Lorna Snow

Lorna (right) with her co-driver Juliet Slatter in 1952

Lorna Doone Snow rallied in Britain and Europe in the 1950s. She was more known for her flamboyant style and social antics, but she was a very capable driver.

Her name first appears in connection with cars in 1941, when she was caught speeding in Wandsworth and fined 20s. She is reported by the Norwood News to have said “the time when traffic policemen frightened me is past,” suggesting that this was not her first misdemeanour.

Like many of motorsport’s more colourful characters, her background is rather unclear. Born in 1914, by 1942 she was the landlady of Ye Olde Six Bells pub at Billingshurst. While in this post, she fell foul of traffic police again when she was fined for “failing to immobilise her car during a blackout”.

By 1949, she was part of London society, appearing at a prizegiving for the Feathers Association.

Later, she was sometimes referred to as Lady Lorna Doone Snow (she did not have a real title) and she put her pub past behind her, if not her love of driving fast.

Her first big event seems to have been the 1951 Daily Express Rally, a long-distance trial, which she entered in a Jaguar XK120. Daily Express journalist Basil Cardew, who often championed female rally drivers, reported that she filled the washer bottles with brandy to provide “a stimulating odour”. Her car was also equipped with a makeup kit under its jaguar-skin seats.

In July that year, she set the ladies’ Fastest Time of the Day in the Ramsgate Speed Trials, also in the Jaguar. She was second in the Ladies’ class of the Brighton Speed Trials, behind Eleanor Allard.

In 1952, she is recorded as coming second in the Ladies' class of the Daily Express Rally, driving a Jaguar. She did her first overseas events this year, taking the Jaguar to the Tulip Rally with a G Meijer as her co-driver. She returned to this event in the same car the following year, finishing 103rd with “Mrs Tozzi”. Earlier in the year, she had entered the Monte Carlo Rally; her result is not forthcoming but it was reported in Motor Sport that her car’s luggage rack failed to stop when she did.

She took a “fastest lady” award in the speed test section of the 1953 RAC Rally, held at Silverstone, but retired between the circuit and Castle Combe.

The Scottish Rally was the scene of a more dramatic incident, recounted in Sheila van Damm’s autobiography. Lorna managed to collide with another competitor, damaging one side of her Jaguar. Sheila van Damm was soon on the scene and once she had ascertained that Lorna was uninjured and her car still mobile, demanded that she move it so that the rest of the field could continue. Lorna dropped her ladylike image for a moment and told Sheila to go away in rather coarser terms. She restarted and even made the time control in time.

It is not clear in how many Monte Carlo rallies she participated, but she was definitely part of a three-woman team in 1954 with Diana, Duchess of Newcastle and Reina Whittelle, who had partnered her in the 1951 Daily Express event. They were classified 267th in a Sunbeam Talbot. She reappears in the principality in 1958, this time as a driver, in a Morris. She does not appear to have finished.  

In 1962, she hosted a party for lady drivers who had competed on the Monte, including Pat Moss-Carlsson, who had won that year’s Coupe des Dames in a Mini, Tish Ozanne, another 1962 finisher, and Kay Petre. The occasion was covered by the Daily Express and Lorna took great delight in telling the reporter that she had subjected all of her guests to a makeover, including matching curly hairstyles. Sheila van Damm, a good friend, was not spared this treatment.

The Hastings & St Leonards Observer talks of her entry in the Concours d’Elegance of the 1954 MCC Rally, which suggests she took part in the rally itself. In her own typical style, she would co-ordinate her outfits to her cars, particularly for concours events. One of her Jaguars was dark blue and white and she had a special outfit made to match it. Not content with jaguar seats in her rally car, she sometimes accessorised with a jaguar-skin coat or hat.

In 1958, she appears on the entry list of the Scottish Rally, driving a Jaguar Coupe.

Lorna also raced on the circuits occasionally. She was the winner of a 1955 Ladies’ Handicap at Goodwood in the Jaguar, ahead of Hazel Dunham and Jean Bloxam. She raced again at Goodwood in 1957.

As the 1950s gave way to the 1960s, she competed less, although she remained a semi-regular presence in the gossip columns, masterminding the social debuts and subsequent marriages of her two sons. She is still referred to as a rally driver, but she also appears to be working in the fashion industry.

She was involved in the creation of the "Golden Healey" show car, providing its fur seats.

Lorna died in 1998, shortly after marrying George Wheatley. She married several times during her life but chose to use the surname she shared with her first husband, Francis Snow, whom she married in 1934. Her family name was Turpie and Doone was her middle name.

Sheila van Damm sums her up in her autobiography, No Excuses:

“Flamboyant, even theatrical, she added a splash of colour to the rally world, although it was a mistake to underrate her ability as a driver. No-one took her seriously - least of all herself, for she has a wicked sense of humour.”

