Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Thomas Goldie Gardner (31 May 1890 – 25 August 1958) was an English racing car driver who was awarded the BRDC Gold Star three times. In 1939 he was the first to exceed 200 mph in a light car.

Early life

Gardner who was known as Goldie Gardner (Goldie was his mother's maiden name) was born in

Woodford Green Woodford Green is an area of Woodford in north-east London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Buckhurst Hill to the north, Woodford Bridge to the east, South Woodford to the south, and Chingford to the west. Epping F ...

, Essex, and was educated at Pelham House, School,

Sandgate, Kent Sandgate is a village in the Folkestone and Hythe Urban Area in the Folkestone and Hythe district of Kent, England. It had a population of 4,225 at the 2001 census.Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headma ...

."Lt.-Col. A. T. G. Gardner." Times ondon, England28 August 1958: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 1 May 2013. In 1910 he embarked from England to

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, to take up a 3-year business appointment. Upon completion of his Ceylon contract he gained a new appointment in Katha,

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, but it was cut short by a bad attack of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

with

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

and he was sent back to England on six months' sick leave.

First world war

During his convalescence in 1914, the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

started. He enlisted in September of that year and was granted a commission in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

as a second lieutenant. Gardner had a distinguished military career and was the youngest officer in the British Army to become a

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He suffered severe injuries to his right hip and leg when his reconnaissance plane was shot down in August 1917. Despite receiving some twenty operations over a period of two years spent in hospital the leg did not return to full function. He was discharged from the army in 1921 as medically unfit for further service.

Motorsport

In 1924 he purchased a Gordon England special Austin Seven and despite his disability began racing on the British circuits. 1930 saw him team up with

MG Cars MG is a British automotive marque founded by Cecil Kimber in the 1920s, and M.G. Car Company Limited was the British sports car manufacturer that made the marque famous. Best known for its open two-seater sports cars, MG also produced saloon ...

and he raced various of these marks with considerable success. He suffered a crash during the 1932

RAC Tourist Trophy The RAC Tourist Trophy (sometimes called the International Tourist Trophy) is a motor racing award presented by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) to the overall victor of a motor race in the United Kingdom. Established in 1905, it is the world's ol ...

race at Ards in Northern Ireland that further worsened the disability to his already damaged leg. By 1934 he was fit enough to continue track racing and in the 500 mile race at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

with co-driver Dr.J.D.Benjafield he achieved third place as well as winning the 1,100cc class. After accompanying Sir Malcolm Campbell's expedition to

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...

, in 1935 to witness the World

Land speed record The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...

attempt, he returned to England and concentrated on speed racing records. On 31 May 1939 just before the outbreak of

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 ...

driving his special engineered MG, in Dessau, Germany, on the Dessauer Rennstrecke, now Bundesautobahn 9, Goldie Gardner took the 750cc up to 1,100cc class records over 2 kilometres, 1 mile, and 5 kilometres distances, at average speeds of 203.5 mph, 203.3 mph and 197.5 mph respectively. After an overnight engine rebore, on 2 June 1939 at the same venue he gained the 1,100cc to 1,500cc class records over the same distances at average speeds of 204.3 mph, 203.9 mph and 200.6 mph.

Second World War

During World War II 1939-1945 Gardner offered his service and was accepted as a second lieutenant in Mechanical Transport Training. He rapidly regained his old rank as major and eventually in 1942 he was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Postwar record breaking

In the 11 peacetime years between 1936 and 1950 he set over 100 international and local speed records throughout England, Europe and the USA.

Experimental Jaguar XK100

In September 1948 immediately before the announcement of Jaguar's new engine since named XK he broke the flying mile, kilometre and five-kilometre Class E records on the new motor road near

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

. At the time it was considered remarkable that his engine was unsupercharged. This engine, commonly known as X100, was one of a series of development engines which started with XF and then XG. These were under 1,800cc and push rod operated, Then came th XJ engine, which is the engine here, sporting double overhead camshafts and a capacity of 2 litres. Four are known to exist. It was intended to be a cheaper option for the XK120 but was dropped in favour of the 3442cc Jaguar six cylinder XK engine. The new records were: mile 173.678 mph, kilometre 177.112 mph and five kilometres 170.523 mph.

MG EX-135

In 1951 at

Bonneville Salt Flats The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bur ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, with his supercharged MG streamliner EX-135 car he obtained 6 international and 10 American records in the 1,100cc to 1,500cc engine class. In 1952 he returned to Bonneville with the MG EX-135 car and set 21 speed records in the same engine class as the previous year.

Retirement

In 1952 he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was forced to retire from motor sport.

Family life

On 10 March 1936 he married Mary Eleanor King Boalt in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. She was an heir to the J.R. Watkins company in Winona, MN. They had divorced by 1940. In 1940 he married Una Eagle-Clarke (1914–2008). They had one daughter Rosalind, Gardner died in 1958 age 68 and was buried at Ocklynge Cemetery in Eastbourne.

Awards and honours

British Racing Drivers' Club The British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) is an exclusive invitation-only members club for racecar drivers who are judged to have achieved success in the upper levels of motor sport for a number of seasons. Except under exceptional circumstances, me ...

gold star winner three times in 1938, 1947 and 1949. Awarded the

Segrave Trophy The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air". The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and wat ...

in 1938.Royal Automobile Club archives
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