Daddy’s daughter and an Aston demonstrator

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As an enthusiast of motoring from before the War yourself, you must be familiar with the work of Bill Brunell. A professional photographer, Brunell competed in rallies and trials himself – he was even the first Englishman to win the Monte Carlo Rally in 1926 – but photographed many more in what became known as the Golden Age of British motoring.

Apart from sports cars in their natural habitat, one of his most photographed subjects was his daughter Kitty, a very keen motorist herself. In the Monte Carlo Rally of 1929 she drove a Talbot 14/45 with a coupé body of her own design. Here she is seen, wearing a striped tie, at the Scottish Rally of 1933, as organised by the Royal Scottish Automobile Club in June that year. We could not find who the lady navigator was, but they finished 48th out of 66 competitors. Which of the three starting points did they use? Does anyone recognise Harrogate, Edinburgh or Glasgow?

The car is a then brand-new Aston Martin ‘Le Mans’, supposedly a works demonstrator. We found that it was discovered on a farm in Sussex in the 1950s and restored by a marque specialist before being exported to the USA in 1957. Three years later it was owned by Charles Addams, who famously created the Addams Family, for almost 30 years, and it remains in the USA today.

What perhaps makes this picture of the car even better, and typical of Bill Brunell’s work, is the backdrop, which shows a great number of other cars. Anything specific that stands out here?

Words: Jeroen Booij; Picture: Bill Brunell / National Motor Museum

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