At the Regensburg Rally in June 2007, we celebrated the life of Fritz M. Fend, inventor and designer of Messerschmitt cars, with a visit to his grave at Dreifaltigkeitsberg Friedhof in Regensburg. Wreaths were laid by Messerschmitt Club Deutschland in memory of Fritz Fend who died on 22nd November 2000 at Regensburg. At his funeral in November 2000, MOC was represented by Ken Piper and Mick Morton. We are grateful to them for making the long journey to Regensburg to represent us at the funeral that was attended by some hundreds of mourners. Oliver Vogel, then president of Messerschmitt Club Deutschland, kindly helped with arranging for a wreath to be sent on behalf of the Messerschmitt Owners’ Club.

In considering Fend’s life and achievements we have to take into account his wartime work at the Rechlin Test Centre in located East Germany. Without doubt this made his mark in German engineering, and at an astonishingly early age. It was his reputation there for finding simple solutions to technical problems, particularly in relation to the then new tricycle retractable undercarriage, (Fahrwerk, in German), that brought Fritz Fend to the attention of Professor Messerschmitt, although he was never employed by Messerschmitt then or later.

It is important to remember that Fend was primarily an aeronautical engineer who came to design transport almost by accident (and necessity) following the war. After the Potsdam Agreement, aeronautics was closed to him unless he was prepared to emigrate which at that time, meant the US, the Soviet Union, or Britain. A return to aviation in the post-war world would however have meant becoming one of a design team, a prospect which did not attract Fritz Fend who preferred involvement in every detail. Although he was definitely not a motor industry person, Fritz Fend achieved recognition as a brilliantly successful designer of light vehicles in the years following the Second World War.

Vehicles were a thread that ran throughout Fritz Fend’s life, though at heart he remained an aeronautical engineer. An innovative designer and development engineer who always looked to the future, he was in constant demand as a consultant with even governments among his clients seeking help on questions of engineering and industrial design.

There is no evidence that he considered emigrating though he often said he had no interest in ‘becoming part of a design team’. Throughout his career he remained independent, always acting as a consultant, often reaching licensing agreements with his many clients which included Fichtel and Sachs. His designs for RSM (Messerschmitt) were on a licensing basis. He was, of course, a director of FMR when he formed that company with Knott, but could come and go as he pleased though it was a full-time occupation as all development work was done by Fend personally.

Except for the Fend 2000 concept car, Fend’s vehicle designs are all contemporaries of the Cabin Scooter period. The Lastenroller was the first Fend vehicle to be built at the Regensburg Messerschmitt plant, in 1952. The KR 175, KR 200, Mokuli and Tg 500 all followed as did the military vehicle design for the German government, or Bundeswehr. Although his vehicle designs were always innovative, Fend’s masterpiece is probably the KR 200 where his revolutionary suspension systems created a light car that handled very well compared to contemporary designs.

In the German tradition Fritz Fend produced integrated designs, his sole discernible influence being that of Professor Willy Messerschmitt evidenced by aerodynamic shape, minimal frontal area and especially lightness of construction. He also acknowledged the brilliance of Ing. Norbert Riedel, another wartime colleague with a similar approach to the solution of technical problems.

In late 1963 Fend left FMR and his post ‘bubble-car’ career involving transport projects that would have been part of his consultancy work for the Development Institute he founded on leaving FMR. This continued pretty well up to his death in November 2000. There is some evidence that his private venture with the Fend 2000 got him into financial difficulties as he attempted to attract support to put this unusual concept vehicle into production. Unfortunately it remained only a concept but it did in a remarkable way illustrate Fritz Fend’s design philosophy of light construction, tandem seating and minimal frontal area which stemmed from his wartime work on the Me 262 at Rechlin.

Bill Street, the proprietor of Testwood Motors in Southampton always admired the work of Ing. Fritz Fend. Testwood Motors played a significant role in early competitive events using KR175’s KR200’s and finally, with outstanding success, the Tg500. A great fan and the star of that particular show was, Ken Piper. There were a few other keen competition Tg 500 drivers but Ken’s spectacular feats with the Tiger were definitely in a class of their own.

Our Club had known Fritz Fend since 1958 when, in a typical gesture, he had driven north to give us a special preview of the Tiger. To us in still-recovering Britain his visit at that time was like a breath of fresh air. The event was such a success that we were all invited to Regensburg the following year when this favourable impression was reinforced by our meetings with the Clubs laying the foundations for all we have today. For the first time we learned that in Germany we had real friends.

An outgoing, friendly person, in common with the great majority of his native Bavarians, Fritz Fend’s influence was pervasive and beneficial. He had time for, and was hospitable towards the humblest schmitter, particularly the disabled, and used to say ‘if a driver still has a head, we can adapt a car for them’.

