IN 1919, horse-mad 14-year-old Betty Haig bought an ex-War Dept Douglas motorcycle so she could travel to events from her home in West Sussex. As a result, wheels instantly replaced hooves as her life's abiding passion.
Born Elizabeth Haig in Marylebone, London, in 1905, she was the grandniece of Field Marshall Earl Haig and part of the whisky dynasty. She bought her first car, a well-worn ABC, aged 16 with a £50 gift from a great aunt. More than 100 cars and motorcycles followed, many taking a terminal hammering on trips to see her father at the family estate in Fife.
In 1928, without informing her family, Betty somewhat impetuously married Naval Lieutenant Denis Sprague, divorcing only four years later. She spent most of 1930 with friends in South Africa and, on her return, bought a Morgan in which tragedy struck when she inexplicably ran into a stationary car on the Kingston bypass, west of London, killing her passenger, Molly Watkins.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 2023-Ausgabe von Octane.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 2023-Ausgabe von Octane.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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Will China Change Everything? - China is tearing up modern motor manufacture but is yet to make more than a ripple in the classic car world. That could be about to change dramatically
China now dominates the automotive world in a way even Detroit in its heyday would have struggled to comprehend.Helped by Government incentives, the new car world is dominated by China's industries: whether full cars that undercut Western models by huge amounts, ownership of storied European brands such as Lotus and Volvo, or ownership and access to the vast majority of raw materials that go into EV cars, its influence is far-reaching and deep. However, this automotive enlightenment hasn't manifested itself in the classic world in any meaningful way - until now.
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