Mary Handley-Page

Mary in a Sunbeam Rapier

Mary Handley-Page was one of a group of British female drivers who were part of works teams for British manufacturers in the 1950s and 1960s.

Her family was involved in engineering; her father, Frederick Handley-Page, gave his name to a series of aircraft, and his company built the famous Halifax Bomber. Mary was his youngest daughter, born in 1923 and originally christened Patricia.

As a girl and young woman, she rode horses and hunted to hounds. Equestrianism has proved to be a surprisingly good training for rally drivers, the best example being Pat Moss. When Mary was just eight, she was awarded a prize in the Stanmore Gymkhana for "Trotting". The cup was awarded by Amy Johnson, the pilot. She was at the height of her fame and also a rally driver herself.

Her first major appearance seems to have been the 1956 RAC Rally, driving a Rover. Her co-driver was Jo Ashfield. They were second in the Ladies’ standings. The pair rallied together again on the Tulip Rally, sitting in the opposite seats. The car was a Standard, and they were 169^th overall.

She was involved with the social and organisational side of motorsport, too. The 1957 Monte Carlo Rally Ball, a charity event, was put on by a committee including Mary and Stirling Moss. The ball's President was Sheila van Damm. Mary and Sheila were friends who sometimes drove together.

Mary returned to the Tulip Rally in 1957, at the wheel of a Sunbeam Mark III. She was back in the driver’s seat, with Francoise Wilton Clarke on the maps. They finished, in 134^th place. 

She was part of the works Sunbeam team from 1958 to 1960, driving one for their ladies’ team, with other female drivers. For the 1958 Monte Carlo Rally, she was the leader of a three-woman Sunbeam team, with Lola Grounds and Doreen Reece. Mary and Lola were a good team. As a duo, they were 21^st in the 1958 Tulip Rally, in a Rapier. Mary was then sixteenth in the Alpine Rally in the summer.

Lola had moved to the Ford team for 1959, and Mary had a new co-driver in Daphne Freeman, who had got into motorsport through her work as Stirling Moss’s secretary. The new pairing entered the Monte, with Joyce Howard as a third driver, but had an accident and could not finish. As a two-woman team, Mary and Daphne were 39^th in the Tulip Rally, again in a Sunbeam Rapier.

Away from rallying proper, Mary was part of a team of female Rootes Group drivers sent to prove to the Belgian motorsport authorities that a Hillman Minx was able to manage 15,000 miles of bad Belgian pavé. Averaging 40mph, the team covered the distance in three weeks during the Rallye des Routes Pavées. The team included Nancy Mitchell, Sheila van Damm, Patricia Ozanne and Francoise Clarke. They were said to be responsible for a sharp spike in continental Hillman Minx sales.

At the beginning of 1960, Mary went back to the co-driver’s seat for the Monte, assisting Jimmy Ray to eleventh place. It was quite unusual for her to be part of a mixed team. With a new co-driver again, Nesta Gilmour, she finished 105^th in the Tulip Rally, in a Rapier. The Alpine Rally was another of her favoured events, and she was 27^th in 1960, co-driven by Patricia Ozanne.

She continued to drive private Sunbeams in 1961, including a Rapier on the Monte Carlo Rally, with Pauline Mayman and Daphne Freeman. They had been running well, but a puncture prevented them from claiming a penalty-free run. An unusual part of their rally plan was the delivery of smoked salmon to Prince Rainier and Princess Grace. The fish had come from a manufacturer in their start city of Stockholm. It is unclear whether the delicacy reached its intended recipient. Mary and Pauline drove the same car on that year’s Tulip Rally, and were 43^rd overall.

For the 1962 Monte, she co-drove for Patricia Ozanne, in a Mini, which Patricia had bought from the works BMC team the previous year. They started from Warsaw, but do not appear to have finished. This was Mary’s last major rally.

She died in 1992.

(Image copyright alamy.com)

Lola Grounds

Lola, on the right, with Doreen Reece and their Ford Popular, 1952 RAC Rally

Lola Grounds was one of the Rootes team’s female driver roster in the 1950s. She acted as both a driver and a navigator, initially for her husband, Frank. She is normally credited as “Mrs F. Grounds”.

She was born Lola Elsa de Sena in 1918, to a Spanish father and English mother. Her first home was Sheffield, but she spent most of her life in Warwickshire, England. She married Frank Grounds in 1937.

Her rally career began in 1950. Eschewing the traditional route of a small local rally in a production car, as a first step, she joined Frank’s team for the Tulip Rally. He was initially against the idea, having little faith in women having the requisite stamina, but she talked him round. Lola was under five feet tall and was described as “dainty”, but she enjoyed the challenge of driving for long stretches, and would later become fond of special stages.

As co-driver to her husband, she competed in the Tulip Rally at least four times, in a Jaguar XK120 and a Jowett Javelin. In the early 1950s, she drove in British rallies herself: she won the Coupe des Dames in the 1952 London Rally in a Morris Minor, and took part in the 1954 MCC National Rally, in a Ford Anglia. 1952 also saw her in the RAC Rally, driving a special-bodied Jowett Jupiter with Doreen Reece. Her first big international rally, as a driver, seems to have been the Monte Carlo Rally in 1953, in which she drove an Austin A40, with Cherry Osborn and Rosemary Wareham.

In 1955, she navigated for Nancy Mitchell, in Nancy’s Daimler Conquest. They were 17^th in the Monte Carlo Rally, among others. Lola also drove herself in some European rallies, including that year’s RAC event. She and Doreen Reece crashed out, turning over Lola’s Ford Anglia on a slippery Welsh slope. The Anglia was replaced with a Triumph TR2 for the Tulip Rally, a few weeks later. Lola and Cherry Osborn just managed to finish in 141^st place, despite another crash on a wet hairpin bend. The car hit a wall, which stopped it from falling down a steep drop.

