Eric Fenihough's last resting place

Eric Crudgington Fernihough. 17 February
1905 to 21 April 1938.

Following the recent article on Eric Fernihough's bible I took the time visit his grave in Bournemouth. I have relatives who live quite close to the Bournemouth East cemetery in King's Park so it was easy to slip away from the post Sunday lunch torpor and pay my respects.

It was a drizzly afternoon and in the distance I could hear the crowd cheering on Bournemouth at the nearby football stadium. Entering the cemetery I was dubious that I would be able to find Ferni's gravestone. Bournemouth East is after all quite a large cemetery and I only had limited time before I needed to return to the familial duties. I had found a picture of the gravestone online and it seemed to be quite distinctive, I quickly found though that the design was a popular one in 1930s Bournemouth. Providence however shone down on me: I had entered the cemetery through the northern gate by the Jewish gravestones and walking past these I stumbled upon Fernihough's gravestone quite swiftly.

The inscription on Eric Fernihough's headstone.

Ferni's widow, Florence Dorothy, was also buried on the same plot after she passed in 1982 and her name is inscribed below his.

On the side of the stone is marked:

'Also Florence A. Penrose

Died April 21. 1948

Aged 81 Years

Beloved Mother of 

Dorothy Fernihough.'

On the side of Eric Fernihough's headstone is marked the
grave of his mother-in-law Florence Penrose.

Unfortunately the two Florences, widow and in-law, knew great loss in their family as Florence Penrose's husband John was killed on the Titanic when it went down 15 April 1912. John Penrose was a steward on board.

The Penroses were a Liverpool family and perhaps it is this connection that was a common bond between Florence and Eric. The family moved down to Southampton when the White Star Line relocated their headquarters from Liverpool to Southampton. Florence Dorothy had a brother, Reginald who was married in Southampton in 1917 but unfortunately died just a short while later whilst fighting with the Hampshire Regiment in Belgium.

The information on the Penrose family I found on the Encyclopedia Titanica site.

It is a fascinating and somewhat tragic history. So far I have not been able to trace the link to Bournemouth for an explanation of why Eric Fernihough is buried there. Perhaps Florence Penrose moved to Bournemouth after her husband was lost at sea? It seems that she moved to Surrey later on in her life, perhaps after Eric's passing.

The view across Bournemouth East cemetery from Ferni's
headstone. It is a peaceful place.

The eightieth anniversary of Fernihough's death at Gyon in Hungary is coming up soon - April 21st to be precise. Some sources quote Ferni's death as April 23rd, though the headstone clearly states 21st. I found it strangely moving to visit his grave and it would be nice to think that it will be visited and flowers left on the eightieth anniversary. Apparently Florence Fernihough did not have any surviving children. Unfortunately I cannot be the one to mark the anniversary as I shall be at sea on the date, perhaps another local enthusiast can step in?

Looking from behind Ferni's headstone across
to the Jewish section of the cemetery.

Fernihough's bible

Eric Fernihough with the Brough Superior on
which he broke land speed records and ultimately
met his demise in Hungary.

I was lucky enough to recently find for a modest sum this relic of the great Eric Crudgington Fernihough. It is his Bible which the previous owner purchased as part of a house clearance back in 1982 when his widow passed away. Her name was Florence Dorothy Fernihough and she lived in a lovely 1930s house by the name of Crosby in Clock House Close, Byfleet, not far from Brooklands circuit.

'Crosby', Byfleet in Surrey, close to the Brooklands Circuit.

Ferni's racing and record breaking achievements are well documented but there is scant information available about the man himself. He was born February 17th 1905 in Birkenhead the son of a tobacco warehousing and manufacturing family. As a lad from a well to do family Ferni enrolled at Magdalene College in Cambridge. The Bible is dated as October 1923 at which age Ferni would have been 18, it came with a postcard of Magdalene College within its pages. Presumably the Bible was a gift for when he left home and went to University. Within the cover of the Bible, 'See Joshua 1.7' is also annotated (in a different hand - perhaps that of a parent?).

The postcard found in Ferni's Bible of his college, Magdalene,
at Cambridge.

Joshua 1.7

Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that though mayest have good success whithersoever thou goest.

In all honesty the Bible is not very well thumbed though there is a chocolate wrapper marking a page (606-607) so perhaps he did get stuck in some way.

