Kay Petre

[Bill Sheehan]

Thanks Nick for the brilliant photos.  A few added comments if I may - Kay Petre was most upset that everyone perpetuated the myth that she was 4'10" and insisted she was 5'1".  Other photos taken beside several different women showed her to be not all that short.    The shot with the plaster on her head was taken after her horrific accident at Brooklands in the Side Valve single seater (caused by someone else).  When she came out of hospital after many weeks, she went To Brooklands with her head swathed in bandages and lapped around at speed to ensure she hadn't lost her nerve.  That was when she had the famous White Riley (which she'd had repainted in her favourite blue).    Also, her co-driver in several events and various makes of cars (Joan Richmond, an Aussie, shown in several of your photos) was not short (well not when she came back to Melbourne).  Another women racing at Brooklands but not shown, was George Duller's wife who featured in her Gordon England Brooklands in 1925.  All photos worth retaining, Thank you.   Cheers,  Bill in Oz.