Death of a Racing Driver

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Exactly 75 years ago the great racing driver Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin died after a freak accident. During a refuelling stop at the Tripoli Grand Prix he burned his arm on the still hot exhaust pipe of his 8C Maserati. He thought nothing of it, and went on to gain third place in the race with his arm in a bandage. When he returned to London he appeared to be suffering from blood poisoning and was taken to Countess Carnarvon Nursing Home. There he was treated by Dudley Benjafield who, like Birkin, had been one of the Bentley Boys. In those days there were no antibiotics, Benjafield was unable to save him. Tim Birkin died on June 22, 1933. It is unknown whether his death was caused by the blood poisoning or that he had become too weak to fight a malaria attack. The photo is of the memorial erected at Brooklands racetrack. (photo Tim Birkin courtesy Bentley Motors) (RB)

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