Fritz Fend was genuinely liked and admired by those he employed – always a sure guide to character – and this was most evident at Fahrzeug und Maschinenbau Regensburg GmbH, the company he founded with Ing. Valentin Knott to continue Messerschmitt vehicle production. The epitaph to Fritz Fend will be the KR 175, KR 200 and Tg 500, parts of a group of micro cars which gave rise to the Mini and modern Supermini. In his homeland the gifted engineer will additionally always be respected for his contribution to the dramatic post-war recovery in what was then the Federal Republic of Germany, by helping to motorise the population and, particularly in Regensburg, for bringing quality employment at a time when it was most needed. He is the person who brought us all together and enriched our lives with the many good friendships formed between Messerschmitt owners.

David Garner
14.01.2014

INA HELGA BONNER (nee Engeroff) 1924 – 2009  written and compiled by David Garner

Helga was born 17th January, 1924 in what is now West Berlin in the former American sector near the district of Zehlendorf. She grew up in Berlin with her parents, along with twin brother and sister, Peter and Sonja and youngest brother Klaus, and had a happy childhood. She attended the Zinnowwald-school in Berlin and later the University of Potsdam. Helga was a very private person and it was not easy to ask her about her past. Some years ago, our President, Phil Boothroyd, asked her frequently about the time during World War II and coaxed from her the fact that she had been conscripted to load ammunition in one of the many Flak towers around Berlin. She would not have wanted that to be known as she was concerned that it would still be a sensitive subject even 50 years after the war ended.

Helga was still studying medicine at the University of Potsdam, and was 18 years old when the Russians overran Berlin. A recently published history of wartime Berlin; Antony Beevor’s “Berlin: the Downfall, 1945”, paints a shocking picture of life in the closing days of the war. Helga’s Father, (who was in civilian clothing), was shot dead by Russian forces just down the street from their home on the last day of the war. That was the fate of many men in Berlin and all Women suffered horribly in Russian hands. As Russian forces seized the city, Helga became separated from her parents and siblings, living in cellars in the ruined city. Eventually, a family of a school friend smuggled her over the border to the Western zone.

60 years ago in 1949, England recruited a large number of nurses in Germany. Helga was one of these prospective student nurses. They were collected in a group camp, transferred to England and given a choice of hospitals in which to work. Helga, along with three other student nurses, Ann, Elizabeth and Judy, for no particular reason, chose to work Black Notley Hospital, near Braintree in Essex. This foursome, plus two later arrivals, were the pioneers of the newly established Nurses Training School, under the kindly guidance of Sister Tutor, Mr. (Spud) Murphy, who was always remembered with great affection. He made them pay a nickel every time he caught them speaking German. Helga spoke little English when she arrived, but learned very quickly, acquiring an Irish accent, as there were many Irish nurses present. She excelled in operating room assistance, was greatly respected by the hospital staff and well liked by her co-workers and friends.

It was while training that she met Neville, a patient suffering from Ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis. After becoming a State Registered Nurse, they married in January, 1953 and moved to nearby, Kelvedon. Neville’s condition deteriorated gradually so that he ended up paralysed from head to foot with only limited arm and foot movement. Not surprisingly he was difficult to live with as the condition got worse but Helga did all she could, and nursed him to the end. Neville had worked for the Electricity Board and had been able to dance in his younger days. They greatly enjoyed telling of an incident when several police cars arrived outside their house after someone had reported seeing a dead body being transported in Helga’s Wartburg estate car. The penny dropped only when Neville appeared propped up on his crutches causing the police officer much embarrassment. After that, Neville made a point of waving to everyone who saw him in the car to let them know he was very much alive. During their 40 years of devoted married life, her determination and tenacity was such that, they travelled to many places together, including parts of Europe, at a time when special needs and wheelchairs were not considered, and certainly not catered for.

Between 1954 and the late 1970’s she worked for the Spastics Society at Prested Hall, then Drummonds Spastics Centre, and later went on to do computer programming at Fords, Dagenham. Neville’s disability entitled him to a specially modified Villiers powered AC invalid carriage and he would be seen at Club events in convoy with Helga’s pale blue KR200 (‘811 TMG’ we believe). She joined the MOC (London & South Eastern) soon after it was formed and quickly became part of Les Tilbury’s team. He recognised her talents for precise bookkeeping and she served for a number of years as MOC (L&SE) Treasurer. Helga was among the first to bring back spares from Germany for Club members and wrote to dealers in Germany who were in the vicinity of Aschaffenburg where she and Neville were going on their holiday. A number of clutch bearings were smuggled back on the train in a shoe box as the U.K had very tight expenditure and import restrictions for tourists during that time. Les eventually persuaded her to take on the Partsmart job when he could no longer manage it. Although she initially accepted the job with some misgivings due to her lack of technical knowledge, she quickly learnt what everything was for and was able to guide members in their parts purchases. She treated Partsmart as a full time occupation maintaining an enviable reputation for service that far exceeded what is encountered in most other car clubs. Those of us who supported the Partsmart service with parts sourcing and technical issues found her to be uncompromising in maintaining the parts supply and hence the standard of service. She would badger us regularly to keep up supplies as Partsmart developed into a worldwide source for Messerschmitt parts. While running the Partsmart service, she also managed the Club accounts, maintaining a strict control of cash flow – refusing to buy parts until funds were in place to cover them. Under her control, MOC built a sound financial system that remains to this day. The Partsmart service enabled Helga and Neville to make friends all over the world – they were both thrilled when a member came all the way from Mexico to visit their house for spares. Soon the network extended throughout the world and she thoroughly enjoyed a visit to California where the local Club members gave her a memorable time.

