Archie Scott Brown (1927 - 1958)

Born in Scotland, Archie Scott Brown moved to Cambridge in 1951 where he formed partnerships that led to his world success in motor racing.

He was born with severe physical handicaps (as a result of Rubella suffered by his mother in her pregnancy) and had to undergo over twenty operations in his early childhood to enable him to walk. He also lacked a right forearm, but his family were determined that he should have as many chances in life as possible. He learnt to drive, aged 10, in the streets of Paisley and his father, a garage owner, built him a car for his eleventh birthday, thus empowering his passion for cars and racing.

After school and a brief year at university, Archie took a traineeship with a tobacco company, which required him to work in East Anglia. On moving to Cambridge, he began driving competitively. At a race meeting at Bottisham he met Brian Lister (of George Lister & Sons, engineering, Abbey Road) and Don Moore and explored their common interest in cars and racing. The three men quickly realised the value of their combined talents: Lister built a sports car, Moore tuned it and Archie Scott Brown drove it and won races, in April 1954 at Snetterton. In 1955 he won the Empire Trophy at Oulton Park. In the same year he was sacked from the tobacco company, set up (with others) a garage on the Huntingdon Road and moved to 17 Portugal Place.

Despite other people’s misgivings over his handicap (and twice racing authorities attempted to ban him from events), Archie never allowed it to stop him, disregarding the real pain he suffered. He went on to many more successes at Silverstone, Oulton Park and Goodwood. Lister built new models, switching in 1957 to Jaguar engines, which Archie tested and raced with great success.

Archie enjoyed a relationship with the racing public and his peers that virtually no British driver, before or since, has even approached. He gave his time freely, lived modestly and would drive anything. It was typical of him that he would take extra trouble to cheer up a child fan. Having agreed to open a local school’s summer fete, he learnt that one boy couldn’t attend because of illness. So Archie drove to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Trumpington Street and stopped the car outside the ward window so that the boy could see both it and himself. His charm, spirit and flamboyance made him loved as well as admired in and outside his sporting circle.

His 1957 season was a remarkable one. He won 13 races with the Lister-Jaguar MV 303, setting or matching the fastest lap on each occasion, and setting four new absolute lap records. The season ended with his winning the Goodwood Trophy. He then took a trip to New Zealand, entering several race meetings there.

In 1958 he was permitted to enter the Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, a highly testing circuit, but while in the lead lost control in adverse conditions. The crash caused huge damage to the car, ignited the fuel tank and fatally injured Archie Scott Brown. He died on 19 May 1958.