05 Apr Pendine Sands

Between 1924 – 1927 the land speed record was traded between Cambell and welshman J.G Parry-Thomas in his car ‘Babs’ each making two bids at the title fearlessly seeking to push the record ever higher. In ’27 while on his final run Parry-Thomas lost control and rolled the car at speeds in excess of 170mph making him the first driver to lose his life making a land speed attempt. ‘Babs’ was buried in the dunes behind the beach and forgotten. In 1967, and after much searching a Welsh mechanic and car restorer, ‘Owen Wyn Owen’ suspected he had located the burial site and decided to attempt excavation in a bid to restore the car to its former glory.

Having been under the ground for 40 years the wreckage of ‘Babs’ was in appalling concision and with the majority of the bodywork heavily corroded, the task Wyn Owen had set himself was huge. Undaunted though the 15 year restoration project began and slowly the wreckage came to resemble a car again, ‘Babs’ was reborn and today she can been seen in the Museum of Speed at Pendine.

Image courtesy of BABS – Parry Thomas’s 1926 Land Speed Record Car Facebook page