Her failing health was always a concern to her after Neville’s death and she suffered a minor stroke that caused her to worry about continuing with Partsmart. Neville had cautioned her about this, reminding her how things had slipped somewhat when Les Tilbury’s health was failing. Her good friend, Carolyn Knights stepped into the breach and supported her with preparing parts orders. Reluctantly, she gave up the Partsmart job on 1st August 2005 when she felt she could no longer maintain the level of service that she had set. We tried to persuade her to stay on as we felt the social contact would be better for her. All the residents of Kelvedon benefited from the MOC basing its Partsmart operation in this small Essex village as it kept both the local Post Office and Barclays Bank going. Both Helga and Neville, enjoyed bird watching and Helga kept a well stocked bird table outside her room at Coggeshall. She took a great interest in the Arts, and History. Helga has touched, and enriched many people’s lives and will be sadly missed.

Although many members wanted to attend a funeral to pay their respects to Helga, she had left specific instructions with her Executor Carolyn Knights regarding the funeral arrangements. Those of us who knew Helga well will understand that her specific requests are not negotiable and we respected her final wishes. A simple cremation took place at a crematorium in Essex at 09:45 on Thursday 29th October. It was specifically requested that there should be no ceremony, flowers, cards, service, or anything marking the occasion. It was enough for her to know that we all thought of her at the cremation time. Her ashes are to be distributed on Shingle Street, Suffolk in the same location where the ashes of her Husband, Neville were scattered. A permanent memorial to Helga’s achievements is to be developed. Although some ideas were presented at the recent Club meeting, it was felt that a Rally award was not suitable taking account of the loss of memorable items such as the Kabinews award.

We gratefully acknowledge the help of Carolyn Knights and Mark Smith in compiling these notes.

Phil Boothroyd, (right) presenting artwork to David Garner MOC president. by  David Garner

The son of a tailor, Phil was born on the 1st November 1929 in Birmingham, grew up in the Hall Green area of the city and lived within two miles of there all his life. He was the youngest of four children, having three older sisters. One vivid wartime memory he described is the Luftwaffe raid on 14 November 1940 that was the most severe to hit Coventry during the war. It was carried out by 515 German bombers and he watched the resulting firestorm from his bedroom window. Of course this did not affect his great affection for German people, language, and culture but it did create an interest in the Second World War and particularly German aircraft development.

During the war, Phil extended his interest in railways and adventure by ignoring the government demand to avoid unnecessary travel as he used the relatively new Great Western Railway diesel railcar service to Cardiff. Any adult travelling by train during the war would have been questioned by police to explain the reason for travel but as a child, Phil did not come under much scrutiny often hiding stood by the door for the whole journey. On arrival in Cardiff he would explore the Welsh valley lines and it was on one of these trips in 1944 that he discovered the huge locomotive store that was part of the D-day invasion plans. He was fascinated with the line of over 100 new locomotives at Treforest, part of a consignment of over 400 that had been imported from the USA through Cardiff docks, then assembled into full working order at Ebbw Junction shed in Newport. He was fully aware that he had to keep his knowledge of this secret due to the strategic importance of the store.

Phil left school without significant academic achievement and his first employment as a clerk in a building society office was not enjoyable for him. When he was called up for National Service in 1948 it was with surprising enthusiasm that he joined the Warwickshire Regiment knowing that they were recently active in strife-torn Palestine. A more unlikely candidate for military service is hard to imagine but it was to have a huge impact on Phil’s future life. An interest in music quickly established him in the regimental band where he played a number of wind instruments but was proficient in the Clarinet. A natural progression to saxophone was made and he became an accomplished player of the bass, tenor, and alto saxophone. This was of course the big band swing era dominated by the music of Glenn Miller and there was much demand for dance bands at social events.

After leaving National Service, Phil joined the band on the RMS Caronia. The Cunard White Star company’s 34,183 ton RMS Caronia, was launched from John Brown’s Shipyard on Clydebank, Glasgow on 30 October 1947. This was the first ever ship purpose-built for transatlantic crossings and more importantly for cruising as an all first-class ship. Luxury on an unimaginable scale was a feature of the ship with her fabulous art-deco interiors and high crew to passenger ratio. This was a period of severe austerity for the U.K. as the country was bankrupt owing billions to the USA for war materiel so the passengers were mostly American with a few of the remaining British aristocracy who still had significant wealth. She provided the ultimate in luxury living for her wealthy passengers, and the opportunity of round the world travel for her crew. Phil travelled the world on this ship visiting almost every country and would be away for months at a time. During this time that Phil met many of the world’s celebrities and he became at ease with people of a higher social standing in a time when the class system was still very much alive in post war Britain. Entertainers such as Phil lived a nocturnal life only returning to his cabin in the early hours of the morning and this mode of living stayed with him all his life.

