PETER HEILBRON
S C H Davis, known to friends and fans as Sammy, is one of the most popular and enduring figures in the history of British motorsport, universally remembered for his heroic, glorious victory for Bentley at Le Mans in 1927 in a car that most would have considered hopelessly damaged.
Born in the 1880s, he experienced and was involved in the earliest days of motoring and motorcycling before going off to the First World War in 1914. Though injured, he survived the War and in 1919 joined the staff of The Autocar. Under the pen name "Casque" he was to be the magazine's Sports Editor until 1950.
In the 1920s he earned a reputation as a particularly fast, reliable and intelligent driver in competition, showing a profound sympathy with and understanding of machinery. He drove Alfa Romeo, Alvis, Aston Martin, Austin, Lea Francis and many other cars at Brooklands and all the motor racing venues of the day. This activity, along with journalism, continued into the 1950s, when he also entered a number of major international rallies. When hostilities broke out again in 1939, though now in his 50s and officially far too old to enlist, he was able to wangle his way into to war, and served through to 1945. In fact his forces career, covering both World Wars, included service in the army, the navy and the air force - a rare distinction.
Racing driver, journalist, artist and raconteur, he was one of the founders of the Veteran Car Club and - rare for an Englishman - was awarded Citizenship of Le Mans.
This is his last autobiography, crowning the two volumes of his experiences that were published in 1932 and 1949. It was drafted in the 1960s, when he was in his 80s, but was never published. Now pieced together and edited, it tells the story of his whole life, from childhood to old age, with reminiscences of family, marriage, friends, colleagues and fellow racing drivers as well as stories from his long and illustrious driving career. His son Colin has contributed a brief memoir of his father.
More than 140 photographs, many never previously published, shed further light on this unique personality.
