The amazing true story of Goldie Gardner, the world's most successful speed-record driver.
Winner of the Royal Automobile Club Motorsport Book of the Year 2024
Winner of Suzuki Award for the Montagu of Beaulieu Trophy 2024
Foreword by The Duke of Richmond and Gordon
Severely injured after being decorated for bravery during the First World War, Goldie Gardner overcame his disability to become a successful racing driver and the most prolific speed-record holder there has ever been.
Goldie is the first book about this unsung hero since his autobiography in 1951, and the first National Motor Museum Publishing title. It contains new, previously unseen photographs and information from various archives and interviews, and puts a new perspective on the life of this enigmatic hero.
Launch date: OUT NOW. 1st edition hardback £20
Dessau, Germany,1939
A 49-year-old veteran of the Great War hobbles over to his sleek, green racing car, hands his walking stick to his mechanic and awkwardly pulls his damaged leg into the bowels of the machine. His hosts, the glamorous young drivers of the Nazi state-sponsored Silver Arrows team, share bemused grins as he rolls up his sleeves, dons an old-fashioned leather racing cap and pulls down his goggles. A few minutes later, to the astonishment of the Germans, the mostly self-funded car flashes past at over 200mph, setting a host of new international records.
Goldie moves from the brutality of an Edwardian public school, through the jungles of Ceylon and into the blood-soaked trenches of the Somme. The book follows Goldie Gardner as he emerges into the post-war world, trying to make sense of what has happened, finding friendship and love, and searching for a way to prove himself. Motor racing and record breaking seem to offer a solution, but what follows is a story of obsession that establishes him as one of the most extraordinary record breakers of all time but leads to heartbreak, betrayal and eventually his choice to take one risk too many.
John Mayhead
John Mayhead is one of the UK’s foremost classic car writers and commentators, contributing regularly to various national newspapers and magazines, TV, radio and podcasts. Since 2012, he has been the Editor of the UK Hagerty Price Guide and is European Bureau Chief for Hagerty Insider.
John is also a concours judge, is the owner of a small but eclectic group of old cars and likes nothing better than getting his hands dirty under the bonnet, especially when helped by one of his five children. Previously, John served in the British Army, including operational deployments to Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. He is married and lives within earshot of Goodwood in Sussex.
In October 2024, Goldie was named Motorsport
Book of the Year by the Royal Automobile Club, and in
December 2024, John was awarded the Suzuki Award
for the Montagu of Beaulieu Trophy presented to the person
who has made the greatest contribution to recording the
history of motoring or motorcycling in books.
"A great book and a great reference work on Goldie... many of his records are extraordinary even by today's standards"
Richard Noble
Land speed record holder
"Exhaustively researched and engagingly written, with a narrative that has the pace of a WW2 escape story rather than a dry history book"
Alastair Clements
Editor in Chief, Classic & Sports Car
"Meticulously researched - the level of detail is phenomenal for a 'forgotten' hero"
Paul Hudson, The Telegraph
"A captivating read and very easy to absorb... the candour and sincerity of the writing really transports you back to the sounds, smells and emotions of an early – and lethal - era of motorsport"
Rob Hull, Daily Mail
"This impressively researched, definitive book is delivered in a highly engaging style that will have you not only compulsively turning pages, but also warming to a lesser-known hero whose stern appearance and public shyness hid a complex alloy of inner warmth and steel"
James Elliott
Editor in Chief, Octane
"It's got a great flow to it and elements of suspense from chapter to chapter that make it more enjoyable to read"
David Lillywhite, Magneto
"Five Stars... the first title from the National Motor Museum's new publishing arm is a cracker"
Auto Express
"A fine tribute to a quite extraordinary character... a fascinating and informative read"
The Automobile
"Puts a new perspective on the life of this
enigmatic hero"
Safety Fast!
Goldie in the media
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