Life on the ship eventually came to an end and Phil continued his career appearing in the many dance halls that were a feature of British life in the 50’s and early 60’s. As a musician he came to know some of the highly skilled arrangers who could adapt the popular music of the day for dance band use. Phil had come to know Newcastle upon Tyne from his service on the cruise ship and he lived in the town for some time while playing in the local dance halls. It was there he developed a relationship with a female friend that lasted some time but did not work out in the end. In continuing his career he became involved with the Musicians’ Union and in due course progressed to become full-time secretary of the Midlands section of the Musicians’ Union. In this role he came to know many big names in the music business such as Duke Ellington and Humphrey Littleton. Far from being a name-dropper, if pressed he would relate many an anecdote from his dealings with celebrities. Phil‘s character was ideally suited to dealing with awkward complaints from celebrities such as increases in Union subscriptions in his tactful and friendly manner.

A most significant event was the BBC musicians’ strike in July 1980 supported by 83.6 per cent of the affected players in a secret postal ballot of the union composed of members of all political dispositions. This tested Phil’s negotiating skills as the BBC imposed unilateral changes that were in breach of a written agreement. Ultimately the BBC had to back down and there was eventually a negotiated settlement brokered by Phil.

The need to travel to work together with his instruments and returning when most public transport had ceased demanded that he had his own transport. This was what drove the acquisition of his first Messerschmitt that he bought new in 1958 and registered ME200 long before personalised number plates became fashionable. His first contact with MOCGB (as a non-member) was at a committee meeting in Aylesbury in April 1958 and Phil had driven to the meeting in his Kr200.. Ernst Hartmann, the leading light in the club at that time was there, as was Esca Mansford. Phil must have joined the club at that point because his first club run in ME200 as a member was on the 7th May 1958 to Alton Towers – see article ‘Phil Boothroyd recalls’ in Kabinews September/October 2012. Notably, Phil attended the very first UK Messerschmitt Rally in the summer of 1959 in ME200 held in Wicksteed Park Kettering. On 8th January 1960, at an MOCGB committee meeting in Ashby de la Zouch, Stan Williams proposed Phil as a committee member as ‘Press and Public Relations Officer’. For some reason, Chairman Ernst Hartmann voted against but despite this, Phil was voted on to the committee by a majority vote. Hence Phil began his 54 year long position as a serving club officer. He participated in the MOC trips to the FMR plant in Regensburg that were organised by Ernst Hartmann initially in 1959 and this fuelled his enthusiasm for Messerschmitts and the links to the various Karo-Clubs in Germany together with a desire to learn German language.

Thus Phil was at the forefront of every significant development in the evolution of the UK Messerschmitt movement. By 1964 he was MOCGB Club Chairman and realised the need for a spare parts service when FMR announced they were ceasing production. With the then MOCGB Club Treasurer, Geoff Robinson, he set up a parts sales service trading as Karo Supplies operating from 31 Cattell Road, Small Heath, Birmingham 9. This business arrangement was set up without revealing that Phil was a partner in it and this was probably because of the somewhat difficult relationship with Ernst Hartmann. Parts were advertised nationally in Exchange & Mart and in the MOCGB club magazine ‘Messerschmitt News’. Although it appeared to be a business operation, in fact it operated from the private house in Cattel Road owned by Phil and Geoff. Karo Supplies continued to advertise regularly in Messerschmitt News right up till November 1969 and offered 5% discount on production of a Club membership card.

As a frequent visitor to the port of Southampton, Phil came to know of Testwood Motors in nearby Totton and especially the proprietor, Bill Street. They were the largest Messerschmitt dealer in the U.K. and the only one with a direct import franchise with RSM and FMR avoiding the main importer (Cabin Scooter Assemblies). When Testwood Motors gave up their dealership, Phil continued to have his car serviced by their renowned Messerschmitt specialist, Len Drake. As Testwood Motors developed their VW dealership the service ended but Karo Supplies bought all remaining parts and tools with a view to establishing a continuing parts supply. With almost no mechanical ability, Phil relied on Geoff to identify the parts while he handled the administration. Development of Karo Supplies was limited as Geoff became a Director of a company specialising in fastener systems based in Leamington Spa and the residual parts from Karo Supplies were eventually sold to MOC in 1997.

When links to Fichtel and Sachs were established in 1969, Phil supported using MOCGB funds to buy in parts but did not reveal his interest in Karo Supplies that was unknown to most committee members at that time. Of course, a Club parts service would have reduced the value of Karo Supplies stock but by 1969, they were not very active. He did help MOCGB with his own funds to get the parts service started and this helped to forge the relationship with Les Tilbury and MOC (L&SE) that was then the other main Messerschmitt Club in the UK.

Some years later, liaising with Les Tilbury, Phil was heavily involved in the merging of the two main British clubs. This went on to become ‘The International Federation of Messerschmitt Clubs’, another of Phil’s far-sighted ideas. Later on he spent probably a couple of years meticulously composing the Constitution document for what, by this time, had simply become the ‘MOC’. This document now forms the basis of MOC Ltd’s Memorandum & Articles of Association. Nowadays, probably only a small number of members will be aware of the huge influence that Phil’s painstaking work in his 54 years as a Club officer has had on the structure and strengths of the MOC as it exists today.

