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Early days at the wheel
RAYMOND was the son of a Bourne businessman and motoring enthusiast,
Thomas William Mays, a wool merchant and fertiliser manufacturer, whose
interest was in hill climbs and speed events which rubbed off on his son.
He was born on 1st August 1899 but was obsessed with motor cars and speed
and within twenty years, he owned his first car, a speed model Hillman
which was traded in for a Bugatti Brescia called Cordon Rouge, after the
famous brand of champagne, and a second Bugatti followed, this time called
Cordon Bleu, after the brandy. The two Bugattis proved quite formidable
during the 1924 racing season, sweeping the board in the big hill climb
events and creating new records.
These rare photographs illustrate Raymond's total preoccupation during his
late teens, while serving in the army and studying as an undergraduate at
Cambridge University, when motoring always came first.
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EARLY DAYS AT THE WHEEL |
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Make believe at home in Eastgate with school pal
Willy Copland as passenger |
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Raymond and Amherst Villiers in Cordon
Bleu, the second of his famous Bugattis |
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The Hillman Quicksilver at the Inter Varsity speed
trials |
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Kop Hill Climb with the 1½
litre Hillman |
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Raymond in No 9 at the Saltburn Sands speed trial
with Bugatti Cordon Rouge |
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The Bugatti Cordon Rouge at Chatcombe Pitch |
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The Bugatti loses at wheel at Caerphilly |
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The 200 mile AC - not a successful car for Raymond |
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Raymond at Shelsley Walsh with Harold Clay's TT
Vauxhall |
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Raymond and Amherst Villiers breaking the Shelsley
record in the Vauxhall |
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Raymond and Peter Berthon at Shelsley Walsh in a
works Mercedes Benz |
See also A pictorial
scrapbook
Return to Raymond Mays
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