Beresford Clive Dunfee (1904 – 24 September 1932) was a British racing driver, one of the "

Bentley Boys The Bentley Boys were a group of wealthy British motorists who drove Bentley sports cars to victory in the 1920s and kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive. In 1925, as the marque foundered, Bentley Boy Woolf Barnato bought the c ...

" of the 1930s, who was killed in a dramatic accident at

Brooklands Brooklands was a Auto racing, 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 fir ...

. Dunfee was the third of four sons of Colonel Vickers Dunfee and the younger brother of

Jack Dunfee Jack Lawson Dunfee (26 October 1901 – 13 September 1975) was a British motor racing driver, theatrical impresario, and later farmer who was one of the "Bentley Boys" at Brooklands before the Second World War. Motor racing Dunfee was one of four ...

, also a motor racer. He took part 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 the ...

and in the same year married the actress

Jane Baxter Jane Baxter (9 September 1909 – 13 September 1996) was a British actress. Her stage career spanned half a century, and she appeared in a number of films and in television. Early life Baxter was born as Feodora Kathleen Alice Forde in Bremen ...

one of the leading ladies of the British cinema in the Thirties. In 1932 the Dunfee brothers raced the BRDC 500 Miles Race at Brooklands, in the "Old Number One"

Bentley Speed Six The Bentley 6½ Litre and the high-performance Bentley Speed Six were rolling chassis in production from 1926 to 1930. The Speed Six, introduced in 1928, would become the most successful racing Bentley. Two Bentley Speed Sixes became known as t ...

, with a brand new 8-litre engine installed. After the first driving stint Jack Dunfee was in fourth place when he entered the pits. Clive took over, and shortly after, in passing

Earl Howe Earl Howe is a title that has been created twice in British history, for members of the Howe and Curzon-Howe family respectively. The first creation, in the Peerage of Great Britain, was in 1788 for Richard Howe, but became extinct on hi ...

's Bugatti, he went too high up the banking, putting the wheel of his car over the lip. The car cartwheeled over the top, hit a large tree and plunged down through the trees to the road below. Dunfee was thrown out and killed instantly. His wife was watching the race when he crashed to his death.

References

* Tom Vallance ''Jane Baxter: Obituary'' The Independent, London, 17 September 1996

External links

Old No 1 BentleyNewsreel footage of fatal crash
Bentley Boys Brooklands people English racing drivers Filmed deaths in motorsport 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 1932 deaths 1904 births {{England-autoracing-bio-stub