(Thanks to members of TNF, particularly Bill.)

(Image copyright Shutterstock)

The European Ladies' Rally Championship

Ewy Rosqvist and Ursula Wirth

The FIA European Rally Championship began in 1953. For the first thirteen years of its existence, a Ladies’ Championship prize was awarded to the overall highest-performing female driver.

In its heyday, the Ladies’ Prize was taken seriously by teams and manufacturers, who liked to use it in their lists of wins in their advertisements. The Ladies’ Prize was not a mere token either; a certain number of women had to take part in a rally for one to be given. It was not an award for showing up. This led to teams entering multiple female crews, in order to ensure that a prize would be awarded. This could be good news for female drivers, who got more chances to compete internationally, but it could also mean that once someone had picked up enough points to win, those drivers would be dropped from the team. Other tactics included deliberately pulling out of rallies, to make sure a rival was unable to score points.

The new ERC reinstated the Ladies’ Prize in 2013, with a less complicated set of rules.

Below is a list of the winners. Co-drivers’ names are given when known, and when they were a regular team-mate. Team names have been given when a driver used different cars during a season.

1953 Greta Molander (Saab 92)

1954 Sheila van Damm/Anne Hall (Sunbeam/Rootes team)

1955 Sheila van Damm/Anne Hall (Sunbeam/Rootes team)

1956 Nancy Mitchell (MG/BMC team)

1957 Nancy Mitchell (MG/BMC team)

1958 Pat Moss-Carlsson/Ann Wisdom (BMC)

1959 Ewy Rosqvist (Volvo)

1960 Pat Moss-Carlsson/Ann Wisdom (BMC)

1961 Ewy Rosqvist (Volvo)

1962 Pat Moss-Carlsson (BMC)

1963 Pauline Mayman/Valerie Domleo (BMC)

1964 Pat Moss-Carlsson (Saab 96)

1965 Pat Moss-Carlsson/Elisabeth Nyström (Saab 96)

1966 Sylvia Österberg (Volvo 122/Renault 8 Gordini)

2013 Molly Taylor/Sebastian Marshall (Citroen DS3)

2014 Ekaterina Stratieva/Carmen Poenaru (Citroen C2/Subaru Impreza)
2015 Ekaterina Stratieva/Julianna Nyirfás (Citroen C2/Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)

2016 Catie Munnings/Anne Katharina Stein (Peugeot 208)
2017 Tamara Molinaro/Ursula Mayrhofer/Giovanni Bernacchini/Martin Wydaeghe (Opel Adam)
2018 Emma Falcon/Eduardo Gonzalez Delgado (Peugeot 208 R2/Citroen DS3 R3T)
2019 Ekaterina Stratieva/Georgi Avramov (Peugeot 208 R2)

2020 Adrienn Vogel/Ivett Notheisz (Ford Fiesta Rally4)

(Image from https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/mercedes-benz/classic/women-and-motor-racing/)

Sheila van Damm

Sheila (left) in 1954, with Pauline Jesty and Joyce Leavens

Sheila van Damm was born in 1922, the daughter of London theatre impresario, Vivian van Damm. As with many other female drivers of her era, her first taste of motoring came during the Second World War, when she worked as a driver in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Encouraged by her father, she learned to fly an aeroplane too. For a time, she took part in aerobatics contests, although aircraft were never really her passion. Vivian van Damm employed a female personal pilot himself. 

Sheila and her sisters grew up around showgirls as well as a number of professional women employed by their father. In her autobiography, No Excuses, she comes across as clearly loving her father, but being somewhat scared of him. She admits to doing anything he told her to do, and that included driving a rally car.

She got her break in rallying in 1950, driving a works-prepared Sunbeam in the Daily Express Rally. The car was sponsored by her father’s infamous Windmill Theatre, which was known for its risqué revues. Vivian's aforementioned pilot, Zita Irwin, was one of those who persuaded her to have a go. Sheila, navigated by her sister Nona, drove a Sunbeam Talbot, with “Windmill Girl” proudly emblazoned down the side. This was to be Nona's only outing as a rally driver; she was car-sick and did not enjoy herself, returning to her beloved horses afterwards. They were third in the Coupe des Dames, and their performance impressed the Rootes team sufficiently for them to offer Sheila a works seat for the following season.

Although Nona never took to rallying, Sheila's mother, Natalie, later took it up in the mid-'50s.

Her first drive for Rootes was the 1951 Monte Carlo Rally, in a Hillman Minx. She was unplaced. Later in the year, navigated by the veteran Elsie “Bill” Wisdom, she won the Ladies’ Prize in the Closed car category of the RAC Rally. 

In 1952, she remained with Rootes, as she would for her entire rally career. As part of a three-woman team, she drove a Sunbeam Talbot in the Monte Carlo Rally. The other team members were Bill Wisdom and Nancy Mitchell. Sheila is also reported to have won a ladies’ award in an MCC Rally in the UK, in the same car.

