An Address by Sir Malcolm Campbell

LIEUT.-COLONEL GEORGE A. DREW, the President, introduced the speaker.

SIR MALCOLM CAMPBELL: Mr. Chairman, Mr. McCrea and Mr. Mayor: Words fail me when I endeavour to express my very deep appreciation of the wonderful reception which has been accorded me today, first of all at the City Hall by His Worship, the Mayor, and by these great people in Toronto who were there to welcome me, and here, again, I do so greatly appreciate this enormous and representative gathering which we have in this great room here.

It gives the most possible pleasure to come straight back on to British territory once more. I have been looking forward to this visit which, of course, is only of very short duration, but I am most happy to have the privilege and the very great honour of being with you once more.

Now, twelve months have passed since I last had the honour of addressing you-I believe, in this very same room. Much has happened since then. We were all gathered here twelve months ago and we realized that there was a big storm brewing; the sky was overcast and we were faced with the greatest storm of economic depression that history has ever known. We were gathered here, all with a feeling of optimism, a feeling that surely we should pull through, imbued with that spirit which is part of our race, that spirit of "never-say-die". And, Gentlemen, I venture to say that it is that very same spirit which has held us through all the many crises that have happened to our great Empire in past history. (Applause.)

Now, Gentlemen, I venture to say this: that that feeling of optimism to which I have referred was not in any way misplaced because although the storm is not fully past, yet I am sure you will agree with me when I say that the clouds are gradually rolling by and we are beginning to see the light of day. (Applause.)

Much useful work has been done during the past twelve months. Much wonderful work was done by that great Conference held in the City of Ottawa, and we all realize today, more than ever, the utmost importance of interEmpire trade. We realize that this is the solution of one of our difficulties. I venture to say, also, that we all have travelled further along the road to the solution of our difficulties than any other nation or any other group of nations has done. We have endeavoured to face the facts and we have endeavoured to discover the root of our present difficulties. I say "endeavour to discover" because the situation is so complicated and there are so many different schools of thought, each of which has one solution opposed to another. First of all, there is one school which is of the opinion that the question of war debt settlement is the sole reason for the present world wide depression. Well, Gentlemen, it is quite obvious that that is one of the causes of the present trouble, but not the entire cause.

Then again, there is another school which is of the opinion that our distribution has completely broken down--that the machinery has--and it is perfectly true that there seems to be something wrong with production but nobody knows exactly why or how that has come about. The situation is so complicated that it is completely beyond the ordinary understanding of the man in the street, such as myself.

The pessimists have even gone so far as to say that we are on the eve of national bankruptcy and the commencement of the decay of civilization. I venture to say, and I believe that you will agree with me, that that will never come about. But if the pessimists are right, which they are not, I venture also to say that the great British Empire will be the last whose civilization will go to decay or who will become bankrupt. Surely, Gentlemen, history has always revealed it in the past, and will do so again, and I believe I am right when I say that After the Napoleonic Wars, Great Britain, and in fact, the whole world, went through a very trying time but that only lasted for a period of ten or twelve years. 'Therefore, we have every reason to be optimistic about the future, provided that we do not lose our heads and provided that we all do the very best we possibly can.

Well, Gentlemen, I suppose you would like me to say g few words about my car and about my experiences recently down in Florida. (Applause.) And, therefore, I had better deal with them more or less in a sequence.

After I went back to England last year we completely pulled the "Bluebird" down and made a number of alterations to her which took nearly nine months to complete. Last year we had fitted to the chassis a Napier supercharged motor which gave off approximately 1,450 horsepower. We realized that if we wished to have a higher speed it was necessary to obtain much more power so I installed a Rolls Royce motor of twelve cylinders which had a power of approximately between 2,000 and 2,500 horsepower. We had to lengthen the chassis to accommodate the motor and we also had to make alterations to the body. All the work was eventually completed at the end of last year.

One difficulty that we always have to contend with is this: theory and practice do not always coincide and we have no facilities whatever for testing such a big, ear as this. The motor, it is true, is tested on the bench and therefore we know that it is all right. Further than that, we cannot possibly go. Therefore, there is always a feeling of uncertainty in taking a very long journey of thousands of miles from one's base to know whither one may have any slip-ups or whether any mistakes have been made, because those mistakes can only be found out when, the car is travelling at high speed.

We arrived, eventually, at Daytona on February 1st. I had previously been informed that the coast of Florida had been swept by terrific storms, lasting over a period of five days and I had been sent some photographs by my friends down there showing the damage actually done but I had already made my plans and I wouldn't turn back and I hoped that by the time I arrived conditions would have improved. I do not believe that they ever had such storms in that part of the world before because the sand dunes were actually eaten away to a depth of over seventy seven feet. Many houses were demolished; grandstands and electric lighting equipment were washed into the sea. The storm had had such an effect on the beach that the level of the sand had completely altered and the beach was not level at all.