He was forced to retire early from his job with the Musicians’ Union at the early age of 51 to become full-time carer for his mother who had, by this time, developed the late stages of dementia and was totally dependent on Phil for everything. The very commendable but nonetheless heavy burden of the care for his mother lasted for many years as she lived to be 96 years of age. Despite being a very outgoing and easy-mixing sort of person, Phil never married and perhaps the restrictions that this thankless job imposed upon Phil could have been one of the reasons.

Phil was an extremely well-read and intelligent man and a most entertaining conversationalist and writer on many subjects. Those that knew him will be aware of his dry sense of humour which often came out of his writings. He was most meticulous in everything he took on and his insistence on absolute accuracy could, at times, work against him, delaying the completion of a piece of work. Phil’s knowledge on matters Messerschmitt (both aircraft and vehicles) was phenomenal and he had what was an almost unique ability to pluck a date or piece of information from memory on request. If Phil contributed a piece of work or information on anything related to Messerschmitt, you could be assured that it would be correct. Although he was an accomplished German language speaker, he rarely demonstrated his ability in public because he was, (characteristically), afraid of making grammatical errors. He wrote many fine obituaries for notable Messerschmitt people and particularly Les Tilbury where he made extensive notes from meetings earlier meetings. He was less forthcoming and typically shy when asked if notes could be taken about his life so these notes have necessarily been compiled from memory. He interviewed Fritz Fend at some length together with a number of Messerschmitt and RSM/FMR employees. At some future date these and other notes will be published by MFGB.

In 1991, Phil became a director of a company known as Karo Securities Limited. Although this company was formed on 4th Nov 1971 it is not clear what Phil’s involvement was but the company did own some property in Leamington Spa and the other director was Geoffrey Robinson. Phil’s directorship ceased on 30 September 2002 and the company ceased trading on 22 March 2005.

In 1992, with characteristic generosity, Phil offered to set up a Trust known as the Messerschmitt Foundation of Great Britain to be managed by MOC for the preservation of Messerschmitt archives and Phil’s collection of 2 Kr200’s and one Tg500. A building was included in the Trust and with funding provided by Phil to the end of 1994 after which MOC would become responsible for any operating costs until Phil’s death when it was to become self-funding from his estate. Although it was initially accepted with some enthusiasm, there were some MOC members who were not happy with the location of the building and the financial commitment that went with it. After a number of letters imploring Phil to give up the idea, he decided that he would fund it himself with support of 3 other Trustees. It exists now as a separate entity from MOC and has a collection of various Messerschmitt and FMR vehicles together with all Phil’s archive material. With Phil’s passing Fend House will benefit from his painstaking setting up of MFGB with sound financial structures giving it significant strength to maintain and develop Messerschmitt history for future generations.

By 2007, Phil’s eyesight, which had already begun to deteriorate due to age-related macular degeneration, robbed him of his favourite activities, reading and writing. He had already been warned by his doctor that he would have to consider giving up driving soon and this warning stopped him driving immediately. The last event at which Phil made an appearance was that same year (2007) at the Wychwood Rally. After that he became reclusive and contact became increasingly difficult as his health and eyesight deteriorated.

It was encouraging to see Phil’s many friends at his funeral that was more a celebration of his life than the sad occasion it might have been. His achievements were considerable and enriched the lives of all those who took the trouble to get close to him. In creating the Messerschmitt Foundation of Great Britain he leaves an enduring memorial to a great man.

Les’s long and distinguished editorship of Kabinews was only part of his unique contribution to MOC affairs but when in January 1989 he handed this task over to Colin Hooper most of us sensed that his dedicated service to the Club was moving to a close. Hopes of a ‘Les Tilbury Column’ were sadly not fulfilled and now that the final break has come his loss at the age of 77 leaves schmitters with a special kind of sadness.

An Obituary should paint a finished picture and I should state that after Les had made a good recovery from his stroke in 1985 I gently broached the subject that, assuming I was still around, the responsibility for writing his might one day fall to me. Mike Kensdale subsequently formalised the matter by raising it at the NEG. Because he was a realist Les took all this in his stride and gave me many details about his life knowing they would one day appear in print. None of us knew Les as a younger person when he played the central role in other organisations so to help set that part of his long life into the context of his Club years I headed for Maldon in Essex to see his old friends lt1illiam (Bill) and Joyce (Joy) Ginn. The
relaxed chat with Bill and Joy, in which they recalled happy times with Les and May, and with Joy’s late husband Len Brett, another great friend of Les, helped bring to light how Les’s superb skills as a communicator and organiser were acquired and honed to the brilliance from which we as a Club were later
to benefit so substantially.

I should also like to thank Gill Brown, Les’s daughter, for allowing Alan Marriott and I access to Les’s papers which revealed the prodigious output and staggering range of his activities as a writer going back to 1930. Like all the family, Gill is a schmitter and took over Les’s KR 200 in 1990 and
intends to be out on the road again soon.