The following year, she co-drove in the Standard ladies’ team, often with Cherry Osborn. Their first event together in the Standard Eight was the Monte, with Cherry driving. They also drove as a team in the Tulip Rally. Jo Ashfield and Mary Handley-Page drove the other Standard ladies’ car. The 1956 radio interview with Lola, referenced earlier, says that the Tulip was her fifth rally of the year

After a gap, she was back to co-driving for Frank in 1957. They took part in the Tulip Rally together, in a Morris Minor.

Her time in the Rootes team began in 1958. To start the year, she finished the Monte Carlo Rally in a Sunbeam Rapier, alongside Mary Handley-Page and Doreen Reece. Lola and Mary then did the Alpine Rally together, in a Sunbeam. The pair also contested Lola’s favoured Tulip Rally, in the Sunbeam, and were 21^st overall. During her career, she entered this particular event eight times. In a 1956 interview, she described her “soft spot” for the Dutch classic, and for its high-speed sections. This year, she was busy at home and abroad, as she was the Lady Mayoress of her adopted hometown of Sutton Coldfield, as well as an international rally driver. Unusually, she was Mayoress to her mother-in-law, Minnie Grounds, who was Mayor.

After Lola’s season as a Rootes driver, both she and Frank drove Ford cars in 1959. Another visit to the Monte led to another finish, driving a Ford Zephyr as part of a three-woman team with Nancy Mitchell and Anne Hall. All three were experienced drivers, and it was something of a reunion for Nancy and Lola. They were 78^th overall. For the Tulip Rally, Frank and Lola competed together again, in another Zephyr. They were 25^th.

Throughout the 1950s, she also drove her own cars in British rallies. These cars included an MG Y-Type, which she used in the 1956 RAC Rally, Ford Popular, and Morris Minor, which she drove in the London Rally with Anne Hall in 1957.

Her career, and that of her husband, seems to finish here. The early 1960s saw rallying move from being focused on navigation and driving tests, to high-speed special stages.

She died in 2004. She was survived by three children, including Robert Grounds, a motorsport photographer.

(Image from https://www.flickr.com/photos/robertgrounds copyright Birmingham Post & Mail)

Sheila van Damm

Sheila (left) in 1954, with Pauline Jesty and Joyce Leavens

Sheila van Damm was born in 1922, the daughter of London theatre impresario, Vivian van Damm. As with many other female drivers of her era, her first taste of motoring came during the Second World War, when she worked as a driver in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Encouraged by her father, she learned to fly an aeroplane too. For a time, she took part in aerobatics contests, although aircraft were never really her passion. Vivian van Damm employed a female personal pilot himself. 

Sheila and her sisters grew up around showgirls as well as a number of professional women employed by their father. In her autobiography, No Excuses, she comes across as clearly loving her father, but being somewhat scared of him. She admits to doing anything he told her to do, and that included driving a rally car.

She got her break in rallying in 1950, driving a works-prepared Sunbeam in the Daily Express Rally. The car was sponsored by her father’s infamous Windmill Theatre, which was known for its risqué revues. Vivian's aforementioned pilot, Zita Irwin, was one of those who persuaded her to have a go. Sheila, navigated by her sister Nona, drove a Sunbeam Talbot, with “Windmill Girl” proudly emblazoned down the side. This was to be Nona's only outing as a rally driver; she was car-sick and did not enjoy herself, returning to her beloved horses afterwards. They were third in the Coupe des Dames, and their performance impressed the Rootes team sufficiently for them to offer Sheila a works seat for the following season.

Although Nona never took to rallying, Sheila's mother, Natalie, later took it up in the mid-'50s.

Her first drive for Rootes was the 1951 Monte Carlo Rally, in a Hillman Minx. She was unplaced. Later in the year, navigated by the veteran Elsie “Bill” Wisdom, she won the Ladies’ Prize in the Closed car category of the RAC Rally. 

In 1952, she remained with Rootes, as she would for her entire rally career. As part of a three-woman team, she drove a Sunbeam Talbot in the Monte Carlo Rally. The other team members were Bill Wisdom and Nancy Mitchell. Sheila is also reported to have won a ladies’ award in an MCC Rally in the UK, in the same car.

1953 was a busy year. It began with the Monte Carlo Rally, in which Sheila was the second lady in her Sunbeam Talbot. Her co-drivers that year were Francoise Clarke, who sat beside her for the RAC Rally, and Anne Hall, who navigated her to the Coupe des Dames and a Coupe des Alpes in the Alpine Rally. They were 24th overall. The three almost always drove together and took turns at navigating, timekeeping and driving. Sheila was always in charge and admits to being rather harsh on her team-mates, although they all understood one another and their idiosyncrasies. Her best finish was eighth overall, in the Lisbon Rally. This was probably her best career result.

The furthest she travelled during her career was the USA; Rootes included her in a team for the 1953 Great American Mountain Rally. Unfortunately, she ran into problems on the tough terrain and was not among the leading finishers.

Sheila almost always drove with an all-female team, and had friendly rivalries with other female drivers like Nancy Mitchell, Madeleine Pochon and Lorna Doone Snow. However, she was also quite at home in the largely-male Rootes team, where the more experienced men were happy to help her out in becoming a better driver. Among them were Stirling Moss and Peter Collins.

1954 was full of action all over Europe for Sheila, ably assisted by Anne and Francoise. They drove a Sunbeam Talbot in the Monte Carlo Rally, but were unplaced, and later came tenth in the Tulip Rally, with a Ladies’ prize and second in class. In the same car, they also entered the Austrian Alpine Rally. For the Stella Alpina, they were allowed use of the Sunbeam Alpine prototype, and made off with the Ladies’ Trophy, and fifth in class. The Alpine Rally gave them another class fifth, and they were second in class in the Geneva Rally. A Coupe des Dames in the Viking Rally was another highlight.

1955 continued in the same vein. The Monte Carlo Rally produced her best result on that particular event: eleventh, and first lady. She was driving another Sunbeam with Francoise Clarke and Anne Hall. With Anne in the navigator’s seat, she won another Coupe des Dames on the RAC Rally, and was second in that category on the Tulip Rally, behind Greta Molander. Sheila and Greta were great rivals at this time, often in close competition for Ladies’ and class awards.