Through the interwar years motor sport was very much a part of the Cambridge scene, and just as the Oxford / Cambridge boat race now is so varsity motor sport events were also big occasions. Much of Ferni's motor sport activities were under the umbrella of the Cambridge University Automobile Club, predominantly a motor cycle competitor he also dabbled heavily with Morgan three wheelers and shortly before his accident he became involved in four wheeler sport.

Speed racing was very much Ferni's thing though he did enter one IOM TT. Very active and part of the scene at Brooklands, he ran a garage by the perimeter of the track on Byfleet Road. Through the thirties Ferni became more involved in ultimate speed racing, both at Brooklands and in land speed record bids, he was motorcycle land speed record holder in 1936 and 1937. Sadly he was killed in Gyón, Hungary April 23 1938 aged just 33 whilst trying to regain his title. He had been clocked at 180 mph just before he lost control of his Brough Superior and fatally crashed.

Eric Fernihough is buried in Bournemouth East cemetery, I am not sure of his connection with Bournemouth as he was born in Birkenhead and, as far as I can see, lived in Surrey. I aim to visit his gravestone in the near future.

As a final note, the above information is collected from secondary sources and to the best of my knowledge is correct. If anyone out there can elaborate further please do get in touch. One mystery I have not found the answer to is that I have seen mentioned that in the twenties he was engaged to a Kathleen Butler who sometimes passengered his Morgan at Brooklands. This seems at odds with his widow being Florence Fernihough, perhaps someone knows the answer and will get in touch?

Eric Fernihough's signature and
the note to see Joshua 1.7

The Graham Walker Memorial Run 2016 pt1

I had been planning to ride across to Ireland for the very excellent Powers the Pot Royal Enfield Rally but the trip fell through at the last minute. Not to worry, there's plenty of events in the calendar August time and I've wanted to attend the Sunbeam MCC's Graham Walker Run for a good while. Sadly I was a bit late to get an entry in but spectating seemed like a good option.

Not having been to the run before I arrived nice and early at 10am expecting the traditional old bike run 11am start. Not so the Graham Walker, it kicks off at 1.15pm. The weather was however fine and the extra time gave plenty of opportunity to have my fill of ogling bikes and nattering about same with entrants.

A fine turnout of pre-1940 machinery with the oldest bike dating back to 1902. The flat countryside around the New Forrest National Park and the blanket 40mph speed limit makes for ideal territory for early bikes and it was great to see so many out. I was rather jealous not to be riding and hopefully I can return with a suitable bike next year...

Kenilworth Scooter. Early scooters are fascinating things, lots
of original design and thought to be seen (not all of it good!)
Survival rate is surprisingly high though they are seldom seen
out on the road nowadays. This Kenilworth gets regular airings
and seems to be as practical as a early scoot can be.

The small ohv motor on the Kenilworth is a
sweet looking unit. Note that the pushrods are
lock-wired so that they are not lost if one pops
out. I like the way that the bike has been restored
but the tank left original.

Veteran Sun with Precision motor.

A brace of very delectable Brough SS80s.

Of course I wouldn't say no to any Brough but the late vintage
SS80s with the Bentley and Draper spring frames are my
personal favourites.

Off-side view of the B&D framed Brough.

Manual headlight dip and distinctive Harley-
derived Castle forks.

T'other Brough (a slightly earlier SS80) sporting a Binks
'rat trap' carb.

Rider's view of the SS80.

And the JAP power plant. The exhaust cooling rings are a
practical and distinctive feature.

Motive force behind a Phoenix forecar.

Some complicated controls on the Phoenix.

Fantastic to see a forecar out and about.

And one more view of the Phoenix for luck.

'Triumph Rennovated' transfer on a Model H denoting an
ex-military bike spruced up before sale on to the public
after the War.

Lovely spare drive belt case on the Model H.

The Model H sounded as sweet as it looked.

BSA G-14.

The G-14 motor.

Norton CS1.

Scott Two Speeder.

Plenty of chains amidships on a two speed Scott!

The Scott sports an aftermarket 'Paramount'
cylinder head conversion. Scotts of that
period came as standard with a non-detachable
head.

Two stroke New Hudson clearing its lungs out.

Another Bentley and Draper framed Brough SS80.