Leslie Walter Tilbury was born at Brentwood, Essex, just after the outbreak of the First World War on 26th September 1914, into what he used to describe as ‘an ordinary Essex working class family’. If you look at old issues of Kabinews you will find Us referred to it in these terms on more than one occasion. Although I never argued with him on the subject, when I asked about his early childhood some of his reminiscences rather indicated that it was not quite as ordinary as all that. Les’s father sent him to a private boy’s school where the fees were £6 per term, and had his own business as a tailor some of whose clients would today be described as ‘upmarket’. He made clothes for local business people and the horse riding fraternity, such as jodhpurs. Bill Ginn recalled having some outfit’s made by Mr. Tilbury that were so good they simply never wore out. tiThe quality was such that you eventually became fed up with wearing them all the time and just threw them out” remembered Bill.

In 1920, when Les was almost 6 years old, an event occurred the consequences of which stayed with him throughout his life and must have had at least some bearing on the formation of his character. Those who never met Les and anyone who knew him only through telephone cal1~probab1y from overseas, will most likely be unaware he was partially disabled. Joy Ginn recalled “it was serious, but it never stopped him doing what he wanted”. Without making a drama of it Les made it clear in a long talk I had with him at Frating Green on 14th January 1989 that what had happened to him 70 years earlier could well have saved his life in view of subsequent world events. I shall return to this point below.

Near the Tilbury home at 126, Ongar Road, Brentwood, there stood an enormous weeping willow tree. One unlucky day young Les had a go at climbing and when only four feet up fell heavily on his left elbow. Some other kids brought him home and a doctor was called who diagnosed ‘more than an average fracture’. Joy Ginn told me it was actually a compound greenstick fractLU’e and added that the doctor announced “we shall have to amputate”. To their credit Les’s parents would not give their consent. For weeks and weeks no pulse could be felt and the arm went, in Les’s words, “like a lump of wood”. A primitive form of electrical treatment was applied and gradually some feeling returned. As all movement of the fingers was lost Les’s father was worried and took him to Harley Street in London (then as now a centre for Britain’s top medical brains – treatment there must have cost the family quite a lot) where he was seen by a specialist, Dr. Elmsleigh, necessitating Les staying during 1921-22 with an aunt while treatment was given. Dr. Elmsleigh prescribed a special aluminium adjustable splint. This was intended to pull the left hand back to the normal position but for Les it was torture as his hand always wanted to return to the bent position in which it had become set. After a miserable year of little progress Les was returned to the local doctor at Brentwood who recommended a new heat treatment twice weekly then becoming available at Brentwood cottage Hospital. But it also failed to bring the hand back into position and, discouraged, the family eventually had to give up the therapy. There was some improvement years later however, as movement of the fingers gradually returned when Les stopped growing. He had by then resigned himself to a permanently damaged left hand.

All this disruption can hardly have helped Les’s education and Bill Ginn believes that elder brother Joe, who became an architect, had a larger share of the resources the family could provide. Les never seemed to resent this according to Bill, and with the sole exception of his swimming pool at Frating Green, followed a consistently modest life-style.

Leaving school at age 15 Les found a job at 75pence per week with a firm of wholesale chemists known as Dakin’s where the conditions were, as he described them, ‘Dickensian’. This did not last long however and the year 1930 saw Les drawing the dole for a while before landing a temporary job as a junior clerk on £1 per week with the London office of the shipping line, Reardon Smith’s. He must have made a good impression because he became a member of the permaned staff and the salary gradually climbed to £1.75 by the time he reached age 21. Then one day Les was annoyed to discover that the young lady he dictated letters to was receiving all of £3 per week!

Les was always to seek fulfillment outside work and it was also in 1930 that he took the first steps which eventually led to the remarkable impact he was later to make on the Messerschmitt Owners’ Club. At age 16 he formed the ‘Tilbolian Press Club’. To do this he placed advertisements appealing for people interested in a discussion group to contact him. One of those who did so was Bill Ginn. “Les replied saying he would write again when he was ready to start. He did and that was how we got to know each other. Len Brett and I met at his home and Les would edit material from our discussions and publish the magazine, a complete set of which has survived at Frating Green. At one time we even went to Bristol on a cheap rail excursion to meet people for discussions there. They formed a branch of the Club and there was another one at Chadwell Heath” recalled Bill.

Bill described how Les developed these early writing activities until he eventually began a weekly column for the Braintree & Witham Times and was able to supplement his income as a freelance journalist. The column had the title ‘Beacon Hill Bulletin’ and ran for 20 years. ‘Les wrote on everything to do with Essex. He was a member of Essex Archaeological Society right up until his death. This gave him access to their library which assisted him with material for his weekly articles. Many of them described the different churches allover Essex, were well-researched and are still remembered today” declared Bill. This view was endorsed by Neville Bonner who recalled the 2 articles with obvious pleasure. Other newspapers Les contributed to were
the Maldon & Burnham Standard and the Brentwood Gazette. “Les had the job of reporting all Parish Council meetings in the area and became well known throughout Essex for his accurate work” Bill told me. Les had been living in Brentwood and then in 1936, about the time he left his job in London with the shipping line, he spotted a cottage to let for 32 pence per week at Wickham Bishops and persuaded Len Brett and Bill Ginn to move in with him and share the expenses. “We named the cottage’ Brave New World’after Aldous Huxley’s novel” Bill remembered. Then one rainy day in 1937 Les noticed two nice young ladies sheltering under some trees and invited them in out of the rain. One was May Gerber, a London girl of German extraction.

