HERO'S RETURN

This Singer Le Mans once belonged to a tail-gunner from the intrepid wartime Dambusters mission. John Simister retraces its old Air Force haunts

- John Simister

IF ONLY CARS COULD TALK, and tell us what they have seen. That's what my friend (and fellow Singer owner) Simon Worland said when he discovered surprising things about his 1935-built, 1936-model Singer Nine Le Mans Special Speed.

He already knew that its first owner was Ronnie Marsh, Midlands racing driver and heir to the family meatpacking business, and that Marsh had it race-prepared for Le Mans in 1936. That race never happened, France being in a state of civil unrest at the time, and Ronnie replaced the Singer with something speedier.

What happened to CRE 945 after that had always remained fuzzy so, 38 years after he bought it as a major restoration project, Simon decided to have a good look at the documents that came with it. A project with Year Six at his local primary school in Stoke Poges, attended by Simon's daughter Anabel, was the catalyst.

The children were studying World War Two, something that happened almost inconceivably long ago for them. So Simon brought his Singer along to make the era a touch more tangible, and they started researching past owners' names. The first recorded, in what was possibly a replacement logbook, was based at RAF Wickenby in Lincolnshire. He would soon be based at RAF Scampton nearby. His name was Richard Trevor-Roper.

1935 Singer Nine Le Mans Special Speed

Engine 972cc OHC four-cylinder, two SU HV carburettors

Power 38bhp @ 5000rpm

Transmission Four-speed manual non-synchro gearbox, rear-wheel drive

Suspension Front: beam axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs, Hartford friction dampers. Rear: underslung live axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs, transverse Hartford friction dampers

Steering Worm and nut Brakes Drums

Weight 800kg