Brian Lewis, 2nd Baron Essendon
Brian Edmund Lewis, 2nd Baron Essendon (7 December 1903 – 18 July 1978), also known as Bug, was a British motor-racing driver, company director, baronet, and peer.
Born in Edmonton, Middlesex, he was the only son of first Lord Essendon, the shipping magnate, by his wife Eleanor (d.1967), daughter of R. H. Harrison of West Hartlepool. In 1938, he married Mary Duffil, widow of Albert Duffil, daughter of G. W. Booker of Los Angeles.
Educated at Malvern,[1] and Pembroke College, Cambridge, he was a Director of Furness Withy[2] (the family shipping firm), Barry Aikman Travel Ltd and Godfrey Davis & Co Ltd.
He raced Frazer Nashes in England in the 1920s and entered a private Maserati 8CM at the Swiss Grand Prix 1935. As The Times put it in 1978:
- 'Along with a distinguished band that included Lord Howe, Sir Henry Birkin, and the Earl of March, later the Duke of Richmond, he was one of a bunch of titled and talented amateurs who did much for the image of British motor racing in the 1920s and 1930s, albeit mainly at the wheel of foreign cars.'
In the late 1930s, he was a motoring correspondent of the News Chronicle and a President of the .
Lord Essendon succeeded his father in the peerage and barony in 1944.
His main recreation was golf. He was a member of the Bath Club in London.
He lived in London and at Avenue Eglantine 5, Lausanne, Switzerland. He died in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Racing record[]
- Third in the 1930 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Talbot.
- Third in the 1932 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Talbot.
- Third in the 1933 24 Hours of Le Mans in an Alfa Romeo.
- First in the 1933 Mannin Moar in an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza.
- Sixth in the 1933 Nice Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza.
- First in the 1934 Mannin Moar in an Alfa Romeo Tipo B.
- First in the 1935 Mannin Moar in a Bugatti T59.
- Did not finish the in a Maserati 8C.
- Did not finish the 1935 Swiss Grand Prix in a Maserati 8CM.
- Not classified in the 1935 Donington Grand Prix in a .
- 15th in the in an .
- 99th in the in an
24 Hours of Le Mans results[]
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1929 | ![]() |
![]() |
Lagonda OH | 2.0 | 29 | DNF | DNF |
1930 | ![]() |
![]() |
Talbot AO90 | 3.0 | 162 | 3rd | 1st |
1931 | ![]() |
![]() |
Talbot AV105 | 3.0 | 132 | DNF | DNF |
1932 | ![]() |
![]() |
Talbot AV105 | 3.0 | 180 | 3rd | 3rd |
1933 | ![]() |
![]() |
Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 | 3.0 | 225 | 3rd | 3rd |
1934 | ![]() |
![]() |
Singer Le Mans 1½ Litre | 1.5 | 195 | 7th | 3rd |
1935 | ![]() |
![]() |
Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM | 3.0 | 129 | DNF | DNF |
Source:[3]
|
Complete European Championship results[]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | EDC | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1931 | Earl Howe | Bugatti T51 | Bugatti 2.3 L8 | ITA | FRA 12 |
—1 | ||||||
Sir Henry Birkin | Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 | Alfa Romeo 2.3 L8 | BEL 4 |
|||||||||
1935 | Earl Howe | Maserati 8CM | Maserati 3.0 L8 | MON | FRA | BEL | GER | SUI Ret |
ITA | ESP | 32nd | 55 |
Source:[4]
|
- Notes
- ^1 – Lewis was co-driver with Howe at the French GP and with Birkin at the Belgian GP, therefore rules excluded him from the championship.
References[]
- ^ Cricket Archive profile of Brian Lewis. Archived 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine www.acscricket.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ VIP Voyagers II Archived 25 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine (9 March 2009). R. M. S. Queen Mary: Vintage news about the stateliest ship afloat.
- ^ "All Results of Brian Lewis". racingsportscars.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- ^ "THE GOLDEN ERA – OF GRAND PRIX RACING". kolumbus.fi. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- The Times, 19 July 1978. Obituary, page 19.
External links[]
- Cricket Archive profile of Brian Lewis.[permanent dead link] www.acscricket.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- Historic Racing profile of Brian Lewis.[permanent dead link] www.historicracing.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- List of famous students at Pembroke College, Cambridge : Brian Lewis, 2nd Baron Essendon[permanent dead link] www.listaba.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- "historicracing.com: 188 - Fitted out in a nice bespoke suit and tie here we find 'Bug' ready to tackle the outer circuit at Brooklands in 1930." www.facebook.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- 1903 births
- 1978 deaths
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge
- Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
- British businesspeople in shipping
- English racing drivers
- Grand Prix drivers
- People educated at Malvern College
- British motoring journalists
- European Championship drivers
- 20th-century British businesspeople