Brian Edmund "Bug" Lewis, 2nd Baron Essendon (7 December 1903 – 13 July 1978), was a British

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

, company director, baronet and peer.

Biography

Born in

Edmonton, Middlesex Edmonton is a town in north London, England within the London Borough of Enfield, a local government district of Greater London. The northern part of the town is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, and the southern part as Upper Edmonton ...

, Lewis was the only son of the first Lord Essendon, the shipping magnate, by his wife Eleanor (died 1967), daughter of R. H. Harrison of

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed ...

. In 1938, Lewis married Mary Duffil, widow of Albert Duffil, daughter of G. W. Booker of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Educated at Malvern, and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

, Lewis was a Director of

Furness Withy Furness Withy was a major United Kingdom, British transport business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Christopher Furness, 1st Baron Furness, Christopher Furness and Henry Withy (1852–1922) in 18 ...

(the family shipping firm), Barry Aikman Travel Ltd and Godfrey Davis & Co Ltd. Lewis raced

Frazer Nash Frazer Nash was a brand of British sports car manufactured from 1922 first by Frazer Nash Limited founded by engineer Archibald Frazer-Nash. On its financial collapse in 1927 a new company, AFN Limited, was incorporated. Control of AFN passed ...

es in England in the 1920s and entered a private Maserati 8CM at the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

Grand Prix 1935. As ''The Times'' put it in 1978: :'Along with a distinguished band that included Lord Howe, Sir

Henry Birkin Sir Henry Ralph Stanley Birkin, 3rd Baronet (26 July 1896 – 22 June 1933), known as Tim Birkin, was a British racing driver, one of the " Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. Background and family Birkin was born into a wealthy Nottingham family in ...

, and the

Earl of March Earl of March is a title that has been created several times, respectively, in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of England. The title derives from the "marches" or borderlands between England and either Wales (Welsh Marches) or Scotland (S ...

, later the Duke of Richmond, he was one of a bunch of titled and talented amateurs who did much for the image of British motor racing in the 1920s and 1930s, albeit mainly at the wheel of foreign cars.' In 1930, along with noted pilot Charles Barnard, Lewis founded Brian Lewis and C.D. Barnard Ltd as aircraft dealers, becoming the main UK agent for

de Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited (pronounced , ) was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of North London. Operations were later moved to ...

. In 1931 the company became Brian Lewis and Company Ltd and merged with

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of upmarket department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908. The historic Daniel Burnham-designed Self ...

Aviation Department, declaring itself as “The largest retailers in the world”. Based at

Heston Aerodrome Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, the company expanded to Hooton Park Aerodrome,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and later to

Renfrew Airport Renfrew Airport was an airport located in Renfrew, Renfrewshire. The airport served the city of Glasgow until it was decommissioned in 1966 and was replaced by Glasgow Airport located 2 kilometres away in Abbotsinch. History Military use Alr ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

. It later moved from Heston to Elstree Aerodrome, then known as Aldenham. In the late 1930s, Lewis was a motoring correspondent of the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the '' Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 b ...

'' and a President of the Guild of Motoring Writers. Lord Essendon succeeded his father in the peerage and barony in 1944. His main recreation was

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

. He was a member of the

Bath Club The Bath Club was a sports-themed London gentlemen's club in the 20th century. It was established in 1894 at 34 Dover Street. Its swimming pool was a noted feature, and it is thought that the swimming pool of the fictional Drones Club (also on D ...

in London. Lewis lived in London and at Avenue Eglantine 5,

Lausanne, Switzerland Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French-speaking canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and facing the ...

. He died in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Motorsports career results

*Third in the

1930 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1930 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 8th Grand Prix of Endurance that took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 21 and 22 June 1930. It saw the first appearance of a German car and the first entry from female drivers.Clausager 1982, p.43-5 In th ...

in a

Talbot Talbot is a dormant automobile marque introduced in 1902 by British-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément ...

. *Third in the

1932 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1932 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 10th Grand Prix of Endurance that took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 18 and 19 June 1932. A significant year for the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) with the biggest changes to the circuit in the race' ...

in a

. *Third in the

1933 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1933 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 11th Grand Prix of Endurance. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 17 and 18 June 1933. Up against five strong privateer entries from Alfa Romeo, the opposition looked fairly weak, mostly being of 1920 ...

in an

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

. *First in the

1933 Mannin Moar The 1933 Mannin Moar (formally known as I Mannin Moar) was a Grand Prix that was held on 14 July 1933 at the Douglas street circuit in Douglas, Isle of Man, United Kingdom. It was the twenty-third round of the 1933 Grand Prix season, and did no ...

in an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza. *Sixth in the 1933 Nice Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza. *First in the

1934 Mannin Moar The 1934 Mannin Moar (formally known as II Mannin Moar) was a Grand Prix that was held on 2 June 1934 at a street circuit in Douglas, Isle of Man, United Kingdom. It was the twelfth round of the 1934 Grand Prix season, but it did not count tow ...

in an Alfa Romeo Tipo B. *First in the 1935 Mannin Moar in a

Bugatti T59 The Bugatti Type 51 series succeeded the famous Type 35 as Bugatti's premier racing car for the 1930s. The main distinction is that it uses a twin cam engine. Unlike the dominant Type 35s of the prior decade, the Type 51 (and later Type 53, Type ...

. *Did not finish the 1935 Nice Grand Prix in a

Maserati 8C The Maserati 8C was a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race car built by Maserati between 1931 and 1933. The 8C was being designed by Alfieri Maserati in the early 1930s; however, he died before its completion. The chassis was that of the Mase ...

. *Did not finish the 1935 Swiss Grand Prix in a

Maserati 8CM The Maserati 8CM is a Grand Prix race car produced by Italian manufacturer Maserati in Bologna between 1933 and 1935. The car mounted a three-litre straight-eight cylinder engine, 2,991 cc from a 69 x 100 mm bore and stroke, maximum pow ...

. *Not classified in the 1935 Donington Grand Prix in a

Riley Riley may refer to: Businesses * Riley (brand), British sporting goods brand founded in 1878 * Riley Motor, British motorcar and bicycle manufacturera 1890–1969 * Riley Technologies, American auto racing constructor and team, founded by Bob ...

. *15th in the

1936 Vanderbilt Cup The 1936 Vanderbilt Cup (formally known as I George Vanderbilt Cup) was a Championship Car race that was held on October 12, 1936 at Roosevelt Raceway near Westbury, New York. It was the fourth and final race of the 1936 AAA Championship Ca ...

in an ERA B-Type.

European Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ;Notes * – Lewis was co-driver with Howe at the French GP and with Birkin at the Belgian GP, therefore rules excluded him from the championship.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

* ''The Times'', 19 July 1978. Obituary, page 19.

External links

Cricket Archive profile of Brian Lewis.
www.acscricket.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
Historic Racing profile of Brian Lewis.
www.historicracing.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
List of famous students at Pembroke College, Cambridge : Brian Lewis, 2nd Baron Essendon
www.listaba.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
"historicracing.com: 188 - Fitted out in a nice bespoke suit and tie here we find 'Bug' ready to tackle the outer circuit at Brooklands in 1930."
www.facebook.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Brian, 2nd Baron Essendon 1903 births 1978 deaths Lewis, Brian Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British businesspeople in shipping English racing drivers Lewis, Brian People educated at Malvern College British motoring journalists European Championship drivers 20th-century British businesspeople People from Edmonton, London