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FROM THE ARCHIVES …….an introduction:
I was going to start these jottings with a title such as ‘Blowing Away The Dust’ but that would be misleading. The Bugatti Owners’ Club archives, ‘YOUR’ archives, are by no means dusty! They are a working archive and do not stay ‘still’ long enough to accumulate a layer of dust.
They comprise anything associated with The Bugatti Owners’ Club and Prescott Hill Climb and dovetail into the Bugatti Trust’s role of furthering the knowledge and technical understanding of Bugatti cars and engineering. In the archives we have the race programmes, supplementary regulations and results for Prescott events as well as some from other venues where B.O.C. events were held.
This information is complimented by a full run of Bugantics, scrapbooks, a good photographic collection, some cine film, and even sound recordings. Ephemera and badges form a small part of the archive.
We will delve into these topics and bring you more detailed information on specific areas of interest in future Newsletters.
From time to time members generously donate items to the Club, to be cared for within the archives. Peter Stubberfield recently gave a large number of trophies. These serve to illustrate his successful hill-climbing career, especially in his single-seater, Type 35B Bugatti, between 1949 and 1957 when he retired from competitive hill-climbing. These trophies have been catalogued and a selection, with photographs, are currently on view in the B.O.C. display cabinet at the Bugatti Trust.
Part of the work of the archives is to answer any queries from Members and assist in promoting the Club through publications, as well as the design of badges for the Junior membership and the 70th anniversary of the founding of Prescott Hill Climb next year.
Remember that your archives are a working resource, dependant on the Members generosity for new acquisitions to further our knowledge and understanding of the history of our Club.
Having worked with Bob Light over the past year I would like to pass on my special thanks to him for all his knowledgeable advice and support. Colleagues within the ‘office’ and members of the Bugatti Trust have all been most helpful and I am grateful for their assistance to fulfil this role.
Paul Gibbons - Club Archivist
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