Dick Jacob’s Mill Garage Memorabilia
The Mill Garage in Woodford, east London, was one of the UK’s most successful MG dealers in the post-war rise in sports-car enthusiasm. Dick Jacobs’ father Bill started to rent the original Mill Barn premises from his father-in-law in 1919 after serving as an Army transport driver in World War 1. By the time he was six years old son Dick was serving cans of petrol from the premises before a 5000 gallon fuel tank and a one gallon fuel pump were installed and father Bill developed a charabanc and then a coach business, which he subsequently sold to the Grey/Green Company in 1935. The cash received was invested in the garage side of the growing business. Dick had finished his apprenticeship with AEC in their Repair Depot but left in 1937 as a result of his father’s ailing health to take an increasing responsibility and develop his enthusiasm for sports cars. World War II then intervened with Dick spending six years in the Royal Navy where the experience of formal discipline proved valuable when his parents retired and he took over the business and its Bank overdraft at the end of 1945. Having been promised a Wolseley franchise during the war he was given a favourable reply to his request to Abingdon for an MG Franchise and received his first MG TC in October 1946. The business continued to grow with a new showroom built by past MG Car Club General Secretary Gordon Cobham in 1954 after the business became a limited company on 1st April 1953.
Coys Auction
As a hobby he found that competitive driving gave him an interest outside business although he never advertised his success from 1947 to 1955 to promote the company. MG Managing Director John Thornley entered him as a works team driver in many successful events culminating in the 1955 Le Mans race entry of three light-weight prototype MGAs. His serious accident at Whitehouse Corner resulted in six months away from the business and an end to his racing career. When the MGA Twin Cam was launched in 1958 Dick was allocated one of the first cars to be released less than three weeks before the important TT race at Goodwood. With only an engine strip and rebuild, a cut down windscreen, a large capacity fuel tank, an anti-roll bar, a tonneau cover and minus its bumpers the car, with Alan Foster and Tommy Bridger sharing the wheel, finished an incredible 3rd in the 2 litre class and 14th overall, averaging 76.2 mph for 127 laps. Racing unregistered at that time, that was the start of the story of 1 MTW, later to share team racing with 2 MTW, currently owned by Roger Daniell.
The business continued to flourish with support from key BMC personnel and the Mobil Oil Company. In 1962 a two storey office block was added and an extension to the parts department in 1963 but by 1967 the Ministry of Transport had put a block on all development prior to Compulsory Purchase for the proposed M11 which it partially actioned in 1971 but on 16th November 1974 Mill Garage was forced to close after 55 years in business. Dick spent the last month fixing up his staff with jobs elsewhere and the next year collecting all outstanding accounts. He died in 1988 and following his daughter’s death all his remaining memorabilia came up for auction at Coys’ True Greats auction on 4th December 2008 in London.
The bonnet badge salvaged from the crashed Le Mans car mounted and presented by the Abingdon mechanics
Much of the above story was gleaned from one of the West Essex Car Club’s magazines, a club that ran the three major events at Boreham in Essex before Ford took it over for their Advanced Vehicle Operation and Competition Department where Stuart Turner held court.
The Coys auction was attended by a number of people associated with Dick’s career, his cars, and his activities as well as other MG owners interested in this kindly, outstanding motoring enthusiast, including Roger Daniell and son Mark, the owners of 1 MTW and 2 MTW, Michael Ellman-Brown, Barry Sidery-Smith, James Willis, owner of the third Midget Coupé built for John Milne, David Saunders, representing the MG Car Club, and prototype MGA owner Mark Hester.
There was a wide range of Dick Jacob’s memorabilia on offer, items such as his first ex-RAF racing goggles which sold for £80, a ‘Monza’ locking fuel cap from his MG TA went for £80, while Dick’s programme from the fateful 1955 Le Mans race fetched £70, a whole series of photograph albums made between £120 and £550 depending on the year, and a pile of asssorted loose photographs went for £420 to a man I believe was a dealer selling such items on the internet. Eight period magazines cost me £10 plus £1.76 commission, these were my only investment on the day.
The bonnet badge salvaged from the crashed Le Mans car mounted and presented by the Abingdon mechanics involved was bought for the MG Car Club for £480, an un-mounted oil painting of Keith Greene’s Midget Coupé wheel to wheel with Surtees’ Ferrari at Nurburgring went for £140, another original oil painting of Dick’s Le Mans MGA mounted with an inserted photo of the car’s remains after the accident went for £160, and a framed oil painting of both Midget Coupés in action at Silverstone was £120. Roger Daniell had waited a long while for the next two lots, both show his cars to perfection mounted and framed. Both cars alone in action at Silverstone was £140 and one with both cars leading a Jaguar XK 140 at Silverstone also went to Roger for £160. The first 26 years of Autosport, all bound in the publisher’s cases with the catalogue saying “from 1950 to 1965” makes me wonder what the telephone buyer actually got for his bid of £2,900, a bit above the top estimate of £1,000. A large selection of ancient and modern magazines featuring Dick’s cars went for only £50 and finally three old 8 mm silent home movies in colour showing the MGAs and the Midget Coupés in action were bought by Roger for £260. I am really excited about seeing these on a screen before too long as I took some similar footage at that time on my ‘Kodak Brownie’ clockwork ciné camera when watching Dick’s cars at Snetterton, often after having ridden there in a friend’s MGA Twin Cam, happy days. As the auction progressed many happy memories came flooding back but I was also sorry that it all ended so abruptly for Dick and his loyal staff and drivers.
Basil Wales