A novel feature on the B&D SS80s is the twin
exhausts and cross style tailpiece.

The JAP motor at the heart of the SS80.

Early W E Brough motorcycles

A pair of very rare early Brough photos from the veteran era. One postcard is dated 1911 and the other 1914. Both machines are Nottinghamshire registered and appear to be 3.5hp singles from around 1910 or 1911. Brough motorcycles were made from 1902 to 1926 by George Brough of Brough Superior fame's father William E Brough.

The W E Broughs are best known for the fore and aft flat twin machine made from 1913 onwards but prior to this there was a range of quite conventional single cylinder and v twin machines.

Finally, an admission of guilt - when I bought these images they were described as Triumphs and I scanned and posted them as such late night without really checking them. Embarrassing as they look nothing like Triumphs so thanks to Nick who emailed and the anonymous commenter who both let me know I was mistaken and the post is now as you see updated..

c1911 Brough motorcycle.

c1911 Brough motorcycle combination.

Brough Superior Titanium

The new Brough Superior SS100 at the
London showing.

The new Brough Superior SS100 is a pretty enough bike in pictures, in the flesh it is exquisite. A mildly tweaked version on the SS100, the 'Titanium' was revealed at Eicma show last November along with the 'Black' model. The new Broughs seem to be edging slowly closer to production...

Quite when though the new SS100s will reach customers is unsure. It is said that there are some 50 pre-orders for a batch of 100 at a selling price somewhere around £50k. That means there are a surprising number of folks out there with a lot of spare money to spend on a high end motorcycle and are prepared to do so without anything more than a prototype and a tech spec.

Certainly the SS100 is jaw-droppingly beautiful. The attention to detail on the design is fantastic, hardly any components are off the shelf and it isn't difficult to see where your money is being spent. Indeed with development and production costs to take into consideration Brough is certain not to make any money on this first batch. The Brough is at the forefront of the new 'boutique bike' trend, small manufacturers producing low volume high end bikes for wealthy folks who want something a little different. Are people buying boutique bikes as an investment or are they simply motorcycle enthusiasts with a high disposable income. I've got a feeling that investors will end up disappointed.

There is still no word of any road test of the new Brough. If the SS100 has covered any miles so far then it has been kept under wraps. I suspect that when it does reach market there will not be many that cover more than a handful of miles no matter how capable a machine it may be which will be a shame as seeing a few out and about would be a treat.

Something is afoot in the motorcycle world and small volume manufacturers are apparently on the rise. Obviously the market seems ready for this but it must be in large parts thanks to moves forward in design and manufacturing technology. In previous times a draftsman would draw up a new design, a prototype would be made and faith would be put in it working, which often it would not first time. Now the designer can model and simulate the engine and likely get it right from the start. Fuel injection and engine management systems facilitate sweet running and easy tuning. Prototypes can be produced swiftly with CNC machinery, the same technology enables production on demand and small volume runs to be viable.

What I find so likable about the new Brough Superior company is that they appear to be a wildly enthusiastic bunch of motorcycle enthusiasts out there to create beautiful bikes and have a blast doing so. Making money seems to be secondary on the agenda. They're not going heavy on the branded merchandising, there's the trips to Bonneville, updated replicas of twenties Broughs and the Moto2 race bike - none of these are the route to riches, in fact they are legendary methods of hemorrhaging some heavy duty amounts of cash. They are making the world of motorcycles that little bit more interesting for their presence and for that I wish them every success.

Beautifully designed and engineered front end.
Four discs, two calipers with three pads apiece.
Lower rotating mass, more braking and better
looking.

Rider's view is a nice echo of twenties bikes. Instrument is
a Smiths Jaeger.

Front view of the SS100.

Engine and tank detail.

Noel Pope painting

Noel Pope made his name in the motorcycle world as a speed merchant and record racer of note. His motorcycling biography, 'Full Chat' is one of the classic motorcycling books. As the man who held the ultimate speed records for both solo (124.51mph, 1939) and sidecar (106.6mph, 1937) at the Brooklands speed bowl on a supercharged Brough Superior it comes as a surprise that he was the son of an artist. He was a keen amateur artist and sculptor himself. Post War he spent some time in Switzerland and the below oil painting is signatured 'Noel B. Pope 1952'.

Noel Pope oil on canvas landscape 1952.