This would have only been my father’s second trip abroad, following a cycling trip in the Alps in 1953. Travelling with his friend Bill Greenstreet, in Bill’s car, they visited the circuits at Spa, Reims and Rouen (see the “Other European Races” section) before travelling on to see the legendary 24 hour race at Le Mans.
What is particularly interesting is the amount of colour photos, which I am told are quite rare before about 1965. The close photos of Scrutineering are superb, while some of the shots of night-time at the circuit are really atmospheric.
Some of these photos have appeared in Quentin Spurring’s Official History of Le Mans 1949-59. I can’t recommend it highly enough!
For more information, see also Wikipedia, formula2.net or lemans-history.com.
If you come across any errors in the captions on this page, do please let me know.