During and after her rally career, Sheila was a popular media personality. She wrote for the Daily Express, which sponsored rallies at the time. In 1955, she confessed to being very hard on Francoise Clarke in her role as co-driver and praised Francoise's patience. In the same interview, she also mentioned taking "pep pills" during longer events, which was common practice at the time. She was one of the favourites of rally journalist, Basil Cardew, who championed female talent.

In 1954 and 1955, she was European Ladies’ Champion, after her string of Coupes des Dames. She also helped Rootes to the team prize on the Monte Carlo Rally in 1954, 1955 and 1956.

1956 was her last year as a Rootes driver. She entered the Monte Carlo Rally in a Sunbeam. She finished but did not place in her class. Greta Molander also had an indifferent rally. 

Anne Hall now moved back to full-time driving, and Sheila prepared to wind down her motorsport career. She had wanted to reunite her original team, but the others were both busy. The Monte was her last event. She had the rare distinction of having finished every rally that she entered. Sometimes she only just managed to finish, but she managed.

As well as rallying, she proved a capable record-breaker and road-racer, winning her class on the 1956 Mille Miglia. She drove a Sunbeam Rapier with Peter Harper, and was 72nd overall. She was persuaded out of retirement for the 1957 Mille Miglia, again in a Rapier, with David Humphrey, but did not finish this time. Her record-breaking happened in 1953; during the Monte Carlo Rally, she hit 120mph in her Sunbeam, on the Jabbeke highway in Belgium.

After her competition career was over, Sheila helped her father with operations at the Windmill, and was its general manager between his death in 1960, and its eventual closure in 1964. In the late 1950s, she managed an all-female karting team, comprised of "Windmill girls". The theatre had always been her first love and her motorsport career was almost a stopgap before she could take over from Vivian. That said, she enjoyed her rallying and the life it entailed.  she remained in touch with her old world through her Vogue motoring column, and her presidency of the Doghouse Club, for “motorsport wives and ladies”.

Sheila's unconventional background was replicated somewhat in her own personal life. As well as the final demise of the Windmill in 1964, she had to contend with the sudden deaths of her friends Nancy Spain and Joan Werner Laurie in an air crash. The three had lived together in a menage a trois of sorts; Joan was probably Sheila's lover as well as Nancy's.

After the trials of 1964, she retired to a farm with Nona. Her mental health deteriorated and she received treatment for depression, including electroconvulsive therapy. The two sisters lived quietly and reclusively.

Sheila died in 1987. She had been suffering from cancer in secret for some time. Just two days after she confessed to her family and friends that she had the disease, it killed her.

(Image copyright Bournemouth Daily Echo)

Female Rally Drivers After 1950: UK & Ireland, Part I

Lola Grounds (right) and Mary Handley-Page (left)

Because of the large number of post-war female rally drivers from the British Isles, I have had to split this post into two halves. As ever, drivers are arranged alphabetically. Louise Cook now has her own post, as do Frankie Bogg, Jane Gunningham, Jean Denton, Chrissie Ashford, Lorna Snow, Janie Eaton, Sheleagh Aldersmith, Gilly Handley and Eleanor Allard.

Nikki Addison - driver and co-driver who rallies a Peugeot 106 in Scotland. She has used the same car since 2017 and normally works with the same co-driver, Rachel Matheson. Her best result so far has been a 21st place in the 2022 Kinloss Stages Rally. A year earlier, she was 23rd in the Annabelle Tennant Milltown Stages. The 106 was replaced by a Honda Civic part-way through 2023, which she rallied throughout 2024. She did three rallies in the Civic in 2025, picking up a best finish of 39th in the Ulster Rally. As a co-driver, she has been active since 2015, sitting alongside a number of drivers including Bill Hamilton and James Munro.

Linda Allen - Scottish driver from Oban. She first competed in the Scottish Championship in a Vauxhall Astra, and campaigned one of these cars in the 2004 and 2005 Scottish championship. She moved on to a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4 in 2006, winning the Ladies’ award on the Snowman Rally and finishing 21st overall.

Jo Ashfield - one of the Rootes team's female driving squad in the 1950s. She was both navigator and driver, and sat alongside Mary Handley-Page, among others. In 1956, she was one of a team of lady Standard drivers, and drove a Vanguard in the Monte Carlo Rally. Her co-driver was Francoise Clark. The two had previously driven a Ford Zephyr in Monte Carlo in 1955. Jo appears to have been active since at least 1950.

Holly Bailey - British rally driver who competed in the BRC Stars of the Future junior rally series for two seasons, in 2005 and 2006. The sponsor for her Renault Clio and MG ZR was tights manufacturer Pretty Polly. As well as rally driving, she has co-driven in club rallies, and participated in many sprints and autotest events. Early in her career, she used her own road-going Nova. More recently, she has been involved in promotional road rallies for electric cars, alongside various celebrities. She has also done some navigating. After a long break, she returned to the stages in 2013, for a charity rally for Help For Heroes, but did not finish. Her car was her old ZR. She co-drove for John Taylor in 2014, and Ian Rix in 2015.

Kim Baker - rallied in the UK in the 2000s and 2010s, using cars including a MkII Escort. Her best season in the Escort was 2018, when she was 17th in the Greystoke Stages and then 18th in the Trackrod Historic Cup, winning her class. This was one of four class wins that year. A part-season in the 2014 British championship included a tenth place in the Pirelli Rally. Earlier in her career, she usually drove a Peugeot 205. Her debut was in 2013 at the wheel of a SEAT Ibiza, co-driven by Paul Heath.

Glenda Boyle - winner of the 2005 "Women in the Hotseat" Rally Challenge. She rallied a Peugeot 106 around the UK and Ireland in 2006 as her prize-drive . Part of her competition programme was the “Stars of the Future” class of the British Championship. She did some Irish rallies in 2007 with the Peugeot. In 2008, she drove a Honda Civic and appears to have entered more Irish events, including International rallies. She made a stronger return to Irish rallying in 2009 and 2010, driving the Civic with Kylie Boyle. In 2011, they were 30th in the Circuit of Ireland. She entered the Irish Tarmac Championship in 2012, and was 24th in the Donegal International Rally. She did at least some Irish rallies in 2013, including the Donegal Rally, in the Civic. She entered the Donegal Rally again in 2017, in the Civic, but did not finish.

