Annie Neil

Annie Neil, alongside her navigating sister Chrissie, rallied in the 1950s. Their first international event seems to have been the 1953 RAC Rally, driving a Morgan Plus 4, which was given to Annie by Peter Morgan, in recognition of her performance in a trial. 

Annie’s given name appears to have been Ines or Innes and she was sometimes known as Andy as well. Chrissie was also known as Kiki. She was awarded a Silver Garter in recognition of her being the “best woman driver in Britain” in 1953, following her Coupe des Dames in the Hastings Rally.

Having been interested in motorsport for a while, Annie entered her first rally and named her sister as her navigator, even though Chrissie could not drive. Her niece Candy says that she had to take a week-long crash course in order to be allowed to compete. They initially rallied mostly in Scotland and in the north of England, including the Morecambe Rally.

Quickly they became popular local media figures and even donned Edwardian outfits for a Glasgow-Largs-Kilmarnock veteran car race in 1957. They were driving a 1912 Vulcan.

As well as the RAC Rally in 1953, the Neil Morgan made an appearance in the Daily Express Rally in November. It had been successfully repaired after a roll on the RAC event.

The sisters competed abroad for the first time in January 1954, driving the Standard Vanguard they would become associated with in the Monte Carlo Rally. The Scotsman described them as being welcomed with flowers by spectators. The Morgan came out again for the MCC National Rally later in the year. 

In 1955, they entered the Monte Carlo Rally again, but retired after a lighting failure on their Standard Vanguard in Belgium. They drove the same car in the 1956 Monte, but appear to have retired again, possibly after missing a time control at Besancon. As ever, the reports of their Monte adventures mentioned their matching tartan-lined ski suits and tartan berets.

They are on the list of finishers for the 1955 Scottish Rally but their final position is not noted.

The Neil sisters were regulars in Scottish rallies until 1957, when Annie retired from major competition to start a family. Her daughter Candy was born in early 1957. Chrissie carried on for a short while, co-driving for her brother-in-law, Annie’s husband Frank Dundas.

Both were involved in motorsport administration as well as competition and were committee members for the Lanarkshire Motor Club. Chrissie even ran a local rally with an all-woman organising team in 1954, calling it “La Flop Des Dames”.

Annie had learned to drive during the War, and after her rallying days were over, ran the family pig farm in Tollcross. She died in 2004 aged 80. Chrissie became a fashion designer. She died in 1991, aged 64.

Listen to a podcast featuring Candy and Donald Dundas here. Photos from the same page.

Heather Baillie (McAlpine)

Heather is a Scottish racer, active in the 1980s and 1990s. She was a race winner in different driving disciplines, and enjoyed modest success on the track.

Her career began in earnest when she won a season’s Kit Car racing in a driving competition, having been entered by her father. This was in 1984, when she was 19, and followed some sprinting and hillclimbing in a Formula Ford. Her Kit Car season, in 1985, resulted in a class second overall.

In 1987, she went back to single-seaters, and raced in Formula First, the entry-level formula of the time. The 1987 season was not the easiest, with a crash putting her out of the first round at Brands Hatch. However, her second year as a Formula First driver saw her make progress, with a best finish of fifth, and tenth in the championship. Her time in this series was marred by a pitlane accident involving another Formula First car, at Brands Hatch. The car was driven by a novice, whom Heather was actually instructing at the time. She broke both of her legs and had to take time out from racing.

In 1989, she had another go at single-seaters, in Formula Forward. This resulted in another best finish of fifth, and eighth in the championship.

During this time, she was also racing a Suzuki Swift in saloon races, including the Willhire 24 Hours, held at Snetterton, in 1988 and 1989. She won her class in 1988.

She was a race-winner in the Ford Fiesta championship of 1990, finishing third in the points. Her win came at Oulton Park. The same year, she mastered small saloons as well as much bigger machinery, winning a British truck racing championship. Her British truck record included three wins and three seconds, from six races. She raced in some European Truck championship rounds, too, and was fourth in one race at Paul Ricard.

1991 was again focused around saloons, and she raced a Ford Sierra Cosworth in the Production Saloon championship. Although she could not quite repeat her heroics of the previous year, she had a best finish of second, and was sixth overall in the championship.

In a surprise switch back to single-seater racing, she contested eight rounds of the Japanese F3 championship, in 1992. She was part of the She’s Racing team. This was not an easy season for Heather, who did not manage to score any points.

1993’s activities are not completely clear, but it seems that she did some more truck racing, in the British Chamionship. It is clear from pictures that she also took part in one European championship round, at Le Castellet, driving a Chris Hodge TRD. The results are not forthcoming.

Back in the Asia-Pacific area in 1994, she raced a Toyota Celica with Gwenda Searle, at the James Hardie 12 Hour race in Australia. They did not finish.

