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Fearless
foursome planning to drive from Peking to Paris
in Austin Sevens
In 1959 John Coleman set out in his 1925 Austin Seven
from Buenos Aires en route to New York. That he made it
to New York, against almost overwhelming odds, is in
part a testament to the remarkable qualities of the
amazing Austin Seven.
Introduced in 1922, it was one of the first proper small
cars, as opposed to the crude cyclecars that preceded
it. Designed in absolute secrecy by Sir Herbert Austin
and Stanley Edge, the Seven proved unbelievably popular
and by 1939 some 290,000 were in use. It was exported
around the world and built under licence in France and
Germany, where it became the first-ever BMW. It has also
provided the basis for many an intrepid journey,
including that of the lovely Mrs Algernon Stitch,
heroine of Evelyn Waugh's Scoop, who drove her Seven
down the stairs of the gentlemen's public lavatory in
Sloane Street.
None of which explains why we are standing in a Chertsey
courtyard with two 1930 four-seater Austin Seven
"Chummy" models and an unbelievable amount of stuff:
spare parts, tents, sleeping bags, boxes of food, a toy
monkey and a set of bagpipes.
A better explanation might be found in the fact that
this year is the centenary of the infamous 1907 Peking
to Paris race, a motor extravaganza prompted by an
appeal in the pages of Le Matin newspaper that year:
"Will anyone agree to go, this summer, from Peking to
Paris by motor car?" Luigi Barzini's book Peking to
Paris sits between The Riddle of the Sands and Rogue
Male in any standard library of schoolboy literature.
The exploits of this Daily Telegraph journalist, who
accompanied Prince Scipione Borghese and his chauffeur,
Ettore, in their massive Itala as they faced the perils
of collapsing wheels, Mongolian river crossings,
revolting coolies and Sakhalin highwaymen, are gripping
stuff indeed - enough to have inspired 134 participants
in the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, which will be
flagged away from Tiananmen Square on May 27.
Raising the stakes by a couple of shark-infested lagoons
and a bottomless pit are four people who will quietly
leave Tiananmen Square some 10 days earlier, with a
great deal less fuss, in two 77-year-old Austin Seven
Chummys. In the red car will be Sebastian Welch and
Annabel Jones; in the blue car will be the husband and
wife team of Kip and Carmen Waistell. But why?
"I've been wanting to do this trip for 25 years,"
explains Kip, the instigator of the adventure. "Back
then we couldn't get sponsorship; it was the same when I
tried again in 1987. In 2005 Carmen and I rode two
scooters back from Kazakhstan and I started to plan a
trip for this year." In a complicated arrangement, the
journey is sponsored by DHL on the proviso that all
money raised will go to Unicef - they hope to raise
enough to buy more than 3,000 mosquito nets for children
in Kenya. And the bagpipes? "I've piped all over the
world and even piped a cobra out of a basket in India,
so this will be another tick in the box," says Kip.
The two crews and cars have an intriguing mix of
competences - although, happily, only one plays the
bagpipes. Annabel is one of the best navigators you
could wish for; as a friend once remarked, "she can
navigate you to a win in the worst car on the event".
Sebastian is an experienced trials competitor and his
Austin Seven is suitably modified with a pressure-fed
crankshaft and shell bearings.
Kip's car is much more original, and slower, but has the
advantage of plodding reliability - although its lovely
patina is unlikely to survive the rigours of Chinese
roads. Unlike their fellows, he and Carmen have
experienced the sort of roads they are likely to
encounter. "We will not be driving after dark," he says
before recounting a horrific collision with an open
manhole that Carmen survived in 2005: "You cannot avoid
what you cannot see." Annabel and Sebastian have
attended the Royal Geographical Society's Far From Help
first-aid course and their medical supplies are
impressive, especially the emergency dentistry kit.
Annabel has allowed two months for the journey, aiming
to arrive in France for Bastille day on July 14, but
freely admits they have taken enough time off for the
trip to last three months.
"People have been incredibly helpful," says Sebastian.
"When you tell them what you are about to do, they help
out in the most generous ways, almost as if they want to
be part of it." According to Annabel, they will cover
7,500 miles in total, and the route will takes them into
the southern part of Asia's largest desert, the Gobi. I
once flew over this chilling wilderness in a jumbo jet.
