Allan Staniforth (1924 – 2 May 2009) was a British journalist and engineer, notable as the joint-designer of the Terrapin style race car.

Early life

Staniforth was born in

Kings Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward within the Government of Birmingham, England. The district lies 6.5 miles south-southwes ...

in Birmingham, England to

jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabrica ...

Arthur Staniforth and Maude Cross. He flew in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was a navigator during the

Berlin Blockade The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road ...

in 1948. He suffered hearing loss which he attributed to the flying of the

Lancaster Bomber The Avro Lancaster is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the S ...

Career

Staniforth worked as a journalist for the

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

, writing reports on various subjects such as

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

, the

Cod Wars The Cod Wars ( is, Þorskastríðin; also known as , ; german: Kabeljaukriege) were a series of 20th-century confrontations between the United Kingdom (with aid from West Germany) and Iceland about fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Each o ...

and the

Moors murders The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...

. Although he was well regarded in the journalism world, he is most notable for his motor racing hobby. He published books on the subject, and invented the small Terrapin car based on the A-series

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

engine. In 1969 he wrote his first book ''High Speed, Low Cost'' where he described how to construct the Terrapin Hillclimb. He would use these cars to set fastest times in competitions around Britain.

Publications

* ''High speed, low cost: The full Terrapin story'' (1969) * ''Race & rally car source book: A D.I.Y. guide to building or modifying a race or rally car'' (1983) * ''Competition Car Suspension: Design, Construction, Tuning'' (1989) * ''Race and Rally Car Source Book – 30th Anniversary Edition: The Guide to Building or Modifying a Competition Car'' (2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staniforth, Allan British rally drivers British automotive engineers British automobile designers 1924 births 2009 deaths 20th-century British journalists Royal Air Force personnel of World War II