Nicola Brown - beginner rally driver in the MG Scholarship series in 2004. She entered several BRC and National-level rallies, usually managing to finish. She did not compete again for many years, but made a small comeback in 2017. She drove a Peugeot 205 on the Somerset Stages, and was 55th overall. In 2018 and 2019, she rallied a BMW E36 Compact in the Plains Rally.

Faye Campey - drove a Peugeot 106 in the 2002 World Cup Rally. Since then, she has driven and navigated in endurance rallies in the UK, such as the Lombard Rally. Usually, she acts as a navigator, rather than driving herself.

Caroline Carslaw - Scottish driver who has been competing since 2012. Her first car was a Ford Fiesta, which she continues to rally, and she drove in two tarmac events in Scotland during her first season. In 2013, she competed in the full Scottish championship, with a best finish of  40th in the GWF Energy Merrick Stages. Her main highlights were class wins in the Border Counties and Speyside Rallies, which led to her championship title in Class 7. She was also Scottish Ladies’ Champion. In 2014, she drove in the British and Scottish championships. Her best finish was fifth in the British Rally Challenge section of the Pirelli Richard Burns Foundation Rally. In 2015, she mainly competed in Scotland, although she did come down to Cumbria for the Malcolm Wilson Rally, and Wales, for Rally GB. She managed a class win in the Speyside Stages, and was 43rd overall. In 2016, she mostly rallied the Fiesta in Scotland, although she did try out a Subaru Impreza for the Kingdom Stages. She won the Class 7 Scottish title. She rallied in the Impreza in 2017. Her best result was a 36th place in the Riponian Stages. Her car for 2018 was a Ford Fiesta R2 and she mostly competed in Scotland. The same was true in 2019 but her calendar was longer and her results better. Her best finish was 20th overall in the Grizedale Stages. 

Laura Christmas - rallies an original Mini Cooper in the UK, usually in single-venue events. She began in 2020 and she was 46th in her first rally, the Rex Pet Hotel Flying Fortress Stages. Her best result in an extensive 2021 season was a 35th place in the Harold Palin Memorial Stages. She did some rounds of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship, including the Dukeries, Cadwell and Snetterton rallies. In 2022, she did three more tarmac rallies, finishing two. Her only result in 2023 was a 34th place in the Rixy Stages. She did two more rallies in the Mini in 2024. In a complete change of power and car category, she rallied a Toyota GT86 in 2025. Her career began in the co-driver’s seat in 2019, sitting alongside Mark Peterson.

Miranda Clegg - drove a Ford Ka in a couple of British Championship rallies in 2002. She drove in the Pirelli Rally with Julie Cole, coming 19th in the one-make section.

Rose-Anne Clinton - rallied in the UK in the 1970s. Details of her career are sketchy, but she entered the 1976 RAC Rally in an Opel Ascona with Sven Kolkin. They do not appear to have finished. Later, she was a competitor in the Faberge Fiesta Challenge for women drivers, navigated by Maggie Greenland. She was not among the event winners. She has now died.

Sarah Cohen - rallied in the UK in the late 1970s. She was part of the Faberge Fiesta Ladies’ Challenge in 1979 and performed relatively strongly in the rally rounds, as well as being quite a decent circuit racer in her yellow Fiesta. Her co-driver in the Fiesta was Dorothy Selby-Bothroyd. At the same time as she was active in the Faberge challenge, she was rallying a Ford Escort in BTRDA events with John Harmer. Her best result in this car seems to have been a 60th place in the Plains Rally. She later married Harmer.

June Conway - rallied a number of smaller cars in the north of England in the 2000s. She used two different Peugeot 106s between 2002 and 2006 and a Suzuki Swift in 2008. The best of her published results was a 37th place in the 2003 Cadwell Park Stages. Her co-driver was always Vivien Young. Their cars were not always the most reliable; the Swift’s suspension gave up during its first outing on the 2008 Armstrong Massey Rally.

Sally Cooper - rallied in Europe in the early 1960s. She drove a Sunbeam in the 1961 RAC Rally, with a “Miss P Block”, and does not appear to have finished. In 1962, she entered the Monte Carlo Rally with Rosemary Smith, who was appearing in her first international event. Her car was a Sunbeam again. She may well have competed in other rallies, and possibly did some navigation as well.

Amanda Cornforth (Smith) - British driver who began her rally career in 2006, usually in a Ford Ka. Along with Jayne Auden and Shelly Taunt, she was part of the “Babes in the Wood” rally team. She finished the season 56th in the MSA English Rally Championship. For 2007, the team went their separate ways, although Amanda co-drove for Jayne Auden on a couple of rallies. She was very competitive in the BTRDA 1400cc championship and was often in the top three. In 2008 she tackled the British Rally Championship and continued to develop her career as a motorsport PR and sports writer. In 2009 and 2010, she entered some club rallies with her father, Derek, driving the Ka. In 2012, she returned to the stages for some BTRDA rallies, including the Trackrod clubmans' event. In 2013, she drove in three BTRDA events, finishing two of them (the Trackrod Rally and Dukeries Rally) in 51st place. She drove the Ka in a series of British rallies in 2014, usually on forest stages. Her best result was a 34th place, on the Malton Forest Rally. She was second in class. In 2015, she rallied the trusty Ka again in events in northern England and Scotland, including the Jim Clark Reivers Rally. Her best finish was 23rd, in the Riponian Stages. Mid-season, she teamed up with Jayne Auden again, as her navigator, for the Phoenix Stages. She stuck to selected northern events again 2016, in the Ka, with her father as co-driver once more. Her best finish was 51st, in the Trackrod Rally. She did one rally in 2017: the Riponian Stages, and returned to the event in the Ka in 2019. 

