In the early 1960s I got a position at the Jaguar Motor School in Hendon, North West London. I was immediately sent to do a course on the then-new Jaguar E-Type. This car was the first mass-produced vehicle capable of 150 mph. It is still a very close number two to my first love, the Triumph TR3.
The senior teacher there was a lovely elderly Scotsman by the name of Jack McKay– we got on like a house on fire.
Some months later, Jack’s old friend and wartime comrade called to see him. I was amazed to see it was that great English actor and film star, Trevor Howard.
Trevor wanted Jack to call out to his home to check his cars as he was going away filming for three months. Jack could not oblige as he was going up to Aberdeen for a week, so I was called into action. I agreed to call out to Trevor as I had just bought a two year old Hillman Minx and it would be a great test run for my own car.
That Saturday I drove out to Hertfordshire. When I arrived, Trevor introduced me to his lovely wife, Helen Cherry. Helen, of course, was a great actor in her own right, playing many leading roles on the West End Stage.
When Trevor brought me out to the garage I was fully expecting to see a Jaguar, so I was astonished to see a beautiful, dark blue Aston Martin DB5 and an older DB2. The DB5 cost an eye-watering £4,500– they were hand-built, and only a few were made, hence the hefty list price.
I spent about two hours admiring and testing this car. I took it for a test run along the quiet roads of Hertfordshire. I will never forget the beautiful sound of the booming exhaust. For me, this car was a perfect 10 out of 10.
Later that evening, Helen made us high tea finished off with warm scones, jam and cream. Trevor had taken a few drinks and started telling me stories about the movie business and films he had made.
I steered him round to one of my favourites, ‘The Third Man’ the brilliant spy movie with Orson Welles set in post–World War Two Vienna.
Trevor replied, “Noel, you are going back 12 years. I never thought that film would be successful. I remember I was always cold on set and the city was still just a pile of rubble because of the Allied bombers blitzing it. The Viennese were still clearing up the mess. I went out one night and got arrested in a jazz club– someone had reported me as a spy. You see, I had forgotten to change out of my fake costume uniform before setting out. David Lean, the director, had to come and get me out of prison the next morning.”
When asked about working with Orson Welles, Trevor replied, “Don’t talk to me about Welles. You know he refused to go down the Viennese sewers after the first day of filming. David had to build a mock sewer back in England to finish production.”
As I was leaving, Trevor and Helen proposed we meet up again in three months. Of course I agreed, but sadly, this was not to be. I was back in Dublin 4 weeks later.
My wife, a Lucan woman, could not deal with the homesickness. She missed seeing her parents and five sisters, and there was no way she could be persuaded to stay in London, even when Jaguar offered to buy us a house in the area.
I got a great send off, dinner and drinks, a wallet of notes, a glowing reference and a complete set of Jaguar technical manuals.
When we got back to Dublin, I got a job with Frank Cavey PLC, they were the main Jaguar agent for Ireland. It was great to be home after all and I quickly settled back in.
Even so, I sometimes think of the many happy times I had in London. Hendon was a lovely part of the city, quiet and leafy, it reminded me of Rathmines or Rathgar in the 1950s.
And of course, I will never forget the wonderful day I spent with the Howards. Sleep easy, Trevor and Helen, I am sure somewhere in England or America, some vintage car collector has your hand-built midnight blue Aston Martin and everything is just fine with your wonderful car.
Top: Trevor Howard with Celia Johnson in ‘Brief Encounter’.
Tight: An Aston Martin DB5, also seen in the early James Bond films.