Less than two years later on 8th July in the fateful Summer of 1939 Les and May were married. Over to Bill Ginn~ “May had an extraordinarjJ]y beneficial influence on Les, almost to the extent where he became a different person. He saved money and got together £100 using all of it to furnish their home of the next 40 years at Eleanor’s Cottage, Little Braxted, where Gillian and Martin were brought up. Les and May were to have a happy marriage and Les never seemed quite the same following her death in the Autumn of 1979 not
long after they moved to Frating Green. But the outbreak of war in September 1939 saw the commencement of the worst period in the world’s history. Lives were turned upside down and no family in Europe remained untouched. In preparation for war with Germany the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, took the decision on 27th April 1939 to introduce conscription of men and in 1940 Les was ordered to appear before an Army Medical Board in nearby Chelmsford. When I asked him about this he recalled the exact words used to reject him for military service. “They took one look at my left hand and said, we shan’t be needing you, here’s five shillings expenses”. That was enough for a night out in those days and the same evening Les and May bought fish and chips and went to the pictures.

Les believed our quarrel was never with the German people, only the madmen in control, but he realised in 1940 that south east England would be the scene of heavy fighting if the expected invasion materialised. As an otherwise fit man and regular swimmer, and with the fighting on mainland Europe hotting up, Les was probably correct that the Army’s curt rejection of him had saved his life. With aerial combat already raging overhead it was time to make contingency plans and he therefore cashed in an insurance policy for £12 and
bought a Humber tandem for £10 from Southend-on-Sea. The Tilbury’s plan was simple. They reasoned that there would not be much they could do as unarmed civilians and would seek shelter further north until circumstances permitted a return to Essex. To do this they would shut Eleanor’s Cottage and head for the Great North Road on the tandem taking any food and cash they had with them. Although this was never necessary the tandem proved useful for basic wartime holidays and when Gill was borne they added on a little sidecar and took her along.

After leaving Reardon Smith’s Les joined Crittall’s, the Braintree-based window manufacturer in 1937 and remained with them for almost 40 years. Like all others the firm soon plunged into war work making window frames for airfield buildings and bomb-damage replacements. They also manufactured portable air strips for use in the desert. He worked at costing and later estimating, which would not even have begun to fully utilise his abilities, and for a while May also worked for the same firm before finding work she
enjoyed as a librarian at Witham library together with Joy. Eventually, in the late 1960’s the asset strippers, Slater, Walker Securities took the firm over, which did not please Les, who took early retirement in 1976. Bill Ginn was with Hoffmann’s, the bearings specialists at Chelmsford at the time and
obtained an interview for Les who then put in a further two years working in their sales office until finally ‘retiring’ and moving to Frating Green in 1978.

Because I had lived through the war and knew about the far reaching effects it had on all British people I asked Bill and Joy to provide a little more background to this subject in relation to Les’s life. Bill’s answer was clear and concise. “In addition to his writing there were three organisations at that time in which Les was active and influential. These were the MCA, the WEA and the Beacon Hill Sports Association based on Wickham Bishops Village Hall. The latter was an organising body for all sporting activities
and fixtures, but the other two had wider social and political implications and need explaining”. The MCA was the Maldon Constituency Association, formed to assist Tom Driberg, a far-left but not Labour Party candidate at what became a famous by-election in June 1942. Its historical significance is that it
was the forerunner of an international leftward swing which in Britain culminated in the election of a reforming Labour Government in 1945. Bill Ginn was active with Les in the MCA and reminded me about the wartime electoral truce, which meant that by-election candidates could only stand as Independents which was why MCA was formed as, technically at least, it was non-party. Les was pleased at Driberg’s success not only because he was pledged to alleviate the almost medieval poverty and privilege then endemic in Britain but also because he was a brilliant journalist whom even the right wing Daily Express employed. Les continued to actively support MCA until 1945 when Driberg joined the Labour Party and stood for them officially representing Maldon and later Barking right through until 1974. The highly controversial and widely reported private behaviour of Tom Driberg, which blighted his parliamentary caree~ bothered neither the Essex voters nor the Tilbury family who always welcomed him when he dropped in for tea at Eleanor’s Cottage. I asked Gill about those times. She remembered Tom Driberg with obvious affection and said “I grew up knowing him as Uncle Tom and always called him that”.