Amy Cox - competes in Northern Ireland and Eire. Her most recent car is a Skoda Fabia S2000, in which she has scored three top-ten finishes since 2017. The best of them were two sevenths in the 2018 Turkey Run Stages and Tour of the Sperrins. She previously rallied Ford Escorts and earned her first top-ten in the 2011 Ulster National Rally, finishing sixth. Her favoured surface is asphalt.

Liz Crellin - perhaps best-known as a navigator, who sat beside Pat Moss-Carlsson in her later career. Earlier, Liz was a driver in her own right, and won the BTRDA Silver Star driver's championship in 1968 and 1969. Driving a Mini Cooper S, she won the Ladies' Cup on the 1970 RAC Rally. Again, with Pat Wright, in a Mini, she took part in the 1971 RAC Rally, but did not fare as well. After that, she returned to the co-driver's seat in international events, sitting alongside Eeva Heinonen, among others.

Jean Crossley - rallied in Europe in the mid to late 1960s. In 1965, she entered an MG 1100 in the Tulip and Monte Carlo rallies. She did not finish either of them, and went over the time limit in the Tulip event. She followed the same schedule in 1966, with the same car. This time, she managed to finish the RAC Rally, in 63rd place. Her co-driver was Henry Dodd. She does not appear to have finished the Tulip Rally. Margaret Lowrey-Mackenzie was on the maps this time. In 1967, she made another attempt on both rallies, and seems to have finished both. She was 61st in the Tulip Rally, and 119th in the RAC Rally. This looks to have been her last season of international rallying.

Jenny Davies - competed in the UK in the late 1990s. She was a works Proton driver in the British Championship in 1998 and 1999. In 1996, she drove a Class A Peugeot 306 in the Mintex National Championship, scoring one third place in class. She was less active the following year, entering the Peugeot for a few Mintex rounds. Her first season in the British championship with Proton resulted in one third place in class. Her 1999 results have proved difficult to find.

Lyn Dimelow - 1995 ANWCC Rally champion. She drove a Peugeot 205 in the 1996 Mintex National Rally Championship, winning Class B11 and finishing eighth in Class B and 45th overall.

Aisling Dooris - Irish driver competed in the Irish and British championships between 2000 and 2004. Between 2000 and 2002, she usually drove a Suzuki Swift. She won several Coupes des Dames in both the UK and Ireland, as well as awards for Class A5, and was fairly competitive in the Irish Tarmac Championship. More recently, she has been involved in the administration side of rallying.

Margo Doyle - Irish driver who competed in Ireland between 1999 and 2007. Her car was always a Honda Civic and her most frequent rally was the Wexford Stages, which she contested seven times, with a best finish of 34th in 2006. This was also her career best finish. Her navigator for most of her career was Maria Dunne.

Jane Edgington - competed in the UK and Europe between 1994 and 2005, always driving small cars. Her first was a Vauxhall Nova, which she crashed on the 1994 Gwynedd National Rally. Her next event, the Tour of Crychan, was in a Peugeot 106 and she was thirteenth. The 106 was probably her best car; she was 17th in the Vauxhall Panaround National Rally in it in 1998. Later, she also drove a Ford Puma and a Ford Ka. Her last event was the 2005 Pennine Stages, and she was fifteenth in a 106.

Melanie Fitzgerald-Smith - Irish driver who sometimes drove an ex-works Hillman Imp. She used this car on the 1969 Scottish Rally. Later, in 1971, she entered the RAC Rally, again, driving a Hillman Imp. It is likely that she competed in Ireland more extensively, and she is recorded as entering a rally in Galway in 1975, driving a Hillman Avenger.

Tonya Fortune – Irish driver competing in the Irish National championship. She began her career in 2013, in junior rallying. Her first car was a Vauxhall Corsa, and her best result was a fourteenth place in the Junior section of the Raven’s Rock Rally. After one senior rally in the Corsa, in 2014, it was changed in for a Honda Civic, which she continued to rally in 2015. Although her overall finishes were modest, Tonya managed a class win on the Tipperary Stonethrowers Stages Rally, and was 66^th overall. She was 31^st in the championship, after taking some gambles with rallies held the other side of Ireland to her home. In 2015, she contested the Irish National championship again, in the Civic, and scored three class seconds. Her best overall result was a 63rd place in the Skibbereen Rally, which was one of her runner-up spots. As well as rallies, she has also competed in hillclimbs in Ireland, in her rally car. In 2016, she rallied the Civic in Ireland again. Her best finish was a class win in the Volkswagen Wexford Stages. She was 50th overall. She did some more Irish rallies in 2017, and managed a 27th place in the Carlow Stages. 

Daphne Freeman - driver and co-driver, mostly in the 1960s. One of her earliest outings was the 1959 Monte Carlo Rally, navigating for Mary Handley-Page in a Sunbeam Rapier. Later that year, she co-drove Pauline Mayman’s Morgan on the RAC Rally. In 1961, she navigated for Mary Handley-Page and Pauline Mayman again on the Monte, in another Sunbeam Rapier. The following year, she drove an Austin in the RAC Rally, with Elizabeth Jones on the maps. In 1963, she was back navigating, for Valerie Pirie this time, in a Ford Cortina, on the RAC. She also did some circuit racing and partnered Jean Aley in a Mini in the 1962 Nürburgring 500km. They did not finish.

Debbie Garlick - campaigned a Vauxhall Astra and a Peugeot 205/106 in British rallies, in 1995 and 1996 respectively. In 1996, she contested the Mintex National series for the Shropshire Rally School team, scoring points in class N1, the Coupe des Dames and the Junior driver category. She was killed in the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Debbie Gilliver - rallied a Peugeot 205 and a Vauxhall Nova in British rallies in the late 1990s. She entered the 1997 Rally GB in the Nova, but retired on Stage 23. The same car was used in some BTRDA championship rounds in 1998. Debbie’s navigator was usually Linda Craske.

