BEXHILL 100 - Key Persons

A McDonalds restaurant was about to open at the newly built Retail Park on the outskirts of Bexhill. We, together with Filching Manor Motor Museum, organised a cavalcade of American cars for the opening, filled with dignitaries and local celebrities, and we also had a few old Bentleys and Rolls Royce's, just for good measure. We had Filching Manor's wonderful 1904 open top Mercedes Racer, and several other stunning cars from the collection, buzzing along the seafront to Galley Hill, where in 1902 the cars gathered in pairs to begin their race along the measured kilometre. In fact for the thirteen year duration of the show, McDonalds generously supplied burgers and chips free of charge to the large number of enthusiastic Air Cadets who marshalled our car parks so superbly at St Richards School and the Glyne Gap Field.

This article is dedicated to Brian Hazell, who was highly respected by all of his business associates, a very dear friend, a true gentleman and a person who was passionate about Bexhill and its history and who had an idea that Bexhill was the first town in Britain to hold a Motor Race meeting. He was proved to be correct in 1994. Brian sadly passed away in May 2009 and he is sadly missed by everyone who was privileged enough to have known him. The signs on the approach roads to Bexhill stand as a tribute to him and his love of Bexhill, and his wonderful photographs are a legacy of his passion for the town and its historical past.

Job Titles:

• Organiser for the 13 Years

Ken Pope was working on the practical side of the event, locating maps of the event ground site, positioning the stands and the marquees, organising stakes and ropes and barriers etc. I was putting articles in various motoring magazines to attract entrants. Paul was contacting the Veteran Car Club, Brian Hazell was using his office facilities to collate all the entrants etc. I was co-ordinating all the various elements of the event, communicating with Rother District Council, making sure all details of the side shows, stalls, caterers and entertainers were being catalogued and included in our plans and all details of the event were kept updated. It was a whirl of activity, exciting but a little daunting.

Malcolm Mitcheson had decided to hold two dinner functions to introduce the first phase of the newly converted "Sackville" flats to the dignitaries, residents and businesses of Bexhill. At the first of these two dinners Brian Hazell, by chance, was seated next to Derek Smith, who was now Bexhill's Tourism Officer. During the evening their conversation naturally touched on Bexhill's motoring history and fancifully, they discussed how wonderful it would be if those early days of motor racing, on Bexhill's tranquil seafront, could be re-enacted as a modern event.

Our dear friend and colleague, Paul Foulkes-Halbard sadly passed away in 2004. He was such a larger than life, eccentric character and he is sadly missed by all that knew him, everyone involved with the Bexhill 100 and of course by his family. Pauls' son Carl continues to run Filching Manor, the Motor Museum and the very popular Campbell Go- Kart track. Paul was renowned for his bad time keeping and I was often embarrassed when I had organised a photo shoot with a TV company and we were all standing around for him to eventually arrive an hour late. That was Paul. He was a real character, I can still remember Paul coming to one of our early Bexhill 100 meetings with one of the very first mobile phones, it was as big as 3 house bricks and weighed about as much, he kept it for a few quite a few years. He loved driving his wonderful blue racing Bugatti, and his beautiful white vintage Mercedes racer at great speed down Bexhill seafront, wearing goggles and a white leather aviators helmet. He was a one off, a great character. Also sadly David Blake passed away in 2005. He was a true gentleman, polite and genuine, a great supporter of Bexhill-on-Sea and the De la Warr Pavilion. He first came to Bexhill as the Stage Manager of the De la Warr where he later met his wife to be, Janice. She came to Bexhill to appear as a dancer at the Pavilion in a Summer Show, "Starlight Rendevous". David eventually became Rother's Director of Tourism, Head of Parks and Gardens and Manager of the De la Warr Pavilion, positions which he jointly held successfully for a number of years. Janice went on to own and run, for over 35 years, the most successful dance school the area has ever known. Over the years The Janice Blake School of Dancing taught and nurtured a wealth of talented youngsters, many of whom went on to make a successful career in show business. Janice retired in 2007.

Shelagh Milligan was only involved in the first show in 1990, but we were very grateful for her valuable input in the inaugural event. Keith Wallace continued for another couple of years and then for the final ten or so years it was Brian Hazell, Ken Pope, Paul Foulkes- Halbard, Malcolm Mitcheson, myself and of course all of the wonderful helpers, marshals, cadets, and the invaluable secretarial and administration support from first of all Tracy Trimmer, then Caroline Tabel, and in the latter years Sue Spice.