Allan Peter Staniforth (14 June 1924 – 2 May 2009) was a British journalist and engineer, notable as the joint-designer of the Terrapin style race car.

Early life

Allan Peter Staniforth was born in

Kings Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council war ...

in Birmingham, England to

jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmithing, goldsmithing, stone setting, engraving, ...

Arthur Staniforth and Maude Cross. He flew in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was a navigator during the

Berlin Blockade The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

in 1948. He suffered hearing loss which he attributed to the flying of the

Lancaster Bomber The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same spec ...

Career

Staniforth worked as a journalist for the

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

, writing reports on various subjects such as

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

, the

Cod Wars The Cod Wars (; also known as , ; ) were a series of 20th-century confrontations between the United Kingdom (with aid from West Germany) and Iceland about Exclusive economic zone, fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Each of the disputes ended ...

and the

Moors murders The Moors murders were a serial killer, series of child murder, child killings committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in and around Manchester, England, between July 1963 and October 1965. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Ki ...

. Although he was well regarded in the journalism world, he is most notable for his motor racing hobby. He published books on the subject, and invented the small Terrapin car based on the A-series

Mini The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...

engine. He was also involved with the design of the Naylor TF 1700. In 1969 he wrote his first book ''High Speed, Low Cost'' where he described how to construct the Terrapin Hillclimb. He would use these cars to set fastest times in competitions around Britain.

Publications

* ''High speed, low cost: The full Terrapin story'' (1969) * ''Race & rally car source book: A D.I.Y. guide to building or modifying a race or rally car'' (1983) * ''Competition Car Suspension: Design, Construction, Tuning'' (1989) * ''Race and Rally Car Source Book – 30th Anniversary Edition: The Guide to Building or Modifying a Competition Car'' (2013)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staniforth, Allan 1924 births 2009 deaths 20th-century British journalists British automobile designers British automotive engineers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II English rally drivers