Oliver Henry Julius Bertram (26 February 1910 – 13 September 1975) was an English

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

who held the

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, ...

race track record for 2 months 2 days during 1935. He was twice awarded the BRDC Gold Star. He was also a Barrister-At-Law and a Judge Advocate.

Early life and education

Bertram was the eldest son of

Julius Bertram Julius Bertram (8 November 1866 – 5 November 1944) was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom who served one term as member of parliament (MP) for the Hitchin division of Hertfordshire. Bertram was son of Julius Alfred Bertram (1829 ...

(1866–1944) and Marjorie Sutton (1878–1947). Born in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, London, he was educated at

Stowe School , motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent school, day & boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, between 1923 and 1927 (under headteacher, John Fergusson Roxburgh), and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he graduated with an Ordinary BA (a ‘pass degree’).

Legal career

He was by profession a Barrister at Law practising at 2 Essex Court Chambers, Temple EC4 in London. Bertram was admitted to the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple on 19 November 1928. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales on 10 May 1933 (Easter Term). After the Second World War, Oliver resumed his legal career and having served in the Army, he was appointed as a

Judge Advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that provi ...

in 1952, which saw him try cases around Europe.

Racing career

He started racing at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in 1929. He became the Brooklands outer lap record holder in his 8-litre special Barnato-Hassan

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

racing car on 5 August 1935 with a time of 69.85 seconds, attaining an average speed of . However this record stood for only 2 months 2 days, as on 7 October John Cobb regained the title in his Napier Railton with a speed of . Bertram won the Easter Short handicap race in 1935 and with John Cobb took first place in 1937 in the BRDC 500 Kilometres Race – a shortened version of the 500 Miles Race. He was awarded the

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 twice – in 1935 and 1938.British Racing Drivers Club
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Military service

In 1939, Bertram was a

Second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

and later that same year, enlisted in the Regular British Army. In 1947, Oliver Bertram, gained the rank of

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 ...

Personal life

He married Jennifer Anne Pleasant Clark in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

in 1943. They had 2 children, James Julius Bertram born 24 November 1944 - 19 June 2015 and Janet Lavinia Bertram born 14 August 1946 - 2016. In later life, he brought a farm in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, where he lived with his second wife, Jane (b 1933) who he married in 1974 in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

, Devon. Oliver Bertram died after a fall in the snow in

Parracombe Parracombe is a rural settlement south-west of Lynton, in Devon, England. It is situated in the Heddon Valley, on Exmoor. The population at the 2011 census was 293. A number Bronze Age barrows exist nearby, along with several other small ear ...

, Devon in 1975, aged 65.

References

Historic Racing
*Motor Sport – ''Profile of Oliver Bertram'' 1983 No 6 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertram, Oliver 1910 births 1975 deaths People educated at Stowe School BRDC Gold Star winners English racing drivers