1953 was a busy year. It began with the Monte Carlo Rally, in which Sheila was the second lady in her Sunbeam Talbot. Her co-drivers that year were Francoise Clarke, who sat beside her for the RAC Rally, and Anne Hall, who navigated her to the Coupe des Dames and a Coupe des Alpes in the Alpine Rally. They were 24th overall. The three almost always drove together and took turns at navigating, timekeeping and driving. Sheila was always in charge and admits to being rather harsh on her team-mates, although they all understood one another and their idiosyncrasies. Her best finish was eighth overall, in the Lisbon Rally. This was probably her best career result.

The furthest she travelled during her career was the USA; Rootes included her in a team for the 1953 Great American Mountain Rally. Unfortunately, she ran into problems on the tough terrain and was not among the leading finishers.

Sheila almost always drove with an all-female team, and had friendly rivalries with other female drivers like Nancy Mitchell, Madeleine Pochon and Lorna Doone Snow. However, she was also quite at home in the largely-male Rootes team, where the more experienced men were happy to help her out in becoming a better driver. Among them were Stirling Moss and Peter Collins.

1954 was full of action all over Europe for Sheila, ably assisted by Anne and Francoise. They drove a Sunbeam Talbot in the Monte Carlo Rally, but were unplaced, and later came tenth in the Tulip Rally, with a Ladies’ prize and second in class. In the same car, they also entered the Austrian Alpine Rally. For the Stella Alpina, they were allowed use of the Sunbeam Alpine prototype, and made off with the Ladies’ Trophy, and fifth in class. The Alpine Rally gave them another class fifth, and they were second in class in the Geneva Rally. A Coupe des Dames in the Viking Rally was another highlight.

1955 continued in the same vein. The Monte Carlo Rally produced her best result on that particular event: eleventh, and first lady. She was driving another Sunbeam with Francoise Clarke and Anne Hall. With Anne in the navigator’s seat, she won another Coupe des Dames on the RAC Rally, and was second in that category on the Tulip Rally, behind Greta Molander. Sheila and Greta were great rivals at this time, often in close competition for Ladies’ and class awards.

During and after her rally career, Sheila was a popular media personality. She wrote for the Daily Express, which sponsored rallies at the time. In 1955, she confessed to being very hard on Francoise Clarke in her role as co-driver and praised Francoise's patience. In the same interview, she also mentioned taking "pep pills" during longer events, which was common practice at the time. She was one of the favourites of rally journalist, Basil Cardew, who championed female talent.

In 1954 and 1955, she was European Ladies’ Champion, after her string of Coupes des Dames. She also helped Rootes to the team prize on the Monte Carlo Rally in 1954, 1955 and 1956.

1956 was her last year as a Rootes driver. She entered the Monte Carlo Rally in a Sunbeam. She finished but did not place in her class. Greta Molander also had an indifferent rally. 

Anne Hall now moved back to full-time driving, and Sheila prepared to wind down her motorsport career. She had wanted to reunite her original team, but the others were both busy. The Monte was her last event. She had the rare distinction of having finished every rally that she entered. Sometimes she only just managed to finish, but she managed.

As well as rallying, she proved a capable record-breaker and road-racer, winning her class on the 1956 Mille Miglia. She drove a Sunbeam Rapier with Peter Harper, and was 72nd overall. She was persuaded out of retirement for the 1957 Mille Miglia, again in a Rapier, with David Humphrey, but did not finish this time. Her record-breaking happened in 1953; during the Monte Carlo Rally, she hit 120mph in her Sunbeam, on the Jabbeke highway in Belgium.

After her competition career was over, Sheila helped her father with operations at the Windmill, and was its general manager between his death in 1960, and its eventual closure in 1964. In the late 1950s, she managed an all-female karting team, comprised of "Windmill girls". The theatre had always been her first love and her motorsport career was almost a stopgap before she could take over from Vivian. That said, she enjoyed her rallying and the life it entailed.  she remained in touch with her old world through her Vogue motoring column, and her presidency of the Doghouse Club, for “motorsport wives and ladies”.

Sheila's unconventional background was replicated somewhat in her own personal life. As well as the final demise of the Windmill in 1964, she had to contend with the sudden deaths of her friends Nancy Spain and Joan Werner Laurie in an air crash. The three had lived together in a menage a trois of sorts; Joan was probably Sheila's lover as well as Nancy's.

After the trials of 1964, she retired to a farm with Nona. Her mental health deteriorated and she received treatment for depression, including electroconvulsive therapy. The two sisters lived quietly and reclusively.

Sheila died in 1987. She had been suffering from cancer in secret for some time. Just two days after she confessed to her family and friends that she had the disease, it killed her.

(Image copyright Bournemouth Daily Echo)

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)