1936, in an Aston Martin this time. In 1938, she entered the Monte again, in a Lancia, and was sixth in the Ladies’ standings, 59th overall, and 19th in the Light Car class. Her identity has been hard to pin down; there is a small possibility that she was related to the bandleader and racer, Billy Cotton. One source describes a “Joan Cotton” in the 1938 Monte, but it is not absolutely clear that it is her.

"Mrs G Daniell" - British rally driver of the early to mid-1930s. She drove AC Aces from 1931 onwards, sometimes as part of the factory team. In 1933, she was seventh in the RAC Rally and eighteenth in the Scottish Rally. Her car won the RAC Rally's Concours d'Elegance. In 1935, she drove in the RAC Rally again. Her given name is never used in entry lists.

Irma Darre Brandt – the first female rally driver from Norway. She was born in 1909. Her first international rally was the 1934 Monte Carlo Rally, in which she drove a Plymouth. Her start point was Stavanger. A second attempt at the Monte in 1935 brought her close to the Coupe des Dames, but she could not quite make it. Her car was a Plymouth belonging to Lina Christiansen, another of the four-woman crew. Irma also took part in some gymkhana events in Norway, but she retired from motorsport quite early. After that, she concentrated on running her family’s farm. She died in 2003.

Valentine Deroubaix - French driver who was active in the 1930s. She normally drove a Renault and was active in both the women’s rallies of the time and in mixed competition. 1935 was her best year; she was second in both the Rallye de Touquet Paris-Plage and the Flanders Rally. Her biggest rival of the time for both Coupes des Dames and overall honours was Olga Thibaut. After 1935, her name disappears from the entry list. She was from Roubaix and her family may have been involved in the perfume industry.

“Mrs. J Elizabeth Dinsdale” – British driver who rallied in Europe in the early 1930s. She began competing in trials in a Singer in 1929, with the WASA (Women’s Automobile and Sports Association). Her first major rally seems to have been the Monte Carlo Rally in 1930, in which she drove a 3-litre Vauxhall. In 1932, she drove a Singer, and took part in the Scottish Rally and the Alpine Rally. She was 23^rd in class in Scotland, after breaking her thumb and having to swap seats with her navigator. She finished the Alpine Trial, but only after incurring penalties. During the rally, the car’s tyres and ignition developed problems, and she also crashed into a ditch. The same year, she drove the Singer at Shelsley Walsh, and was second in her class. She does not appear on the entry lists after 1932.

Kathleen, Countess of Drogheda - wealthy adventuress of the 1920s and 1930s, who counted rallying among her adventures. She was 97th in the RAC Rally in an SSI, in 1932. Her other results have proved elusive, but she is believed to have started the Monte Carlo Rally in 1935. She is better known as an aviatrix and colourful society figure, and she died in 1966.

“Madame Dubuc Taine” - competed in rallies in Europe in the 1930s, usually in France. She won the Paris-St. Raphael Rally on points in 1934, driving a Hotchkiss. The same year, she was sixth in the Dieppe Rally, a favourite event which she contested at least three times, in 1932, 1934 and 1935. Between 1932 and 1936, she also entered the Alpine Rally and the Criterium Paris-Nice, driving the Hotchkiss, a Ford and a Licorne. She was third in the 1936 Paris-St. Raphael in the latter car. Her given name is not often mentioned, but may have been Eliane.

Phyllis Goodban – active in British motorsport in the 1930s, usually in rallies and trials. She was a member of WASA, and a regular entrant into their trials. In 1932 and 1933, she won a number of medals and trophies in trials in a Wolseley Hornet, including awards on the London-Gloucester and Colmore events. After that, she drove a Singer, in rallies and trials initially. She took part in the 1935 JCC Members’ Day at Brooklands, and was third in a one-lap handicap, in the Singer. She was then second in a Singer one-make handicap. More trials followed in a Frazer Nash, and she won the Northwest London Cup in the 1936 London-Gloucester trial.

Eveline (Eva) Gordon-Simpson - finished 24th at Le Mans in 1935, driving a works MG Midget with Joan Richmond. She raced at Brooklands sometimes and won a Novices’ Handicap there in 1934, driving a Triumph Southern Cross. Her main motorsport interest was rallying. She entered the Monte Carlo and RAC Rallies in a Singer in 1932, and was 27th on the Monte.

Agnes (Mrs A.G.) Gripper - competed in rallies, mainly in the 1930s. She was married to Archie Gripper and they both drove in the Alpine Rally in 1932. She did not finish in her March Hornet, although she seems to have finished that year’s RAC Rally in a Riley. In 1933, she drove in the RAC Rally in a Wolseley Hornet. She also raced a Frazer Nash at Brooklands at about the same time. Her given name is not usually used.