At 37,000ft, there were no visible signs of life for
about two-and-a-half hours: no towns, no villages, no
farms, no roads... nothing. It was very beautiful but as
barren as a piece of shoe leather. Thinking about this,
I say farewell and walk down the long Chertsey driveway.
Looking back, the two Sevens seem too tiny and too
flimsy to attempt a crossing of such an inhospitable
ocean of sand. As I walk on, they get ever smaller and
more gossamer-like, until they are hardly there at all.
It seems a mighty task for such fragile motor cars, but
no doubt that's what John Coleman thought, too.
You can donate to the Unicef appeal and follow the
team's exploits via their website: www.pekingparis.co.uk.
As we went to press we received news of yet another
attempt to drive from Peking to Paris in an Austin
Seven, although as Vince Leak claims his 9,500-mile
itinerary will follow the original route through
Mongolia and Siberia, the Chinese shouldn't be too
confused. He and his two colleagues will leave Peking in
their three Austin Seven box saloons on May 10. Watch
this space for news of their progress.
Click
here for
their itinerary, photos and kit list.
Telegraph,
5 May 2007
Aylesbury man takes on century-old challenge
AN Aylesbury man is set to
follow in the footsteps of an Italian noble as he
ventures across no less than eight countries, a century
after the trip was first completed.
Father of two Chris
Parkhurst, a 57-year-old retired RAF Wing Commander, of
Northumberland Avenue in Bedgrove, will drive from
Beijing to Paris on his third endurance trip in his 1931
Austin Seven, a journey that is expected to take about
18 weeks. He is currently waiting to find out
about visas, but will be following the route Prince
Scipione Borghese took in 1907 across varied terrains
after his car has been shipped out at the end of May.
The race was originally called Peking to Paris and 100
years ago the prize was a magnum of Mumm champagne, but
now the challenge is being staged for charity. Mr
Parkhurst has decided any money raised from the trek
will go to the Friends of Florence Nightingale House,
the Aylesbury hospice, who will be running a 'guess the
mileage' competition. He has previously taken part
in other challenges similar to this one in Latin America
and along the original route 66, but he believes there
will be different challenges ahead on this trip.
Mr Parkhurst said: "The toughest part will be the China
and Mongolia parts because of the language differences.
In America you can see the map and read it as well as
talk to people, but here all you have is symbols so
that's going to be very difficult," he added.
"There are parts of the route where there won't be any
road signs and you've got to go on your sense of
direction. But with my background in the RAF I
will take my compass and hopefully that will see us
through. There are lots of tracks off the roads so
it's like a cowboy and western scene with confusion over
which route to take at the junctions. We will have
to camp out several nights and we need to watch fuel
levels because petrol stations are few and far between."
The Austin 7 Mr Parkhurst will be driving with his
co-pilot, Steve Griggs from Brackley, was used in the
film Luck Jim based on the Kingsley Amis book and was
renowned on set for being the only car that never failed
to start. It is also believed to have originated
in Brill and it may have served the Home Guard during
the Second World War. As well as the Gobi and
Siberian deserts, the cars taking part in the challenge
will visit the great wall of China, St Petersburg and
Moscow.
To take part in the guess
the mileage competition, entry costs £1 and people are
being asked to contact FFNH on 01296 429975.
The Bucks
Herald,
2 April 2007
Old Club Photos
Club member
Roger Horsfield bought an old
camera and decided to develop the film inside it and
guess what.... out came three photos taken in the mid
70s showing an Austin meet outside The Cricketers Pub in Chobham. Some of the members then took the bus
(photo
2) to Hyde Park where they were going to marshal for a
veteran car club.
If you recognise
someone and/or their car, please
email
me
and I'll start
putting the puzzle together!
photo 1
From left:
Ron (deceased)
and Veronica Garside with Dave Reilly's dog.
Tom Turner
photo 2:
Graham Buck
From right:
First car - MV 2557 -
Brian Wilson, great pal of Brian Studley
Second car - AMD 318
- Dan Belton (deceased)
Third car - - KR 9277
- Dave Reilly, now lives in the states
Fifth car - PJ 7569 -
Ron and Veronica Garside
photo 3
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