Archie and the Listers by Robert Edwards

A fearless driver on the racing track

THIS is an entertaining book about a very brave man. Brave not only because Archie Scott Brown was one of the most fearless racing drivers of the 1950s, but also because he got to the top, or near the top, despite severe physical disability.

THIS is an entertaining book about a very brave man. Brave not only because Archie Scott Brown was one of the most fearless racing drivers of the 1950s, but also because he got to the top, or near the top, despite severe physical disability.

His mother had German measles (rubella) while pregnant, and Archie was born with no right forearm, badly twisted legs, club feet and few discernible toes. He underwent 22 operations, but his disability was to remain. When chance placed this remarkable driver next to the racing-car operation of Brian Lister in Cambridgeshire, the partnership was formidable. Lister-MGs, Lister-Jaguars and Lister-Bristols won a clutch of prizes thanks to their excellent engineering and fearless driver. However, the firm's racing career did not long outlast the death of its most famous driver.

Scott Lister died on 19 May 1957 from burns received when his car left the track at Spa, Belgium, and he found himself under gallons of ignited petrol. But his life and his achievements should not be forgotten.