Kay (Kathleen) Hague - rallied in Europe in the late 1930s. She won the Open Car Ladies’ Cup in the 1938 RAC Rally, driving a Riley. The following year, she was ninth overall in the Criterium Paris-Nice, also driving a Riley. She repeated her Open Car cup win on the RAC Rally later in the year, still driving a Riley. She is always in the entry lists as "Mrs Kay Hague".

Lady Eda Jardine – Scottish winner of the Coupe des Dames in the 1931 Monte Carlo Rally, driving a Lancia Lambda. She was thirteenth overall, in the main class. This was her second attempt at the Monte; she had entered the year previously, in the Lancia, and appears to have finished, having started from John O’Groats. She may have entered other rallies of the time, but the results are not forthcoming. 

Amy Johnson - the fêted English aircraft pilot was also a rally driver. She competed in the UK and Europe, including at least one run in the Paris-St. Raphael women’s rally. She is listed as an entry in the 1938 RAC Rally, and drove a Ford in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1939.

Tilly Kotte - German driver who was competing by at least 1928. She drove in the Coupe Internationale des Alpes in 1928 and 1929, although her finishing places are unknown. Her car was a Simson-Supra. She may have entered other events.

Cynthia Labouchere – rallied in Europe in the 1930s. She was born in 1911, and began rallying when she was quite young, in 1932. Her first major event was that year’s Scottish Rally, in which she drove a Wolseley Hornet. Among her other cars was a Singer Nine. She returned to the Scottish Rally in 1933, and in 1934, drove the Singer in the Monte Carlo Rally. She was 79^th. In 1935, she survived a crash during the Morocco Rally, when her car went over a cliff. Her motorsport career seems to end here.

Alexandra Lindh – winner of the Coupe des Dames in the 1932 Monte Carlo Rally. Her car was a Hudson, and she was eighth overall, after starting at Umeå. Unusually, her co-driver was her son, Bo. At the time, Alexandra was fifty years old; she first competed in a motorsport event in 1904, a race between Stockholm and Uppsala, and back. She was then known as Alexandra Gjestvang. Between then and 1932, she raced in Sweden, although results are proving hard to track down. She died in 1939, after taking over her family’s car importing firm.

(Image copyright Getty Images)

Gilberte Thirion

Gilberte in the Porsche 550

Perhaps one of the first in a long line of fine Belgian all-rounders (Jacky Ickx, Marc Goossens, Olivier Gendebien), Gilberte was born into a motoring family in 1928. Her father was Max Thirion, a veteran sportscar racer with Targa Florio experience.

Naturally, Gilberte moved among motoring circles too, and in her early twenties, she was the public relations officer for Champion Spark Plugs. She had inherited her father's passion for motorsport and entered her first rally in 1951, at the age of twenty-three, driving a Healey. She failed to finish the event, the Soleil de Cannes Rally, but was not put off. Later that year, she encountered an aluminium-bodied Gmünd Porsche 356SL racing special, which had won its class at Le Mans, at a motor show. She was smitten, and her father went to great lengths to buy the vehicle for her. Eventually, its owner found it too powerful for road use and sold it to Max, probably to his great relief.

The 356 was Gilberte's car of choice for the 1952 season. With her father as navigator, she entered the Paris-St Raphaël womens' rally, and was rewarded with second in class. The father-daughter pairing entered three other rallies that year. They retired from the Lyon-Charbonnieres and Alpine events, but were an excellent fifth, with a class win, in Gilberte's second Soleil de Cannes. She also teamed up with former French Grand Prix driver, Germaine Rouault, for two African rallies, the Moroccan and the 12 Hours of Casablanca, but failed to finish either. Her final competition of the year was the Tour de France, with Ingeborg Polensky, but they were disqualified. She had had better luck in her first sprint, the 1 Kilometre Flying Start at Wolvertem; 191 kph was good enough for a class record. Switching seats in her rally car, she guided fellow Belgian van den Kaart to a 125th place in the Rally of the Tulips. They were the first Belgian finishers.

1953 started very badly indeed. Driving a new Porsche 356, Gilberte crashed badly on the Paris-St Raphaël Rally, right at the end of the event, in which she had been near the front. Her injuries put her out of action for over two months. She and Ingeborg Polensky withdrew from the Rally of the Tulips, and Max Thirion took his daughter's place in the Mille Miglia. (He came second in class.)

