BRAVERY IN THE FIELD

The heroic story of this Frazer Nash. TT Replica's wartime owner has been unearthed during the meticulous restoration of his first car

- MICK WALSH

Driving an old sports car with an absorbing history of past ownership can be a moving experience particularly if those connections are to brave war heroes. London-based dealer Peter Bradfield sums it up perfectly, as he describes taking his Invicta to race at Goodwood, the former RAF Battle of Britain airfield. "I compete in the old-fashioned way, driving down to the event," enthuses Bradfield. "That means an early start for scrutineering, and on that run in the Invicta, I often think about the valiant pilots getting ready for a dawn raid at just that time 80 years ago."

Getting behind the wheel of BMK 102, the rakish two-tone Frazer Nash TT Replica, has just such an effect on me after reading about Oliver Barton 'Jimmie' James, its courageous young owner during WW2. Both Bradfield and restorer/ racer Patrick BlakeneyEdwards have been absorbed by James' brave, short life, which has echoes of both the fictionalised war movie The Great Escape and the story of the legendary disabled fighter ace Douglas Bader.

Like many young men at the outbreak of war, James together with his elder brothers Alex and Leslie - was eager to sign up as a flyer. At just 18 years old, James began his training at RAF Sealand on the Welsh border and achieved a boyhood dream after going solo in a Tiger Moth. Reports suggest that James was a natural pilot, with only his passion for cricket matching his flying aspirations. With the award of his wings, James was promoted to sergeant and posted to 83 Squadron based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. His first duty was to pilot Handley Page Hampden medium bombers on hazardous night raids across Germany.