14 Facts About Henry Birkin

Sir Henry Ralph Stanley "Tim" Birkin, 3rd Baronet was a British racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s.

Henry Birkin was born into a wealthy Nottingham family in 1896, the son of Sir Thomas Stanley Henry Birkin, 2nd Bt.

In childhood, Henry Birkin gained the nickname "Tim", after the children's comic book character Tiger Tim, created by Julius Stafford Baker, who was extremely popular at the time.

Henry Birkin married Audrey Clara Lilian Latham, daughter of Sir Thomas Paul Latham, 1st Bt.

Henry Birkin's had seven children including wildlife film-maker Cindy Buxton.

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Henry Birkin joined the Royal Flying Corps during World War I and gained the rank of Lieutenant in the service of the 108th Field Brigade, serving in Palestine where he contracted malaria, a disease from which he would suffer for the rest of his life.

In 1921 Henry Birkin turned to motor racing, competing in a few races at Brooklands.

Soon Henry Birkin, racing with a blue and white spotted silk scarf around his neck, would be a familiar sight on the race tracks driving with the works team .

In 1928 Henry Birkin entered the Le Mans race again, leading the first twenty laps until a jammed wheel forced him to drop back, finishing fifth with co-driver Jean Chassagne who heroically rescued the abandoned, damaged car, winning the hearts of the crowds; Chassagne received a trophy from W O Bentley in recognition of this extraordinary feat.

Back in 1928 however, Henry Birkin had come to the conclusion that the future lay in getting more power from a lighter model by fitting a supercharger to the 4½ litre Bentley.

At lap ten "Sabipa" crashed and was thrown out of his Bugatti, Henry Birkin only avoiding the injured driver by the slightest of margins.

Henry Birkin's continued however to support Birkin's red single seater track car, the original Blower No 1.

Henry Birkin kept his motor workshop going by entering into a partnership with Mike Couper and developing a business specialising in tuning high performance cars.

Henry Birkin's life was portrayed in the 1995 TV drama Full Throttle with comedian Rowan Atkinson in the role of Henry Birkin.