Gilberte could have been forgiven for giving up there and then, but she was not that kind of person. In May of 1953 she entered Ingeborg Polensky's Porsche into her first race, an event for Porsches at the Nürburgring. It nearly ended in tears again when she had an excursion off track, but she impressed many onlookers by fighting back to eighth place. The following week, she and Polensky entered the 12 Hours of Hyeres and came fourth in class. Her other race of the year was the Spa 24 Hours. She and Frenchwoman Annie Bousquet drove a Fiat 1100 to sixteenth place overall, the Ladies' Cup and the King's Cup for the best Belgian finisher.

Rallying has not been forgotten. The Alpine event brought mixed fortunes for Gilberte and Lise Renaud. They scored class wins in the Monza stage and the Cannes driving test but dropped to 44th overall with a broken clutch pedal and shock absorbers. The Porsche was running better on the Moroccan Rally, in which they were eighth overall, second in class and the first lady finishers. However, another retirement beckoned for the Thirion/Polensky partnership on the Tour de France, again due to clutch and suspension problems. Again, Gilberte managed to fit in more "extra-curricular" activities. She co-drove Gonzague Olivier to a class win on the Tour of Belgium, and Helmut Polensky to thirteenth on the Sestriere Rally. Driving solo, she set another speed record, just over 201 kmh, at Jabbeke, in her Porsche.

The partnership with Gonzague Olivier continued in 1954. They won their first rally together, the Rallye des Routes du Nord, in February. They also led the Bol d'Or race at Montlhèry until their Porsche's engine failed. Gilberte formed many strong teams with other drivers during her relatively short racing career and another of these began on her second event of 1954. She and erstwhile hillclimber Nadège Washer (later Ferrier) came sixth on the Randonnée des Routes Blanches Rally in the 356. They were also fourth, with a class win, on the Soleil de Cannes.

Her other rallying exploits for that year included a series of events with former Grand Prix driver Olivier Gendebien. As his co-driver, she was tenth on the Lyon-Charbonnieres in a Fiat, and when the roles were reversed the pair did even better. They were fourth on the Evian Mont Blanc-Megève Rally and seventh on the Tour of Italy, scoring class wins both times, in a Porsche and Plymouth respectively. On their racing debut together they were fourteenth in the Rheims 12 Hours in a Gordini.

Other partnerships had not been forgotten: Annie Bousquet and Gilberte contested the Mille Miglia together in a Gordini, she and Ingeborg Polensky drove a works Porsche to top-five finishes on the Tours of France and Belgium, and Lise Renaud partnered her again in the Morocco Rally. 1954 was also a year of superb solo efforts by the Belgian. She was third on the Paris-St Raphaël, 25th on the Rally of Rallyemen and second in class in a sportscar race at Spa, in the Gordini. By far her best result was her first race win; a single-handed drive in the Porsche in the 12 Hours of Huy. The only real disappointment that year was going out of Le Mans early on, in a Gordini T17S. Her co-driver was Andre Pilette. It is not clear whether Gilberte even got to drive.

The next season started with another win in the Huy endurance race, this time in the ageing Gordini 1100. That year, Gilberte switched between this car and a devastatingly quick Mercedes 300SL, as driven by Stirling Moss. In the Mercedes, she won the 1 Kilometre Flying Start of Waterloo, the Come hillclimb, the Coppa Corallo race at Cagliari and the Stella Alpina rally, this time with Olivier Gendebien. The Gordini brought her a sixth in class in the Mille Miglia with Nadège Washer, but gave up before the end of the Bol d'Or alongside Andre Milhoux. Her only other retirement of the year came on the Agadir GP, in a Porsche 550.

At the end of 1955, Gilberte teamed up with Lise Renaud again, in a Renault 4CV. They were second in class on the Tour of Belgium and 40th (second in the under 750cc class) on the Monte Carlo Rally of 1956. Gilberte later changed to a Dauphine for the Mille Miglia and was second in class again. This year, she would drive many different cars. In between her Renault drives she was second on the Lyon-Charbonnières Rally and first on the La Roche hillclimb in two different Porsches. After her first outing in the Dauphine, she won the Come hillclimb again in last year's Mercedes. A ride in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta with Italian touring car ace Ada Pace was good for sixteenth in the Nürburgring 1000Km race, and the Italian theme continued throughout the summer. She and Anna Maria Peduzzi drove Peduzzi's Ferrari 500TR to two tenth spots in the 1000km races at Paris and Monza, but a return to the Gordini 1100 in the Rheims 12 Hours brought another retirement.