Heather’s last significant motorsport activity was winning two AC Cobra races in the UK in 1995, racing as Heather McAlpine, following her marriage.  The same year, she was one of the instructors for the Daewoo Lady Driver competition.

Although she claimed in 2002 that she had not retired, she has not been seen competitively on the circuits since then. She has, however, been on them; in 1996, she started an all-female track day team, driving a SEAT Ibiza. Among her “fellow” drivers was Barbara Armstrong.

(Image copyright Rexscanpics)

Margaret Allan

Margaret Allan was born in 1909 in Scotland. She had the good fortune to be born into a wealthy family where women were encouraged and expected to be accomplished and useful people. Her aunt was a Suffragette.

Her mother encouraged her to learn to drive, and she was soon acting as the family’s driver, in their large Lagonda. She became very interested in driving and cars in general, which led to an interest in motorsports. Apparently unimpressed by the trials drivers of the Women’s Automobile and Sports Association, she was allowed to enter the family car into one of their events, which she won. The event was part of the London-Gloucester Trial in 1930. Margaret continued to compete in the Lagonda, and entered her first Brooklands races in it. It was too slow and cumbersome to be competitive.

It was replaced by another, supercharged Lagonda by her father in 1932. Apparently, she entered it into that year’s Brooklands Inter-Club Meeting, but the result has been lost. However, she is listed as a finisher in both the RAC and Scottish rallies in this car, starting at Bath and Glasgow respectively. Her first rallying experience had come in that year’s Monte Carlo Rally, as co-driver to Eve Staniland, who finished tenth in the Light Car class, in a works Riley. Some sources have Margaret as winning a Coupe des Alpes and Glacier Cup on that year’s Alpine Trial. She certainly took part that year, in a Wolseley, but her results have proved hard to verify.

In 1933, Margaret acquired the first of a series of big Bentleys, a 4.5-litre model. She was particularly successful in this car, winning the Junior Handicap at the Inter-Club meeting, and coming third in a JCC handicap. She also won a Ripley Long Handicap at an Easter meeting, in 1933 or 1934. The Bentley even proved effective as a rally car, netting Margaret a twelfth place in the Large Car class of the Scottish Rally.

For most of 1934, she abandoned big Bentleys. Her main exploit at Brooklands was finishing third in the Light Car Club’s annual relay, driving an MG Magnette. Her team-mates were Doreen Evans and Irene Schwedler. This led to an entry in the 1935 Le Mans 24 Hours, despite gamesmanship from Kay Petre’s Singer team that won them the official Ladies’ prize. Elsewhere, Margaret drove a Triumph in the Monte Carlo Rally, starting at snowy Umeå in Sweden. She was 60th overall.

Her motorsport year in 1935 appears to have been dominated by her Le Mans appearance, the only one she made during her career. She was part of a semi-works MG team, led by George Eyston and comprising of six female drivers. Margaret shared her MG Midget PA with Colleen Eaton. They were 26th overall, the last of the “Dancing Daughters” over the line, but their measured race helped MG to the team prize.

Away from Le Mans, she finished the Monte Carlo Rally once more, driving an AC to 40th place from Umeå.

1936 was a busy year for Margaret. She started with a record run at Brooklands in a Frazer Nash, and managed to set a new Outer Circuit record: 127 mph. This preceded a move back to Bentley power, in the shape of “Mother Gun”, a 6500cc single-seater, so-called for the loud bangs its engine produced on a regular basis. Margaret was rather fond of, and adept at driving, very large-engined, powerful cars. This was in contrast to many of her female contemporaries such as Doreen Evans and Kay Petre, who competed most often in little Austins, MGs and Rileys.

Her earliest outing in Mother Gun, the March Short Handicap, resulted in her almost winning a Brooklands 120mph badge, although she was not able to keep up with the leading drivers. She won the badge, a rare achievement, during the Whitsun Long Handicap, which she also won. One of the abiding images of Brooklands is Margaret in this car, tackling the banking with one front wheel off the ground.

1936 was her last full year of competition. As well as her heroics in Mother Gun, she drove a Frazer Nash at Shelsley Walsh, and possibly in some Brooklands events.

In 1937, she married Christopher Jennings, another racer, and started a family shortly afterwards. However, this was not the end of her motoring exploits, as she carried on as an automotive journalist for many years. Her road tests remained in demand until she was in her eighties.

During the war, she drove ambulances and worked at Bletchley Park as a code-breaker.

In 1950, in order to show she had not lost her touch, she drove in one last rally, the Circuit of Ireland. She won the Coupe des Dames.

She died in 1998, aged 89.

(Picture from http://www.hvauctions.com/)