On Monday 25 October 2010 in St Peter’s Church, Donald Wales from Addlestone spoke to an audience of seventy people at a meeting hosted jointly by The Chertsey Society, The Chertsey Rotary Club and Friends of Chertsey Museum.
The Presenter for the evening, Donald Wales, was introduced to the meeting by Chairman Malcolm Loveday. The subject was 'World Speed Records by British Steam/Electric Cars and Lawnmowers'. The speaker started with an overview of what he and his family have achieved in the name of speed and with the emphasis on British Engineering. Donald Wales is the grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell and the nephew of Donald Campbell. He has attempted and achieved a speed of 148.308 mph on 26th August 2009 in a steam powered car. They have trialled these cars on the Pendine Sands in Wales and Edwards Air Force Base in California, at the latter working in unbelievable temperatures under a thin canvas awning! Reflecting on his Grandfather and Uncle’s efforts, he felt they were never fully acknowledged, as all that people remembered was the accident that killed his Uncle in 1967 on Coniston Water. Both of these men had achieved similar records in 1920 and 1960 respectively for Land and Water Speed Trials. His Grandfather had also been heavily involved with the infancy of Motor Racing Days on the Brooklands Circuit in Weybridge.
Stephanie M.Hunt
