The All-British Marendaz Special: The Man, The Cars and The Aeroplanes

Author(s): Graham Skillen 

ISBN: 9781781557020
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The life of Captain Marendaz, famous for his cars and aircraft as well as the gripping controversy that followed him.
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  • Historically rich in detail with previously unpublished photographs

  • The little-known story of Captain Marendaz who was detained by the government in 1940 under 18B regulations and his record-breaking cars driven by famous names

  • A social history in a small car factory between the wars

  • Of much interest to military and car historians/enthusiasts as well as modellers


This is the story of Captain Marendaz, a pilot in the RFC in the Great War, his life as a car manufacturer in the 1920s and 1930s when he competed at Brooklands and elsewhere, before moving on to designing and building aircraft. He was closely associated with Stirling Moss’ parents and Kaye Don, being involved in trialling and record breaking with his own cars and the American Graham-Paige.

His passage through life was not smooth, being frequently coloured by disputes, ending up with him being arrested under the Category 18B regulations in 1940, causing him to move to South Africa where trouble followed him before his return to England in 1972.

The book also contains a considerable number of first-hand accounts, by people who worked for Marendaz, of life in a car and aircraft factory before the war, giving a revealing insight into the social history of the period.

His sports cars are attractive with good lines, a point brought out in the many illustrations taken in period and more recently of survivors. His correspondence with the author and others provides an insight into his controversial life.


BOOK ISBN 9781781557020
FORMAT 248 x 172 mm
BINDING paperback
PAGES 192 pages
PUBLICATION DATE 2 November 2018
TERRITORY World
ILLUSTRATIONS 88 black-and-white and 47 colour photographs

 

 





Graham Skillen has spent his working life as an aircraft flight test engineer with Short Brothers, British Aircraft Corporation on Concorde and latterly as Head of Flight Test with the Civil Aviation Authority. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and was awarded their Alston medal in 2004 for practical achievement associated with flight testing. His interest in history has extended to owning a Tiger Moth biplane and vintage cars, renovating houses in France and England, and rebuilding from derelict an award-winning cottage and barn in Scotland.

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