Pam Haggie - competed in the UK from 1959. For her first season, she used an Austin A40, and drove in club rallies in Cheshire. In 1960, she exchanged this for a Ford Anglia 105e. She was rewarded with tenth in the White Horse Rally and a career-best third in the Mini Miglia Rally, navigated and coached by Don Barrow. Later, still in the Anglia, she entered the RAC Rally with Sheila Taylor. They retired after a collision with a team-mate’s car. After that, her name seems to disappear from the entry lists. She was a hairdresser by trade.

Anne Hay - rallied in the UK in the early 1980s. She was part of the same group of drivers who had come through the Faberge Fiesta Challenge, although she did not compete in it herself. Most of her rallying was in Scotland, including a run in the 1986 Scottish Rally. For this event, she drove an MG Metro and unfortunately retired with an oil pressure problem. Among her other cars was a Talbot Sunbeam, which she drove in the 1981 Granite City Rally, finishing 51st and fourth in class.

Sue Hedley - competed in National level rallies in the UK, as well as finishing the RAC Rally in 1998. She was national Ladies’ champion in 2001 and 2002, driving a Vauxhall Nova. This was modified to run on LPG for the 2002 season. She was set to be the first person to rally an LPG-powered car in the British Rally Championship, but the deal fell through. She later drove a Vauxhall Astra in British events.

Melissa Heijink - rallied a Skoda Felicia in the UK in 1997. She finished the RAC Rally once, the same year, in 88th place. She and Anna Tait got their chance in Group N Felicias as the winners of Silverstone Rally School’s LadyQuest. Both cars were supported by the Skoda works team. Melissa entered at least two other British rallies in the Mintex championship, including the Panaround Rally. She does not appear to have competed since.

Linzi Henderson - Scottish driver who began in junior rallying in 2012, in a 1000cc Peugeot 107. She was 16, but this was not her first rally experience - she co-drove for her father, Walter Henderson, in at least one event, in 2011. She moved up to senior competition in 2013, at 17, and continued to use the Peugeot. It finished one of the three rallies she drove it in, the Stobart Rail Pendragon Stages. She was 51st. Her best result of 2013 was a seventh place in the Albar Kames Trophy Rally, a single-stage asphalt event. She was driving her father’s Subaru Impreza. For 2014, she acquired an MG ZR, and drove in the Scottish championship, on both tarmac and gravel. Her finishing record was much improved, and she was often the fastest female driver. Her best overall result was 38th, in the GWF Energy Merrick Stages, and she was third in class. She was quite active in the Impreza in 2016, mostly in Scotland. Her best finish was 29th, in the Grampian Stages. In 2019, she rallied a Ford Fiesta and had a best finish of 15th in the Galloway Hills Rally, winning her class. At the start of the season, she took a Rover 220 on the Knockhill Stages with Jane Nicol. Her only event in 2020 was the Snowman Rally, although she crashed the Fiesta. She drove an Escort RS2000 in the 2021 Argyll Rally, but did not finish. Another Fiesta was her chosen car in 2022 and 2023, although she did try out a MkII Escort in the 2023 Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally. 

Octavia Hopwood - rallied a Volkswagen Golf around the UK in 2016, normally competing on tarmac. 2016 seems to have been her first season. Her best outright finish was a 34th place in the SMC Stages, in April. She was ninth in her class. In 2023, she came back in a BMW E30, finishing 66th in the Mike Sones Memorial AGBO Stages. Away from the stages, Octavia works as a wildlife TV presenter, and has been a stunt performer and competitive climber.

Lynda Hughes (Morgan) - UK driver who competed in two Safari Rallies, in 1989 and 1991. She was twelfth on both occasions and she won class A6 in 1989. Her cars were a Nissan March and Daihatsu Charade respectively.

Linda Jackson - competed in UK rallies, mostly in the 1970s. She drove in the RAC Rally in 1973 and 1975, finishing 69th in 1975. Her car was a Ford Escort both times and her navigator in 1975 was the Swedish actress Leena Skoog. In between, she drove the Escort in the 1974 Tour of Britain. Linda began rallying in 1967, according to a 1974 newspaper article, although she only started “getting results” in 1971.

Joan Johns - drove in European rallies in the late 1950s, as main driver and co-driver. She was sixth on the 1956 RAC Rally in an Austin A90 Westminster, and finished the Monte Carlo Rally in the same car, co-driven by Pat Moss. In 1957 and 1958 she co-drove a series of MGs with Nancy Mitchell. They won the Coupe des Dames on the 1957 Liège-Rome-Liège Rally and finished the 1958 Monte Carlo Rally.

Toni Kelly – Irish driver who has finished the Rally of Ireland twice. The first time was in 2007, when she was 66^th, with a win in class A7, driving a Honda Civic Type-R with the experienced Gemma Price. The second time was in 2009. She won class A7 again, but was a respectable 21^st overall. In between, she rallied the Civic in Northern Ireland, in 2008, with a best finish of eleventh in the Circuit of Ireland International Rally. She crashed out of the Rally of Ireland, and had to take six months out of competition to recover. Her last competitive outing seems to have been in 2011, when she was 69^th in the Donegal International Rally, in the Civic, with a class win. After ten years out, she returned to the stages in 2023, driving a BMW 318 in a single-stage event in Barbados. Since 2012, Toni has been running her own driving school, and has worked as a TV presenter on Ireland’s RPM motorsport show. 

Becky Kirvan - winner of Silverstone Rally School's LadyQuest in 2006. Her prize drive was a series of supported entries in British rallies in an MG ZR, in 2006 and 2007. After a break from competition, which she spent building a car and rental business, she returned in 2010, driving a Nissan Micra. She contested the BTRDA Rally First championship. She won the BTRDA Ladies' Championship, despite destroying her car on her penultimate event. In 2011, she moved up to the BRC Challenge, driving a Ford Fiesta ST, and won its Ladies' award. She also entered, and finished, her first Wales Rally GB, in 39th place. She sat out the 2012 season to look after her new baby. In 2017, she made a small return, finishing 55th in the Trackrod Forest Stages. Her car was a Fiesta.

