A leading lady of motorsport

PAST IMPERFECT:Sheila van Damm combined a life in theatre with a life behind the wheel

MOTORSPORT HAS attracted more than its fair share of characters down through the years but few would match the exploits of Sheila van Damm, who was a leading female competitor in rallies in the 1950s.

Born in 1922 in Paddington, London, nothing in van Damm’s Jewish upbringing would have served to give her an interest in motoring.

In fact, she didn’t learn to drive until she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force during the second world War. Her father, Vivian van Damm, managed the famous Windmill revue theatre in London, which he later came to own.

It was as a publicity stunt for the Windmill Theatre that van Damm entered her first event, the 1950 MCC-Daily Express Rally. Driving a factory-prepared Sunbeam Talbot with “Windmill Girl” written in large letters along the sides of the car, she and her sister, Nona, who acted as navigator, finished third in the ladies’ section.

As a result of this drive, van Damm was invited to drive as part of the official Rootes team in a Hillman Minx in the 1951 Monte Carlo rally. Her first success followed in the 1952 MCC Rally, again driving a Sunbeam Talbot, when she took the ladies’ award, and in 1953 she took the speed record for two- to three-litre cars, driving a prototype Sunbeam Alpine at an average speed of 120mph at Jabbeke in Belgium.

Van Damm started 1953 by taking a Coupes des Dames as well as a coveted Coupes des Alps in the Alpine Rally, with Anne Hall as co-driver. She then took another Coupes des Dames in the Tulip Rally in Holland, during which she took outright victory in a 10-lap race on the Zandvoort circuit.

And by taking the ladies’ prize in the Viking Rally in Norway, van Damm captured the 1954 Ladies’ European Rally Championship, a considerable achievement. This was a triumph she repeated in 1955, driving a Sunbeam Alpine Mk. III. Also in 1954, van Damm was part of the Rootes prize-winning team in the Monte Carlo Rally with teammates Peter Collins and Stirling Moss.

Although best remembered for her exploits in rallies, van Damm was also an excellent racing driver and in 1956 she was entered with Peter Harper in a Sunbeam Rapier in the tough Mille Miglia road race around the island of Sicily.

After numerous adventures, the pair won their class at a very impressive 66.37mph average speed. She returned to the Mille Miglia the following year partnered by David Humphrey but, after losing control on tram tracks and crashing into a shop window, their race came to an abrupt end.

After that, van Damm decided to concentrate on work at the Windmill Theatre. In 1960, after her father’s death, she inherited the theatre, which she ran until its closure in 1964. She retained her links with motorsport, becoming president of the Sunbeam Talbot Owners Club as well as president of the famous Doghouse Club for motor racing wives and ladies.

Van Damm retired to a farm in Pulborough in Sussex. She died in London in August 1987, one of rallying’s great characters and a well respected driver.