Norman Bradshaw
Norman, a great friend of Peterborough Motor Club, sadly passed away on 7th May 2009.
I first met Norman at a P.M.C. race meeting when we were marshalling together in the early ‘60s. We were both farming and interested in motor sport so we became friends straight away. We were puzzled that day because after a tricky harvest we were standing in the Silverstone rain, yet could hear the unmistakable sound of a combine harvester drum- very strange!
Norman built a ‘special’ for the 1967 autocross season. It was a taster for things to come. He soon built an improved version of the ‘Bradbilt’ with a nice big V8 Daimler engine. It sounded lovely and Norman had a lot of success in it. When he went for a little more power by substituting a Rover V8 a few seasons later the extra grunt caused him headaches in the transmission department but a Hewland gearbox brought more reliability. I remember an Eliminator competition after an autocross in the late ‘70s. There was a big prize to win and all the top guns fancied winning it. The start was at the top of a hill and Norman’s handbrake wasn’t quite up to holding the big Bradbilt on the red light. This was cured by cutting a suitable tree branch which Norman used as a prop and discarded when the green light came on! He went on to win the competition. Not only that but he became National Champion when he won the B.T.R.D.A. Autocross Championship in his Bradbilt in 1979.
Norman was chairman of the autocross committee , organising a couple of meetings for P.M.C. per year and became chairman of the club, a position he held for many years. At this time Norman acted as Club Steward at P.M.C.’s annual race meeting at Silverstone and always made a point of walking round to every marshal post during the day and having a word with the marshals. Eventually new barriers and wire fencing made this impossible.
There was a group of club members who used to meet at the Decoy each week for a pint and a chat. We’ll always remember Norman for his cheery ways and knowledge on any subject connected with motorsport.
The sporting trials fraternity will miss him as well. He enjoyed these events immensely and rarely missed one. We competed in one about 25 years ago . I drove the borrowed car and Norman acted as ‘bouncer’. We were doing quite well with Norman’s weight being expertly distributed around the car and providing traction,which made up for the shortcomings of the driver- until the ‘A’ frame broke! The ladies at the trials will miss him as well. Norman towed those toilets for many miles for everyone’s comfort and privacy.
These are just some of my memories of Norman. I’m sure that everyone reading this has a wealth of memories of their own. We’ll think of him and talk about him for a very long time.
Our sympathy and thoughts are with Jean and her family.
PHIL MANSER