In the Swedish Sportscar Grand Prix, Gilberte and Claude Dubois were twelfth in a Porsche 550. Her final Porsche drive of the year (and her career) was an eleventh place on the Tour de France, with Ingeborg Polensky. After that, she contested two more rallies in a Renault Dauphine, winning her class on the Tour of Belgium with Lise Renaud and winning the first ever Tour of Corsica outright with Nadège Ferrier. This achievement means that Gilberte is one of a select handful of women to have won a World Championship Rally. Rightly, she was awarded the Belgian Order of Sporting Merit at the end of the year.

1957 was her last year of active competition and she only entered one race. She and Nadege Ferrier crossed the Atlantic to race their Dauphine in the Sebring 12 Hours. They came 35th, second in class. Gilberte had entered the race before in 1954 but her and Annie Bousquet's entry was not accepted. Bousquet died in a racing accident at Rheims the previous year and this was perhaps one of the reasons that Gilberte decided to call it a day. She and Annie were sometimes rivals but often team-mates, and had shared ownership of a Porsche for the 1954 racing season.

On reflection, Gilberte had the sense to bow out while still near the top, before other, younger drivers could show her up. After leaving motorsport, she raised a family in Brussels. She died in 2008, aged eighty, after serious health problems arising from Parkinson’s disease.

(Image from www.porsche356sl.com)

Annie Bousquet

The name of Annie Bousquet is no longer well known, although she was a very influential driver, albeit in an unfortunate way. Adopted Frenchwoman Annie died following injuries sustained in a crash at the Reims 12 Hour sportscar race in 1956. Subsequently, women were barred from ACO-sanctioned events in France until 1971, due to fears for their safety. This chiefly meant the Le Mans 24 Hours. The ban had an impact on many female drivers' careers, like Maria Teresa de Filippis, who was unable to drive in the French Grand Prix.

Annie was born in Vienna, Austria, in the mid-1920s. Her exact date of birth is debated. Prior to her marriage to a Frenchman, Pierre Bousquet, she was known as Annie Schaffer. Pierre also raced, and it seems to have been through him that she got involved in motorsport.

Her first forays into competitive motorsport were in 1952. She entered the Alpine Rally in a Renault, but does not appear to have finished. As well as this, she entered other rallies in Europe, with varying degrees of success.

Annie's death put paid to a promising racing career, as well as making life difficult for other women drivers. She began circuit racing in earnest in 1953. Alongside the Belgian Gilberte Thirion, she came 16th in the Spa 24 Hours, using a Fiat 1100. Prior to that, Annie and the veteran Simone des Forest made the finish of the Mille Miglia in Annie's Renault 4CV. Annie, driving solo, also entered a race at Agen in a DB-Panhard, but it ended in a bad crash in which she was injured.

The Bousquet/Thirion pairing were to compete again the following year in the Mille Miglia, in a Gordini T17S. This time they were 55th and fifth in the 1500cc class. They owned the car together and it was Annie's regular mount that year. She came sixth in the Agadir Grand Prix in Morocco and continued her African adventures in the Senegal GP. Closer to home, she won a qualifying heat for the Nimes GP, but failed to start the final with car trouble. There was more bad luck for Annie and Gilberte in the Sebring 12 Hours. The authorities were not keen on female participants and did not accept their entry. She had a better run in the Tour de France, in which she was eighth with Marie-Claire Beaulieu, driving a Porsche 550. This was one of her best results.

Although Annie and Gilberte were still joint owners of the Gordini through 1955, they did not race it together. It was reported that the two had become very jealous of one another, whenever one got a better drive than the other. They competed separately from now on.

The powerful Porsche gave her her best-ever finish, second in the Bol D'Or at Montlhèry with Josef Jeser in 1955. However, she was only an active participant for the first four hours or so of the race. Another driver had to have a leg amputated at the scene due to a serious accident, which made her lose her nerve and sit the rest of the race out.

She was less successful in Agadir and crashed the Porsche, which had already suffered damage in an abortive speed record attempt at Montlhèry.

1956 was a turbulent year. Early on, Pierre Bousquet died in a traffic accident after skidding on ice. Annie, naturally, was badly affected and withdrew from competition for a while. During the spring, she resumed her career and accepted an offer to have another crack at the Mille Miglia in a Triumph TR2, driving for the works team this time. She came 95th. She also took advantage of an invitation to drive Alejandro de Tomaso's Maserati 150S in the Paris 1000km race. De Tomaso was her team-mate. They did not finish.