In addition, it was most important this time to obtain, the maximum possible speed from our car that we should have a much longer run than that of last year when I ran under the pier and got a mile and a half of extra run before approaching the measured mark. This year that was impossible because of the great holes in the beach which were full of water when the tide receded.

Therefore, I realized when I got down and had an opportunity of inspecting the beach for the first time that what we had gained in additional horsepower, we were going to lose because we had not that extra long run, so necessary if extra results are to be achieved.

I should also like to take this opportunity of telling you, Gentlemen, what good conditions mean and how important they are. First of all, you must have a beach that is as smooth as the proverbial billiard table, because any lump or ridge will cause the car actually to leap in the air and a ridge on the sand will cause wheel spin which means that you lose a lot of power. Then, the beach has to be dry. If the beach is wet the car is likely to skid, and, at any rate, a lot more power will be absorbed if the going is heavy. Then, again, of course, you want a beach clear of shells because the tires which we use are thin. Then, you want perfect visibility; that is so obvious. And you mustn't have any wind. If you try to drive at high speed in a side wind, the car begins to float and is liable to be swept right off the course.

Well, we really require, also, today a matter of six miles at least to pick up speed before passing over the measured mile, and an almost equal distance to enable us to slow up. As you are no doubt aware, the present regulation is that you go in one direction and that you come back within an hour in the reverse direction.

We waited for a fortnight under conditions which did not permit of the car being driven at all and I was very anxious to try the car out to see if things were right and so if they were not that they could be put right before the beach got fit for a record run.

After about a fortnight we took the car out for a short burst of speed. I say "short" because half of the beach was under water and therefore we couldn't use all of the three mile run before going over the measured mile and the three to four miles on the other side of it.

We reached a speed of close to 240 miles an hour the first time I had driven the car and we found that one or two alterations were necessary. Unfortunately, during the first trial I rather damaged my left wrist because we have a different type of gear box to the ordinary type. We have what we call a cone mesh and the lever came back and hit me badly when I was endeavouring to change from first to second gear. I didn't worry for two or three days and then, as it got worse and not better, I had to go to a Doctor for treatment. Actually, it didn't get better at all and it hadn't improved on the day we went, a week later.

I am proud, indeed, of my staff of mechanics because they set to work immediately we got the car back to the garage and they worked night and day for three nights to get the car ready--in their anxiety lest we might lose a really good beach.

The work was finished on Saturday and were hanging about the whole time after that hoping for good conditions. First, the beach would improve somewhat and it would be possible to drive on it and then we should be stopped because there was a big fog or something of that kind. Another day, the visibility would be good, and the beach would be only fair; then there would be a heavy side wind blowing and from the standpoint of weather we were up against it.

At last, less than a week ago, we decided to take the car out and try it. One great disadvantage about travelling on a beach is that you have to give warning to the officials at least six hours before you intend to go. The wind was changing from north to south and from east to west with lightning velocity instead of blowing from one quarter regularly for a period of time. It made it difficult indeed, to know whether the beach was going to be right or wrong.

The reason why the officials require so much notice is because they have to warn the police to prevent people from walking on the sand and the course has to be sledged over the entire distance and the electrical timing gears set up which takes at least six hours. Therefore, you have to say at high tide that you are going at low tide and you haven't the least idea what the beach is going to be like until the tide has receded.

Well, I went down to look at the course. I didn't like it, particularly. The visibility was bad; the beach was wet in some places; in other places it was rough. But having got the officials down there, I thought that, at any rate, it was worth having a shot at and we started off.

First of all, I wonder if you can visualize a car like that with a definite and a genuine 2,500 horsepowerthe enormous feeling of power there is when the accelerator pedal is pressed, because the "Bluebird" is a car with a gear box like an ordinary car, with three speeds and reverse. It has an ordinary gear box, a clutch and an accelerator just as you have in your automobile. You. change gears from first to second when the car is doing a speed of about ninety miles an hour and you change from second to top anywhere--two hundred or a hundred and ninety--it's just how you feel. (Laughter.)

There was one thing I was a little scared of before I started and that was wondering whether my hand would hold out or not.

We got away all right and started accelerating. We always know, as a rule, exactly what speed we are doing by our engine revolutions, counted on a big dial immediately behind the steering wheel. We know our road speed by the number of engine revolutions the motor is turning at. At once, when we got in top gear and started going I realized that I was up against a stiff problem on this occasion, due to the wheel spin which commenced to take place after a speed of about two hundred and which caused the car to skate right and left. It was rather a job, in consequence, to keep straight, doing the full speed and I had a visibility of only one and a half seconds in front of the car, due to the low lying mist. With one thing and another, it wasn't a too pleasant ride.

I remember so well--I can always remember my feelings and thoughts during the whole of those periods and I remember looking at the engine revolutions and seeing that it was equivalent at that particular time to a speed of around 300 miles an hour, and I realized that there was a tremendous amount of power going away in wheel spin-how much I couldn't say. Exactly how fast we were going it is impossible to say, but we managed to keep the old car straight over the measured mile and I eventually got down to the end of the course where I found the mechanics waiting to change the wheels. This is the first time, except in South Africa, that I actually stopped to change tires. But I did this because the car was heavier and the beach was strewn with shells.

