Keston Pelmore honoured by German Members  Words and images from John Hamperl, Trustee W O Bentley Memorial Foundation

Perhaps owing to the world depression following the Wall Street financial disasters of 1929, W.O. Bentley’s original company at Cricklewood ceased trading in 1931.  The assets of the Company were procured by Rolls-Royce.

They realised that a combination of R-R sophistication together with Bentley power and speed could be a winner and, very soon, they started producing a ‘Bentley’ of their own, built at Derby.  This delightfully sporty car was known to the general public as the Rolls-Bentley but, nowadays, is more generally referred to as the Derby Bentley.

In 1936, many of the old Cricklewood Bentleys (built between 1921 and 1931) were still being raced with great enthusiasm and verve at Brooklands.  One of the enthusiasts was Keston Pelmore, who owned a 4½ litre.  He realised that so many others shared his love of WO’s old cars that he ought to do something about it.  So, he attached cards to all the Vintage Bentleys that he could find in the paddock and car parks, suggesting the formation of a ‘Bentley Drivers Club’ (BDC).

Needless to say, the response was excellent.  Founded by Keston Pelmore, the BDC has gone from strength to strength, welcoming all Bentley motor cars from 1921 to date. By 1939, he was living in the United States, where he learned to fly.  When war came he returned to the United Kingdom and joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.  On 27 December 1941, the Wellington bomber that he was piloting during a raid on Dusseldorf was shot down.  There were no survivors.  It was his 18th operation.

Now in 2014, the BDC has some 3,700 members worldwide.  The Club is divided into geographical regions, of which there are nine in the United Kingdom and some 30 in other parts of the world.

Running parallel to, but separately from the BDC, is the W O Bentley Memorial Foundation.  This is a charitable trust dedicated to the memory of W.O. and all things Bentley.  It also undertakes the collection, preservation and protection of archives, artefacts and similar material.  There is a museum display and the WOBMF also publishes books and conducts educational projects and lectures.

Early in January 2013, Marcel Kurth of the German Region suggested a Memorial Tour and Ceremony, paying homage to the BDC’s founder Keston Pelmore.  As Keston’s old 4½ Litre was on display in the BDC Museum at Wroxton, near Banbury it was proposed that, as a token of respect, a wreath which adorned the radiator of that car could be transported by a vintage Bentley to his last resting place in the Military Cemetery at Rheinburg.

On Friday 5 July 2013, Chairman of the Museum Committee Tony Tomlinson and Alan Bodfish, WOBMF Archivist, drove the wreath in a 3/4½ Bentley to a hotel at Kamp-Lintfort where they met the organiser Marcel and several German BDC members.  In attendance were Bronwen, Keston’s niece, and her husband Michael Hickmott, in addition to Dr. Michael Pelmore, Keston’s nephew who had travelled all the way from Australia.

The following day on the way to the military cemetery, the group was welcomed at Schloss Dyck, the grounds of which has been developed as a motoring theme park, extremely popular with the German vintage and classic car movement.

After a light lunch at Cafe Linde in Hensberg, the serious business of the day took place.  During his research, Marcel had actually located the field where the Vickers Wellington (Z1115SR) came to grief.  Here, the party spent some time in quiet contemplation.

The final part of the journey was to the grave of Keston Pelmore in the military cemetery at Rheinburg.  The cemetery must be one of the most impressive of many; not overly large but totally peaceful with flowers and small shrubs at every headstone.  Here the wreath was placed on the radiator of the 3/4½ for a short while, before being laid by Bronwen on the headstone of Keston Pelmore’s resting place, together with a wreath from the German Region.

This was not a sad tour, albeit an emotional one that provoked thoughts of halcyon days past and of the foresight of the founder of the Bentley Drivers Club.  Regrettably, he did not survive to see the blossoming of his idea into the splendidly active motor club that the BDC has become – all as a result of those humble little cards that he put behind other owners’ windscreen wipers.

Adapted from an article by Tony Tomlinson and Alan Bodfishin in the BDC Review