Roy Eccles
| Roy Hector Eccles | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | December 2, 1900 Neath, Wales |
| Died | January 17, 1938 (aged 37) Staines-upon-Thames, England |
| Years active | 1932 -1937 |
Roy Hector Eccles (2 December 1900 – 17 January 1938) was a British racing driver.
Personal life
[edit]Eccles was born at Neath, Wales. His father was Herbert Eccles, a prominent businessman who was a founder and managing director of the Briton Ferry Steel Company.[1]
Roy Eccles's first marriage produced two children and ended in divorce in 1931.[2][1] In 1934 he married Marjorie Quick, a fellow racing enthusiast.[3] He died on 17 January 1938 after suffering a stroke.[4] He left an estate of £68,275.[5]
Eccles had owned a farm at Bordsley Park near Redditch in Worcestershire but sold his property there and moved to Staines-upon-Thames in Sussex several years before his death.[1]
Racing career
[edit]Eccles began racing in 1932, after being introduced to the sport by his younger brother Lindsay Eccles, who raced in Bugatti automobiles.[6][7] Roy Eccles regularly raced at the Brooklands and Donington Park tracks and in Europe.[8]
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In 1934 Roy Eccles and his co-driver Charlie Martin placed fourth overall, and first in the 751 - 1100 cm3 class, in the 24 Hours of Le Mans driving an MG K3 Magnette.[6][9] Eccles and his wife Marjorie intended to drive a Singer Nine in the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans, but he was replaced by Freddie de Clifford due to ill health. The car had to drop out after suffering a broken magneto.[10]
In 1935 Eccles purchased a Lagonda Rapier which he had modified into a single seat racing car he called the "Eccles Supercharged Special". It first raced at the 1935 British Empire Trophy race at Brooklands. After more modifications, the car became known as a "Rapier Special". Both Roy and Marjorie Eccles drove the car in races at Brooklands, Donington, Shelsley Walsh, on the Isle of Man, and at Brighton.[11]
Driving the Rapier, Marjorie Eccles narrowly escaped injury in a serious accident during the London Grand Prix at the Crystal Palace Circuit in 1937. As a consequence, Eccles announced at the end of the year that the couple would both retire from racing.[4]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Neath motor racing ace dies age 36". South Wales Evening Post. 19 January 1938. p. 5. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
- ↑ "Decrees in Hartlebury and Redditch cases". Evening Despatch. Birmingham, England. 19 October 1931. p. 7.
- ↑ "Racing motorist marries". The Daily Telegraph. London. 28 September 1934. p. 12.
- 1 2 "Track partnership split by death". Daily Mirror. London. 19 January 1938. p. 5.
- ↑ "Wills and bequests". The Daily Telegraph. London. 15 March 1938. p. 19.
- 1 2 "Roy Eccles". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
- ↑ "Well-known racing motorist dead". Alcester Chronicle. Alcester, England. 22 January 1938. p. 5.
- ↑ "Mr. Roy H. Eccles: Racing motorist's links with South Wales". Western Mail and South Wales News. Cardiff, Wales. 19 January 1938. p. 5. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
- ↑ "24h of Le Mans 1934". 24h-en-piste. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
- ↑ Spurring, Quentin (2017). Le Mans 1930-39. Sherbourne, England: Evro Publishing. pp. 269–70. ISBN 978-1-91050-513-7.
- ↑ "Eccles Rapier and other Lagonda Rapiers". Tim and Jane Metcalfe. Retrieved 27 December 2025.