I should like here to pay the highest tribute to the Dunlop people because I should never have cared to start on this run without those tires. Imagine a car weighing four and a half tons, the beach strewn with sharp and jagged shells-enough to cut through anything-plus the fact that the road wheels were turning at a speed of five thousand revolutions. When we stopped at the far, end there were many cuts and tears; but with the exception of that they were all right.

I realized when I stopped and turned the car around what a rough time I had had and I wondered how I was going to get back, my arm hurt so badly.

To give you some idea of my wonderful little staff they changed four wheels, made a thorough examination, had a look around the car, and had the motor started again in twelve minutes. That, Gentlemen, is really wonderful team work and it just shows you what wonderful mechanics I am very proud to have working with me.

When we started back the beach was tremendously rough; the visibility was worse. I thought that I might go faster by not giving the motor the full throttle because the more the throttle is extended, the more wheel spin one gets and I came back with what must have been a three quarter opening of the throttle and the speed on the return journey was only two miles an hours less than before. That shows the enormous power one has in a Rolls motor and the enormous power the car has if run under perfect and proper conditions.

Today we are only battling with seconds, or fractions thereof, and therefore, any deviation from the straight course, or any wheel spinnage or anything of that sort which will lose a second or half a second is just the difference between success or failure.

It is interesting to note that the average speed last year was 253.9 miles per hour which was over a mile in 14.17 seconds. Today, the speed of 272 miles per hour means an average in time over the measured mile of 13 seconds. As you know, if we can knock 1.23 seconds off that time that is 300 miles per hour. I know that so many people, in the past at least, have tried to knock a second off a hundred yards. It is not so easy as when one is talking about it, but I feel sure that the speed is possible providing that conditions are perfect.

I had great difficulty in keeping the car straight because of the wheel spin and I thought then that if one could have driven a dead straight course we would have saved a second but to do 300 on Daytona Beach as it was was absolutely out of the question.

I am very proud of that old car of mine. I do feel that it is the greatest testimony for the fine lasting qualities of British material and a great tribute to British engineering skill, generally. The car itself, or parts of it, I should say, are now nearly nine years old. I had, due to the expense involved, to cut my coat according to my cloth and use from time to time what parts I could. For example, the front axle is the same axle since 1924. We have the same brakes, the same steering and other parts are exactly the same as they were in those old days. Therefore, it does speak for the wonderful qualities for which Great Britain has such a reputation.

Now, I have been asked so many times, "What is the use of these speed trials? What is the good of them?" And so forth and so on. Well, Gentlemen, I can only tell you that I could talk to you for hours on that subject and I feel sure, if I had the time to do so, you would all go away absolutely agreeing with me when I say that they are of extreme value.

Let me first talk on this question of tires. I have been going for these records for many years now; it is nearly thirty years now--I have been racing since 1906. Up to 1924 the speed of the world's record breaking car was right in front of the lasting qualities of the tires. In 1923, 1924 and 1925, our greatest bugbear was the question of tires--would they hold or not? I have thrown tires at 150 miles or more and I have had them cut through at 150 miles per hour. I have lost a back tire at 186. Today, I go out full of confidence that my tires are O.K.

That, surely, is an answer in one respect, as to what has happened in regard to tires. If we had a motor car capable of 330 miles per hour" it is quite possible that owing to centrifugal forces set up, the tires might not stay on the wheels. Let us say that if we have a car capable of doing a speed of 330, it will be only a question of a short time before tires will be made which will be able to stand those high speeds or even higher.

Another important point: There is no earthly use in building an automobile to do that speed if the car gets out of control before the speed is reached. Stability is the most important point when considering the construction of a car of that type. You may remember a few years ago-around the time of the war--that motor cars were considered dangerous if driven at fifty or sixty miles an hour. Today, we have these small seven and nine horsepower cars driven with perfect safety at speeds of seventy and eighty miles an hour. It is a question of stability, whether racing has taught such or not.

Then there is the power distribution and the distribution of weight. As I said before, it is a topic on which so many lessons are learned that it would take hours to describe them to you.

I should like to say, in conclusion, how very deeply T appreciate the wonderful welcome you have accorded me today and I should like to mention the fact that I was greatly honoured at Daytona by receiving a cable of congratulations from the Prime Minister of Canada. (Applause.)

I thank you, Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen, very, very much for your kindness and for the great reception you have accorded me today and I shall have very great pleasure, Mr. Mayor, in taking back to England your greetings, and I take back with me the happiest possible recollections of this great city of yours--Toronto. (Applause.)

Following his address, Sir Malcolm was presented, on behalf of the Empire Club, with a silver salver. In the absence of Premier Henry, the presentation was made by the Honourable Charles McCrea, Minister of Mines for the Province of Ontario.