(Image copyright Robert Grounds)

Rosemary Smith

Rally winners, Rosemary Smith and Val Domleo

Growing up in Ireland, Rosemary Smith had little interest in cars. Her great ambition was to be a fashion designer, and after leaving school she studied hard to achieve her dream. While working as a junior dress designer, her classic good looks did not go un-noticed, and she was soon modelling the creations as well as designing them. It was only by chance that she fell into motorsport.

Delphine Bigger was a friend of Rosemary's in the business, who was a keen amateur rally driver. Left without a navigator one weekend in 1959, she roped in Rosemary to fill in, and inadvertently started a new career for her. It did not start well though, as she proved pretty incompetent at map-reading and soon got the pair lost. Delphine hurriedly switched seats with Rosemary and took over the maps herself before they were completely lost, after it was found that she had been holding the map upside down. Once the roles were reversed, Rosemary really got into the driving and was scoring respectable times. The arrangement with Delphine continued for a couple of events, with Rosemary going over the start line in the passenger seat and then switching when the duo were out of sight. However, she soon wanted to enter rallies as a driver in her own right, after realising that she enjoyed driving and wanted to do more. The two swapped places and continued to compete together for a while, until Delphine was injured in a serious crash, and Rosemary had to go it alone.

Between then and 1962, Rosemary accepted drives in various rallies, sitting alongside drivers including Sally Cooper in Monte Carlo, and a fully-recovered Delphine in the RAC in 1961, driving a Morris. Eventually, she was offered a works contract with Rootes, after a strong performance in a private Sunbeam Rapier on the 1962 Monte Carlo Rally. She and Rosemary Seers, an experienced navigator, competed together in a Sunbeam on that year’s RAC Rally.

The two Rosemarys’ first Monte together in the works Rapier was an ordeal. They crashed out and had to be rushed to hospital. Thankfully, no long-term harm was done. In a similar car, Rosemary tackled the Tulip and Alpine rallies. Elma Lewsey was her navigator for the Alpine event and Margaret Mackenzie was on the maps for the RAC Rally. Although Rosemary gained experience this year, good results were not yet coming her way. An exception was that year’s Tour de France, in which she was third in the 2000cc GT class, tenth overall. Margaret Mackenzie was co-driving once more, and the car had been upgraded to an Alpine.

In 1964, Rootes had developed a rally homologation of the tiny Hillman Imp, inspired by the Mini, and Rosemary found her true metier driving this car. She began the year with a drive in a Rapier, in the Tulip Rally, but sampled the Imp in the RAC Rally. After a lacklustre initial performance, she switched to a Sunbeam Tiger for the Geneva Rally, and was 15th.

By the time 1965 came round, she had learned the car more fully and was able to drive it to its true capacity. In the inaugural event of the season, the Monte, she and Margaret were fourth in class, after a battle against terrible weather which accounted for 205 of the 227 starters. Assisted by Sheila O’Clery, she took the Imp to her home rally, the Circuit of Ireland, in which she was the top lady on many occasions.

Driving with Sheila Taylor, she won the GT class in the Alpine Rally and was a fine fifth overall in the Scottish Rally. The RAC was never her best event, and Rosemary could only manage 25th. In Canada she was up against more snow for the Canadian KLG Rally, and was eighth overall, first in class. Atrocious weather also helped her to her greatest triumph during this season. Assisted by Valerie Domleo, she drove through snow and storms on the Tulip Rally and took advantage of the prevailing handicap system, to power the tiny Imp to an outright win.

She did not repeat her achievement with the Imp in 1966, but it was an impressive year nevertheless. It started poorly, when she was disqualified from the Monte for a technical infringement, but soon picked up. In contract to last year's snowy escapade, she was first lady on the Acropolis Rally and third in that summer's Scottish event. She and Valerie Domleo also won their class. Another class win was in order in the Gulf Rally, and she and Val were second in the 1300cc class in the Circuit of Ireland. With Margaret Lowrey, she could only come 14th on the RAC; it was never her favourite event. The Alpine was another disappointment, as the Imp’s sump sprung a leak. Rosemary and local girl Anne Coombe fared much better in Rosemary's second visit to Canada. She entered the Shell 4000 marathon across the country and as part of the rules the pair had to do all servicing themselves. They handled the task admirably, coming eighth overall, and first in the 1150cc and under class.

For 1967 Rosemary had a new co-driver, in the shape of Susan Seigle-Morris. In her last year as a Rootes works driver, her best results were fourth overall on the Scottish Rally, and seventh overall on the Circuit of Ireland, with a class win both times. Back with Ann Coombe, she was thirteenth in the Shell 4000 event, driving a Rapier. A reunion with Margaret Lowrey gave her tenth on the Alpine, in the Imp. True to form, she and Val Domleo did not excel in the RAC Rally, finishing 58th.

1968 began with another run in the Monte Carlo Rally in the Imp, but not long after, Rosemary transferred to Porsche, to drive the powerful but unpredictable 911. Her time there was not as fruitful as her Rootes days and she jumped ship to Ford before the end of the season. This led to her being entered in the famous London-Sydney World Cup Rally in a Lotus Cortina. She was paired with the Frenchwoman Lucette Pointet and made it to the finish after a number of scrapes. A misfiring cylinder sapping the power meant that she could only summon enough revs to get up the Khyber Pass in reverse, and angry locals made off with the oil supplies when they found out that neither Rosemary nor Lucette was carrying any jewellery. They were the first female finishers.

By 1969 Rosemary was winding down her career. She had got married and her husband did not approve of her "ego trips", as he called her rallying activities. She went out with a bang by winning the Cork 20 International Rally, back in a Hillman Imp. Another highlight was her sixth place in the Scottish Rally, driving a Ford Escort. Her apparent swansong was the 1970 World Cup Rally, in which she drove an Austin Maxi to tenth overall, with a class win. She and Alice Watson also entered the Scottish Rally in the Maxi.

