Web Page  No 2114

13th  December 2014

Top Picture: 

Pat and Stirling Moss

Middle Picture: 

Pat in racing helmet

Bottom Picture: 

The racing Morris Minor

Two Pats

In the 1960’s Pat Moss became a well-known personality who put down a marker for women in sport.

First let us look at Pat Moss-Carlson. She was the leading British woman rally who has died of cancer at the age of 73 in 2008. She was the younger sister of Sir Stirling Moss, and shared her brother's competitiveness and determination to win as she carved herself a reputation as the world's leading woman rally driver throughout the 1950s and 60s.

Motor sport ran through the Moss genes on both sides of the family. Their father, Alfred, competed in the 1924 Indianapolis 500 race while studying dentistry in the US, and her mother, Aileen, achieved an impressive record of success in trials events driving both Singer and Marendaz sports cars.

Patricia Ann Moss was born in Thames Ditton, Surrey, into a family in comfortable circumstances, her parents moving into a spacious house on the River Thames at Bray, near Maidenhead shortly after the birth of their second child. Alfred, by then was a prosperous dentist, had the resources to indulge his children's passion for horses, and both Pat and Stirling became motivated and accomplished competitors from their showjumping days in the early 1940s.

They both loved ponies and jumping and gymkhanas they both stated  that collecting cups and rosettes was a bonus.

However, when it came to motor sport there was no paternal support but it was her brother who taught her to drive when she was just 11 years old. It was Stirling's business manager, Ken Gregory, who fanned the flames of Pat's enthusiasm when he took her on a treasure hunt. She was immediately bitten by the motoring bug and set out on a career that probably did more for the emancipation of women in this male-dominated pastime than any other.

Initially Pat competed in her Morris Minor convertible in national rallies throughout the UK, although at first these events would take second place to her showjumping commitments - her passion for horses would continue for the rest of her life. Like her brother, she was financially astute and in 1954 used the proceeds of her equestrian activities to purchase a Triumph TR2 sports car, which enabled her to rally with a greater chance of success.

In 1955 she was invited to drive an MG TF in the RAC rally that took in much of Great Britain, rather than the truncated event it has become in recent years. On this occasion she had to settle for third in the Ladies' class, but her achievements were noted by the British Motoring Corporation's competition manager, Marcus Chambers, who arranged for her to contest her first overseas event, the 1955 Tulip Rally, in an MG Magnette.

Over the next couple of years she drove a variety of cars, including an Austin A90 on the 1956 Monte Carlo rally, an MGA on that year's RAC rally and a Minor 1000 on the gruelling Liège-Sofia-Liège epic, a legendary car-breaking event, which taxed the physical and mental endurance of all its competitors, Pat rose to the challenge in dramatic style. In 1958 she drove an Austin Healey 100/6 to fourth place on the Liège event; it was the first time that a woman had finished in the top 10 on this endurance rally and the points she gained by doing so clinched her the Ladies' European championship. In that year she met the famous Swedish rally driver Erik Carlsson, whom she married five years later.

In 1960 she drove the "Big Healeys" again, coming eighth on both the Geneva and Tulip rallies, second on the Coupe des Alpes, followed almost at once by an outright win on the Liège. This was an amazing result, as the Healey was not an easy car to drive.

In 1963 she accepted a lucrative offer to join Ford to compete at the wheel of the recently launched Cortina saloon, but soon left to join her husband in the Saab team the following year. Throughout the remainder of the decade she was a consistent front runner. When Erik retired to become head of Saab's public relations, Pat briefly switched to Lancia, but after the birth of her daughter in 1969, she made fewer appearances, and by the mid-1970s she was driving for Toyota in the Monte Carlo. It was when she was with that team that she finally decided, in 1974, to retire.

In the 1980s Pat's interest in horses was rekindled thanks to her daughter's talent for showjumping. Though she kept horses, she still found room at the back of her garage for a Morris Minor in its original green livery. Shortly before her death, she collected a speeding ticket while towing a horse-box.

She died in October 14 2008 after suffering with cancer.

Take care

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

Griff writes to tell me that Cherry Wainer, the organist I featured a couple of weeks ago died on 14th November in Australia. She had not performed since her drummer husband had died in 2006.

News and Views:

On this day 13th December 1960-1965

On 13/12/1960 the number one single was It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Army Game (Granada) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada).

On 13/12/1961 the number one single was Tower of Strength - Frankie Vaughan and the number one album was Another Black & White Minstrell Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Grandma Moses dies.

On 13/12/1962 the number one single was Return to Sender - Elvis Presley and the number one album was On Stage with the Black & White Minstrels - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 13/12/1963 the number one single was I Want to Hold Your hand - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 13/12/1964 the number one single was I Feel Fine - The Beatles and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 13/12/1965 the number one single was The Carnival is Over - Seekers and the number one album was The Sound of Music Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.