Just at that moment as we sifted through Les’s voluminous papers Alan Marriott handed me an old hard-backed book. It contained the wartime minutes of the MCA which Gill intends to donate to Witham Public Library for preservation. In the WEA Les was to playas central a role as he later did in the MOC. The Workers Educational Association is a venerable British institution, still active today, and provides courses for adults who have not benefited very much from state education. It is not really surprising that Les became involved because of his wish to do something practical about the need for social progress and political affiliation. With demobilisation there was an upsurge of interest at the end of the war which had made many ordinary people realise for the first time what they were capable of. At that point the WEA was expanding into Essex and appointed Les Tilbury Secretary/Organiser of its !,oIickham Bishops branch. His enthusiasm and ability made an indelible impression which is still remembered with admiration today. This was indeed
the ‘Brave New World’ when for a brief period economic and social prospects looked good for Britain. Apart from the work of organising classes and speakers Les was about to score one of his greatest achievements, which members can see for themselves today. The ‘Festival of Britain’ held in 1951 was intended to mark the end of austerity and demonstrate that better times were at last on the way. Up and down the land projects were launched to mark the occasion.

The WEA approached Lord Braintree who agreed to sponsor, in book form, ‘A Survey of an Essex Village’ and Wickham Bishops was selected. The research was carried out under the auspices of the University of Cambridge and the WEA and here is an extract from the book’s preface by Donald Brierley BSc.- ‘Leslie Tilbury, in addition to a host of other duties, has translated a mass of notes on two dozen complicated discussions into this book”. Those members wishing to read the book, which is a valuable social document, should ask their
Public Library to contact libraries in Essex where copies are known to have survived, particularly at Witham.

The scope of Les’s work with the Club and Messerschmitts is so vast that in other fields it would have brought him a knighthood. I can give but an outline here.

In the mid 1950’s Les needed a better means of travelling about than a bicycle and public transport and first acquired a BSA Dandy. These were 70cc two-speed lightweight scooters and as Les was no motorcycle or car buff he may have sought advice before buying. Gill thought he did not keep this for long before changing
4. to a BSA Bantam motorcycle. Despite his disability he coped reasonably well with two-wheeled transport and in 1958 moved on again this time to a turquoise blue 150cc ZUndapp Bella. These had larger sized wheels than the average scooter and Les must have been satisfied because he ran the Bella for some time until in 1961 he handed it over to son Martin and changed to a black and white 200cc model. This was quite a stylish choice and would have had a speed well up in the sixties. But he did not remain on two wheels for much longer. One day Les’s editor on the Braintree and Witham Times told him there was a Messerschmitt for sale at a dealer in Rayne Road, Braintree, known as Jake Hubbards, who Gill told me was a former racing motorcyclist. Les saw the point that it would be better and more significantly he liked the look of the schmitt and thought its steering bar and right hand gear change would suit his disability. Both Les and Bill
date this event as “early 1962” but because of her facility with dates I cannot ignore Gill’s opinion that it was actually late in 1961. Whatever the actual date Les bought the schmitt, which had 10,000 miles recorded and was two years old, making it most probably a 1959 KR 200, and named it’Blodwen’. Inside the cabin he found a membership application form for the L & SE Club and wasted no time in joining. Les took an active interest from the beginning and became Editor of Kabinews in November 1963 retaining
office until December 1988 with no issues missed for the entire quartercentury. The effect on the magazine was dramatic. Les was good at drawing (and also photography) and used this skill to good effect. But it was his flare for writing, with its free-flowing and entertaining style that really captured the membership at that stage of the L & SE’s development. With the ending of Messerschmitt production in june 1964 it was inevitable the character of the Club , would change and Les strongly advocated a hands-on style, which enabled a new style of Club dedicated to preserving schmitts to emerge.

The importance of Les and May allowing the use of the Kabinenrollerhaus at Little Braxted can never be over-estimated. Not only did this ensure the survival of hundreds of schmitts that would otherwise have been scrapped, it revitalised the, whole movement by bringing in new blood. One thinks of the ‘wet’ Rally of 1972 and the arrival on the scene of such able young men as Ian Andrews, Mark Smith, Ian Hopkins, Alan Forbes and many more who were all to play their various parts and still do. He was also adept at giving a role to those in other Clubs such as David Garner and Wynford Jones who made many of the early trips to Schweinfurt with pockets full of cash to save parts that otherwise would never have helped keep Messerschmitts on the road. The introduction of the spares service – later Partsmart – just as supplies through the manufacturers was drying up in 1969 was also a masterstroke. The unveiling of the Derek Cole Silencer in 1970 also pointed
the way forward for the Club to manufacture and source replacement parts.

Our cousins in Messerschmitt Club Deutschland have always acknowledged the key role of Les supplying copies of Kabinews in helping them to establish such a successful club. The increase of contacts with other members in overseas nations was always on his mind and perhaps that will be one of the tasks we could launch in his memory. Alan Marriott has already proposed a permanent memorial to Les and the form it should take will be considered soon.

At meetings I shall always remember the clear blue eyes and quicksilver mind of Les which so often produced the intellectual key to solving difficult problems. He had an instinctive comprehension of what was possible in a voluntary body and was unfailingly right, some times uncannily so. This was markedly noticeable in the run-up to the successful 1980 merger, which was also Les’s idea.

Whenever we chance upon a schmitt out on the road we should ask ourselves whether that one would still exist if it were not for Les Tilbury. And how many of those at the Rally would have survived if it were not for his vision?

P.B.
4.3.92.