However, we had not seen the last of Rosemary Smith. Her desire to drive really fast lasted longer than her marriage, and she was back on the scene only a year later, in 1971, driving a Lancia Fulvia to 18th on the Monte, with Alice Watson. In 1972, she accepted a Ford Escort drive on the RAC Rally, navigated by Pauline Gullick. She remained a fixture on the international circuit for a few more years and then became a part-time driver, accepting drives in both races and rallies.

She still races to this day, usually on the track in a Hillman Imp or Sunbeam Tiger. She is a regular visitor to the Goodwood Revival and also crosses the Atlantic to revisit Sebring on occasion. As well as their rally cars, Rosemary also drove sportscars in the big American races at Sebring and Daytona, although she preferred the variety in rallying. She was entered for Le Mans once in a Sunbeam, but was not allowed to drive as the French authorities would not permit women to take part. This was ostensibly due to Annie Bousquet's fatal accident at Rheims in 1956.

Her first big circuit race was the 1966 Daytona 24 Hours, where she shared a Sunbeam Rapier with Smokey Drolet. They were 30th overall. Later, in 1969, Rosemary and Smokey raced together again, in the Sebring 12 Hours. They were 26th overall in a BMW 2002. By far the most notable of Rosemary's circuit excursions were those she made as part of the Ring Free Oil Motor Maids team, beginning in 1970. That year, she was partnered with Janet Guthrie and Judy Kondratieff for the Sebring 12 Hours, in an Austin-Healey Sprite which was little more than a showroom model. The all-female team got the car to the finish, and were 19th overall. The following year, at Sebring, Rosemary drove a better-prepared Chevron B19 for the team, with Janet Guthrie, but did not finish. It was during one of these races that she caused some consternation in the team pits, as the mechanics were noticing coloured scrapings that they thought were coming from bodywork rubbing somewhere. The real cause was a bored Rosemary, picking off her nail polish as she raced.

As well as her racing activities, Rosemary ran an organisation promoting road safety and good driving practice to Irish teenagers. In 2017, she was invited by Renault to drive a recent Formula One car as part of their 40th anniversary celebrations. She "jumped at the chance" to compare notes with Jolyon Palmer.

Her autobiography was published in 2018. She died in December 2023 after a short illness, aged 86.

(Image from a Rootes promotional shoot)

Anne Hall

Anne rallying a Ford Anglia, 1962

Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Anne Hall (or Anne Newton in the early days) was one of Britain's best known rally drivers, and certainly one of the leading ladies. She too up the sport just after purchasing her first sports car in 1951, a Jaguar XK120. Everyone was surprised when Anne and her sister came seventh overall and won the Ladies' award in the Open class of the RAC Rally. The Jaguar became Anne's car of choice for the next few years as she rallied around Britain, gaining experience and some good finishes, such as a repeat of her Ladies' Open victory in the 1952 RAC event. Another highlight was a ninth place in the competitive Rally of the Tests in 1953.

In 1952 she switched seats and took up navigating, after she was talent-spotted by the Rootes team and their established lady star, Sheila van Damm. Sheila and her new co-driver rallied a Sunbeam Talbot all over Europe and became European Ladies' Rally Champions. One of their best finishes was a tenth in Monte Carlo that helped Rootes to the team prize. They parted in 1956, as Sheila was winding down her career. Anne sat beside another British lady star, Nancy Mitchell, that year, and joined her in several impressive finishes, including strong placings in class in the Lyon-Charbonnieres and Alpine Rallies. During this time, Anne continued to drive in selected rallies herself. She drove a Ford in the 1956 Alpine Rally, her first major outing for that marque.

For 1957 she returned to the driving seat with the works Ford team, driving the Zephyr. She won the Coupe des Dames in the Tulip Rally. In 1958, she drove another Zephyr at Monte Carlo, but suffered an accident. Anne was an enthusiastic participant in the Monte Carlo Rally, which led to her being nicknamed "The Queen of Monte Carlo". She was the first British woman to win the Coupe des Dames since 1932 and had a best finish of tenth, as a navigator. In 1958, she was 78th in the Zephyr, assisted by Nancy Mitchell and Lola Grounds. That year, she drove the Anglia on the RAC Rally as well.

It was in this car that she was 36th in the 1960 Monte. She and Val Domleo crashed out of the Alpine Rally. In 1961, the same pairing added a Coupe des Dames from Monte Carlo to their collection. One of the biggest achievements that Anne is remembered for also happened this year: her third place on the arduous East African Safari. Ford team bosses had urged her to slow down and make sure that she finished, so that they could win the Ladies' trophy, but she was having none of it and wanted to push for the win. Driving a Zephyr again, she was seventh in the RAC Rally later in the year.

She went back to the Anglia in 1962 for the RAC, Monte and Alpine events, but with less success.

In 1963, she sampled the Ford Falcon rally special. Her first outing was inauspicious: an OTL on the Monte. A switch to the Cortina for the rest of the season brought better results, the best being 16th on the RAC Rally. A return to the Falcon gave her another finish on the 1964 Monte, but after that, she moved to the Rover team, driving different models in the Acropolis, Spa-Sofia-Liege, Alpine and RAC events. Her navigator for much of the season was Denise McCluggage.

1965 was her last season as an international driver, and it was an adventurous one. Anne and Lucille Cardwell rolled their Mercedes 300SE on the Safari Rally and were unable to continue, and Anne, in a Rover, also crashed out of the Acropolis Rally. She managed to finish the RAC and Alpine Rallies, but not as competitively as she might have liked.

Back home, in domestic events, she drove in the Targa Rusticana road rally at least once, and finished eighth in the Rally of the Tests in 1961. 1961 also saw Anne's first major win, on the Morecambe Rally, partnered by Val Domleo and driving a Ford Zephyr. It was the first win for a ladies' team on a British national event.

Although Anne made a comeback and was still competing in historic events as late as 1993, she had not been well for a long while before her death in 2003. Perhaps fittingly, she died on the eve of that year's Monte Carlo Rally.

(Image copyright Ilkley Motor Club)