Description
Author: Johnnie Green, Hardbound, 295 Pages, ASIN: b01lbjdhye, First Edition, 1969 -**Second-Hand book in excellent condition !**
Introduction
Even before my brother-in-law, Lawrence Dalton, had finished his book, "Those Elegant Rolls-Royce", he was asking when I was going to produce the work on Bentleys. Frankly I felt that practically everything had already been said by more able and far better informed people about this famous marque, but when it became fully appreciated that 1969 would see the celebration of 50 years of Bentleys, my natural enthusiasm for these motors, stemming from their glorious Le Mans days, prompted me to weaken, and undertake to try and provide a pictorial review of all the different Bentley models over this period in the history of motoring. This project was considerably influenced and encouraged by the Bentley Drivers Club, on whose committee I have had the privilege of sitting for some 20 years, and therefore could not very easily disregard the wishes of their president, and my close friend, Stanley Sedgwick.
There will be few technicalities in this book, partly because I am ill equipped for such work, but mainly because all these points have been thoroughly dealt with in "The Technical Facts of the Vintage Bentley", and in the works manuals, and new supplement now planned for the Derby-built cars.
Rather will it be a survey of the different coachwork fitted over these 50 years to the various models of Bentley, and while no treatise on this make could be envisaged without reference to their racing successes (and the author is such an admirer of the team cars that the reader may be assured nearly every one of these is included) it is not intended that a full survey of their competition history should appear, as this subject has already been dealt with in masterly fashion by Darell Berthon ("Racing History of the Bentley"), the executive vice-president of the B.D.C. (Bentley Drivers Club—we might as well adopt these initials now, as inevitably they will recur throughout this book), for without Darell's and Barbara Gunstone's unstinted co-operation, this book would not have been feasible.
Innumerable club members have generously contributed from their own private records, and a separate acknowledgments section will endeavour to give credit for this much valued help, but this subject cannot be dismissed without mention of Harry Fergusson-Wood and John Cochrane, both then with Jack Barclay's, for their enormous help in furnishing material on the post-vintage cars, and to an employee of the old Bentley Company, A. F. Rivers Fletcher, for so kindly placing at my disposal so many of the old company's official photographs taken in the late 20's.
Despite some misgivings as to the possible reception and popularity of the book, cannot for one moment pretend 1 haven't enjoyed this challenge, for my heart has been lost more thoroughly to this make of car than any other for over 40 years, but as so many of the captions rely upon my memory and personal acquaintance with these motors, I trust if any inaccuracies exist, they will be forgiven as over-exuberance, rather than the intention ever to mislead.