The 550 that brought Annie her greatest success would also be her downfall. The Reims 12 Hours was her first major competition of the year in the car and she was sharing it with Isabelle Haskell, the American driver who was the partner of Alejandro de Tomaso. She crashed heavily on lap 27 and was thrown out of the vehicle. Although she was rushed to hospital, she was pronounced dead on arrival. Fellow competitors blamed fatigue on Annie's part, as she had competed in two very long races in succession as well as driven to the Porsche to and from a workshop before qualifying at Reims. This meant that she had probably not slept for two nights. During her life, Annie was considered a very competitive driver, sometimes excessively so, who was keen to prove herself against men and often took risks to do so. Certain observers claim that this competitive streak turned to recklessness following her husband's death, but this is conjecture.

The turn at the Reims circuit where the accident happened is now named after Annie, and the Annie Bousquet award, for high-performing women in French motorsport, was created in her honour.

(Image copyright PA)

Anne Hall

Anne rallying a Ford Anglia, 1962

Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Anne Hall (or Anne Newton in the early days) was one of Britain's best known rally drivers, and certainly one of the leading ladies. She too up the sport just after purchasing her first sports car in 1951, a Jaguar XK120. Everyone was surprised when Anne and her sister came seventh overall and won the Ladies' award in the Open class of the RAC Rally. The Jaguar became Anne's car of choice for the next few years as she rallied around Britain, gaining experience and some good finishes, such as a repeat of her Ladies' Open victory in the 1952 RAC event. Another highlight was a ninth place in the competitive Rally of the Tests in 1953.

In 1952 she switched seats and took up navigating, after she was talent-spotted by the Rootes team and their established lady star, Sheila van Damm. Sheila and her new co-driver rallied a Sunbeam Talbot all over Europe and became European Ladies' Rally Champions. One of their best finishes was a tenth in Monte Carlo that helped Rootes to the team prize. They parted in 1956, as Sheila was winding down her career. Anne sat beside another British lady star, Nancy Mitchell, that year, and joined her in several impressive finishes, including strong placings in class in the Lyon-Charbonnieres and Alpine Rallies. During this time, Anne continued to drive in selected rallies herself. She drove a Ford in the 1956 Alpine Rally, her first major outing for that marque.

For 1957 she returned to the driving seat with the works Ford team, driving the Zephyr. She won the Coupe des Dames in the Tulip Rally. In 1958, she drove another Zephyr at Monte Carlo, but suffered an accident. Anne was an enthusiastic participant in the Monte Carlo Rally, which led to her being nicknamed "The Queen of Monte Carlo". She was the first British woman to win the Coupe des Dames since 1932 and had a best finish of tenth, as a navigator. In 1958, she was 78th in the Zephyr, assisted by Nancy Mitchell and Lola Grounds. That year, she drove the Anglia on the RAC Rally as well.

It was in this car that she was 36th in the 1960 Monte. She and Val Domleo crashed out of the Alpine Rally. In 1961, the same pairing added a Coupe des Dames from Monte Carlo to their collection. One of the biggest achievements that Anne is remembered for also happened this year: her third place on the arduous East African Safari. Ford team bosses had urged her to slow down and make sure that she finished, so that they could win the Ladies' trophy, but she was having none of it and wanted to push for the win. Driving a Zephyr again, she was seventh in the RAC Rally later in the year.

She went back to the Anglia in 1962 for the RAC, Monte and Alpine events, but with less success.

In 1963, she sampled the Ford Falcon rally special. Her first outing was inauspicious: an OTL on the Monte. A switch to the Cortina for the rest of the season brought better results, the best being 16th on the RAC Rally. A return to the Falcon gave her another finish on the 1964 Monte, but after that, she moved to the Rover team, driving different models in the Acropolis, Spa-Sofia-Liege, Alpine and RAC events. Her navigator for much of the season was Denise McCluggage.

1965 was her last season as an international driver, and it was an adventurous one. Anne and Lucille Cardwell rolled their Mercedes 300SE on the Safari Rally and were unable to continue, and Anne, in a Rover, also crashed out of the Acropolis Rally. She managed to finish the RAC and Alpine Rallies, but not as competitively as she might have liked.

Back home, in domestic events, she drove in the Targa Rusticana road rally at least once, and finished eighth in the Rally of the Tests in 1961. 1961 also saw Anne's first major win, on the Morecambe Rally, partnered by Val Domleo and driving a Ford Zephyr. It was the first win for a ladies' team on a British national event.

Although Anne made a comeback and was still competing in historic events as late as 1993, she had not been well for a long while before her death in 2003. Perhaps fittingly, she died on the eve of that year's Monte Carlo Rally.

(Image copyright Ilkley Motor Club)