Could the Jack French garage at the Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum be the biggest unsung hero in British motorsport?
I feel compelled to write a few more words on the Jack French garage at the Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum, which deserves more than the two paragraphs I could spare in a recent feature, because it feels like such a significant part of British motorsport history.
French was one of the founder members of the 750 Motor Club, created in 1939 to get people racing in Austin 7s. For obvious reasons, it took until the late 1940s to really get going, which is when French made his racing special, Simplicity, in the garage that’s now at the Atwell-Wilson museum; and after that, he and the 750 MC spread the word about how to do it.
The alumni of 750 MC members reads like a motorsport who’s who: Colin Chapman, Eric Broadley, Adrian Reynard, Gordon Murray, Tony Southgate, Brian Hart, Mike Pilbeam and dozens of others were all members.
If you trace their successes forward from their 750 MC days, you will find that they’ve won every major race, and every major championship, in motorsport multiple times.
There are hundreds of championship wins and thousands of race wins, all traceable back through to the 750 MC and, by thread, to French’s shed.
It’s possible that I’m over-egging it, but it is a significant exhibit, because if someone hadn’t given enthusiasts the chance to go motor racing affordably, the UK wouldn’t today be the world’s motorsport epicentre, and I’m not sure what artefact better demonstrates the source of it all.
Perhaps it’s a hard sell: ‘Today, I’m going to look at a nondescript tin shed.’ But to me it feels more significant than, say, the first Lotus car or a championship-winning McLaren. They both owe something to this, and it’s the only one there is.
