大象传媒

Modern day Grand Prix racing takes place on multi-million pound facilities, using highly sophisticated machines, piloted by super-rich drivers. So it is easy to forget the sport was once a far simpler affair.

Drivers would race a variety of cars in one day

In the years after World War Two, many of Britain's airfields began to be used for the racing of cars and motorbikes, most notably at Silverstone which went on to become one of the most famous sporting venues in the world.

But for other airfield tracks, such as the one at Boreham in the centre of Essex, the smell of burning rubber and sound of revving engines has become a distant footnote in history.

Stars and their cars

Boreham Airfield Race Circuit opened in the second half of 1949 and held races on its perimeter road until 1952. Approximately three-miles in length, it comprised five corners connected by five straights and at the time was one of the fastest tracks in the country.

Most of the听 car races were organised by either the West Essex Car Club and the motorcycle events by the Chelmsford & District Auto Club.

The track followed the airfield perimeter road

The circuit was given character with names such as 'Hangar Bend,' 'Tower Bend' and 'Dukes Straight' and attracted drivers of the calibre of Mike Hawthorn, Stirling Moss, Peter Collins, Luigi Villoresi and Froilan Gonzalez.

In 1951, the venue was also the location for a young John Surtees to ride in his first solo race. He would go on to become the only man to win titles on both two and four wheels.

Unlike today, drivers would race a variety of cars in one day; from single seaters made by Cooper, ERA and Connaught; sports cars such as Lister-Jaguars and Allards, and GT and saloon cars from marques such as Austin Healey, Aston Martin and Sunbeam.

Christopher and his family moved into one of the Nissen huts on the aerodrome in 1951 and lived there for about four years. As a child he would go and watch the racing by 'Tower Bend'.

"Me and my friend Winston, who lived in the hut behind me, used to go over the road, under the barbed wire and get in free of charge," he recalls.

"It was brilliant because in those days they raced by the seat of their pants, with no cockpits over them, no safety, just straw bails around the track, so if they crashed it could be terrible.

"We would be right on the edge of the track. There was no perimeter [rope] to keep behind, just some bails, so we were very close.

The public could get close to the cars and drivers

"It was nothing like today's motor racing circuits and I think it was more fun that way."

It wasn't just the racing that appealed to a young Christopher; there was also money to be made.

"We used to get money to buy drinks by going around all the people who were sitting on the grass with the old-fashioned corona drinks and we used to collect the bottles and get about thru'pence for each bottle!"

Chequered flag

Racing ceased at Boreham at the end 1952 due to financial pressures, just a few months after it's 'International Festival of Motorsport' had attracted around 50,000 spectators.

However, the site remained closely involved with motor sport as a research and development base for the Ford Motor Company.

Chelmsford & District Auto Club organised meetings

It also became the home of the company's rallying team was so successful with their iconic Escorts of the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

But for those few years in the middle of the last century, that three mile strip of tarmac in the centre of Essex was one of the most vibrant and important bases for motor racing anywhere in the country.

You can only imagine what may have happened, had the racing continued beyond that time. The Grand Prix of Essex, anyone?