Ted Longshaw
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Oswald Edgar "Ted" Longshaw (13 April 1926 – 6 September 2011) was a British businessman who is best known for his involvement in
radio-controlled car 'Radio-controlled cars'' (or RC cars for short) are miniature model cars, vans, buses, trucks or buggy (automobile), buggies that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter or remote. The term "RC" has been used to mean bo ...
racing and the foundation of governing bodies for the sport,
IFMAR The International Federation of Model Auto Racing (IFMAR) is the world governing body of professional radio controlled car racing. The organization was created in 1979 by professional racer and RC model entrepreneur Ted Longshaw. At that time, ...
(international),
EFRA The Europäische Föderation Radiogesteuerter Automodelle (EFRA), better known in English as the European Federation of Radio Operated Model Automobiles, is the governing body of radio-controlled car racing in Europe. History Setup in May 197 ...
(Europe), FEMCA (far east) and BRCA (UK).


Early life and military career

Longshaw left school at 14 to work for his father, a delivery van driver who operated in
Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...
. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, on his 17th birthday in 1943, Ted enlisted with the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
where he first undertook his basic naval training at HMS Royal Arthur,
Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, i ...
; then was based at ,
Doonfoot Doonfoot is a suburb in the south-west of Ayr, South Ayrshire. History The area known as Doonfoot was incorporated as part of the town of Ayr when the former Burgh of Ayr's boundaries were expanded in 1935 to take in the former villages of A ...
specialising as a
signalman A signalman is a person who historically made signals using flags and light. In modern times, the role of signalmen has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed for ...
. By 1944, as Signalman 1st Class, he joined HMS Wager, a newly built W class destroyer, serving there for 21 months and graduating to Leading Signalman by 1945. Following training on board Wager, Longshaw served at the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, supporting
Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
's participation of
Operation Meridian During World War II, Operation Meridian was part of Operation Outflank, a series of British air attacks directed at Japanese-held oil refineries on Sumatra. Meridian had two phases: ''Meridian One'' on 24 January 1945 and ''Meridian Two'' on 2 ...
and subsequently escorted
HMS King George V Two ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''King George V'', after George V, King of the United Kingdom, whilst another was planned: * HMS ''King George V'' was to have been an . She was renamed in 1910, prior to her launch in 1911. Captain ...
in
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
. During the final stage of the war, Longshaw was temporarily transferred to its sister ship HMS Whelp, serving with the future
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
who were both present during the
Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
and returned to Portsmouth in January 1946.


Later life and radio-controlled car racing

After being
demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...
in the late 1940s, Longshaw undertook a career in laundry engineering, setting up his own successful company. Longshaw also became involved in the
model car A model car, or toy car, is a miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were originally aime ...
industry with his son. He took part in the first radio-controlled car meet in England for l:8th scale cars on Easter Monday of 1971, which led him to form the
British Radio Car Association The British Radio Car Association (or BRCA) is an organisation that promotes the construction and racing of all types of radio controlled cars in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1971 by Ted Longshaw and Keith Plested, who was also the founder of ...
that year. That led him to fly overseas to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to take part in the ROAR Open National Championship at the
Briggs Cunningham Briggs Swift Cunningham II (January 19, 1907 – July 2, 2003) was an American entrepreneur and sportsman. He is best known for skippering the yacht ''Columbia'' to victory in the 1958 America's Cup race, and for his efforts as a driver, team o ...
Museum, California. He returned to the same championship in 1974 and 1975 and attempted to persuade American drivers to compete in Europe without success. As president of EFRA, he persuaded European drivers to compete in California in 1977. In response to his request, racer John Thorpe agreed to allow ROAR to host races on his circuit, and Longshaw organised the race. Beside the twenty plus European drivers taking part, the rest of the field consisted of
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
s. It was then agreed afterward that the next world championship was to be held in Europe in 1979 but Monaco wanted to hold a round in 1978 but took a compromise with the EFRA and agreed to hold a World Cup race there that year. Following a world championship round in Geneva, as a number of clubs and organizations had previously advertised their meeting as a world championship round with their own rules, Longshaw called a meeting of thirty people involved in the industry with the intention to create a world governing body that would not only establish a uniform set of rules, it would establish the prestige of a single World Championship round every two years. Longshaw retired from his position as president in EFRA in 1983 and IFMAR in 1995, remaining at the latter as an honorary president where he remained active in the sport and attending meetings. Longshaw also ran his eponymous model shop, Ted Longshaw Model Cars serving as a UK agent for
Novarossi Novarossi World, also known as Novarossi Nitro Micro Engines, was an Italian manufacturer of model engines and related items for radio-controlled models. History Nova Rossi was founded in 1984 by Cesare Rossi and his wife Graziosa Barchi in ...
,
Associated Electrics Associated Electrics, Incorporated of Lake Forest, California is one of the world's leading manufacturers of radio controlled car, radio controlled cars, trucks and accessories. Associated Electrics is now owned by Thunder Tiger Corporation from T ...
and
Mugen Seiki is a Japanese manufacturer of high-end, premium radio-controlled cars based in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan. Mugen means ''unlimited'', Seiki means ''machinery works''. Mugen Seiki currently manufactures a 1/8 scale buggy and truggy as well as a ...
, closing the business down to focus on his other interests. Longshaw also served as the Master of the
Worshipful Company of Launderers The Worshipful Company of Launderers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The organisation, founded in 1960, became a Livery Company in 1977. The Company promotes the profession of the launderers by awarding scholarships to la ...
between 1989 and 1990 and was in 2010, a captain of his golf club near
Downe Downe, formerly Down, () is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley but beyond the London urban sprawl. Downe is south west of Orpington and south east of Charing Cross. Downe lies on a hill, and ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, his hometown where he lived with his wife, Linda, held a position of Company Secretary up to his passing at his home on 6 September 2011 at 85 having suffering from respiratory problems for a long period of time. Longshaw was given a private cremation service on 21 September followed by a memorial service.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longshaw, Ted 1926 births 2011 deaths Royal Navy personnel of World War II Royal Navy sailors Radio-controlled car personalities