Lofty England
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Frank Raymond Wilton "Lofty" England (24 August 1911,
Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...
,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
– 30 May 1995,
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
) was an engineer and motor company manager from Britain. He rose to fame as the manager of the
Jaguar Cars Jaguar (, ) is the sports car and luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational corporation, multinational automaker, car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that ...
sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...
team in the 1950s, during which time Jaguar cars won the prestigious
24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
race on five occasions. After the company's withdrawal from racing England moved into the mainstream management of Jaguar Cars, later succeeding Sir William Lyons as its chairman and Chief Executive, before retiring in 1974.


Early life

Frank England was born in
Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...
,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, and found an aptitude and interest in motor engineering during his schooling at Christ's College.Wood, J. 1995. ''Obituaries: Lofty England''. The Independent. 9 June 1995. At the age of 14 the England family moved to
Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northwest London. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex east of the ancient Watling Street in what is now the London Borough of Barnet but it is now informally considered to cover a wider area, inc ...
. Here the young Frank was able to watch
Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...
chassis, built in nearby
Cricklewood Cricklewood is a town in North London, England, in the London Boroughs of Camden, Barnet, and Brent. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north-west of Charing Cross. Cricklewood was a small rural hamlet ...
, being tested along the long, straight
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, formerly part of the
Roman Road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
of
Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...
. England was apprenticed as an engineer to the
Daimler Company The Daimler Company Limited ( ), before 1910 known as the Daimler Motor Company Limited, was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by Harry John Lawson, H. J. Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing bas ...
in 1927 where, owing to his height, he quickly acquired the nickname, "Lofty", which would stick with him for the rest of his life. Daimler had not been England's first choice; his early experiences had led him originally to apply to Bentley, but without success. During his five-year apprenticeship Lofty England also made his first appearances in motorsport. In 1932, his final year as an apprentice, England finished second in the inaugural
RAC Rally Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) cal ...
, driving one of Laurence Pomeroy's Daimler Double Six cars. Being based in
Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...
also meant that England could easily attend race meetings at the
Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
circuit in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, and he became a familiar face at the ''Track''.


England the race engineer

On completing his apprenticeship Lofty England found that his technical skills, allied to his motorsport enthusiasm, meant that he was in great demand among the gentlemen racers of the early 1930s. His first employer was 1931 Le Mans winner "Tim" Birkin. Under Charles Newcombe, England developed Birkin's Blower Bentley cars at his
Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second Garden city movement, garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first New towns in the United Kingdom, new towns (designated 1948). It is ...
workshop. Although Birkin took the lap record at Brooklands, at over 137 mph, the car was not a success, and following Birkin's death in 1933 the Blower Bentley project folded. Both England and Newcombe transferred to American
Whitney Straight Air Commodore Whitney Willard Straight, (6 November 1912 – 5 April 1979) was a British racing driver, aviator, businessman, and a member of the prominent Whitney family. Early life Born in New York City, Whitney Straight was the son of Maj ...
's new motor racing team in 1934, where results began to flow immediately. The team was extremely well financed – Straight was head of
Straight Corporation The Straight Corporation Ltd was a significant operator of British airlines, airports and flying clubs from 1935 until the mid 1970s. Its major unit, Western Airways, expanded to become an important parts manufacturer, a maintenance, repair and ...
Ltd., an early service provider in the booming aeronautical sector – and could afford for his Maserati 8C to be serviced at the Maserati factory in Italy, accompanied by England. Straight and his team not only raised the Brooklands lap record for 5-litre cars to over 138 mph, but Straight also won the inaugural
South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, South Africa, East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Ri ...
in 1934. However, following Straight's marriage in 1935 the team was wound up and Lofty England found himself out of work once again. A brief spell at
ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...
was punctuated with spells working for
Alvis Alvis is a given name and a surname (close to the uncommon Scottish surname Alves). Alvis may also refer to: *Alvi, a Muslim community in South Asia, who claims descent from the fourth Rashidun caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib *Alvis Car and Engineering ...
, before
Raymond Mays Thomas Raymond Mays (1 August 1899 – 6 January 1980) was an auto racing driver and entrepreneur from Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. He attended Oundle School, where he met Amherst Villiers, leaving at the end of 1917. After army service in ...
fired him in 1936. His time at ERA was not happy, mainly due to the works' lax attitude toward their customers' cars, but he was employed by Dick Seaman almost immediately following his ignominious exit. Unfortunately for England, what may have proved to be a productive relationship with the up-and-coming Grand Prix star was curtailed in late 1936 when Seaman signed for the dominant
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
racing team. When Seaman's
Delage Delage is a French luxury automobile and racecar company founded in 1905 by Louis Delâge in Levallois-Perret near Paris; it was acquired by Delahaye in 1935 and ceased operation in 1953. On 7 November 2019, the association "Les Amis de Dela ...
was sold to Siamese princes Chula and Bira, England moved with it. Prince Chula ran the cousins' ''White Mouse Stable'' racing team with efficiency and organisation, a pattern that England would come to model his own teams on. During nearly two years with the aristocratic pair, England's ERA experience meant that R2B ''Romulus'' and R5B ''Remus'' were always immaculately prepared and, along with the team's more modern Maserati, provided ''B. Bira'' (Prince Bira's nom de course) with many race wins both in the UK and throughout Europe. Although the initial intention had been to rebuild Seaman's Delage, England was fully occupied with the operational race cars and the project was abandoned. Throughout his time as a
race engineer A race engineer is a motorsport team member who analyses data to achieve the best performance from the vehicle and driver. The race engineer communicates with the team's data analyst, mechanics, and driver, both between and during races. Off the ...
Lofty England maintained his own active motorsport career. An early gift of a
Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...
motorcycle from his father had started him on a successful motorcycle racing path. His best result was second place in the 1936
Manx Grand Prix The Manx Grand Prix motorcycle races are held on the Isle of Man TT Course (or ' Mountain Circuit') annually, usually at the end of August and early September. Traditionally the event has been staged over a two week period but this was reduce ...
. In 1938 England moved out of racing for the first time, taking a job back with Alvis, but this time at the Coventry company's headquarters. He rapidly rose from service engineer to become superintendent of the service department by the outbreak of the
Second World War 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 ...
. This was Lofty England's first experience of management responsibility, and as a reserved occupation he remained with Alvis, now a military contractor, for the first two years of conflict. However, in 1941 England volunteered for pilot training and qualified as a bomber pilot, probably excluded from fighter pilot postings due to his height. He served as a training instructor to the
USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
in Texas until 1943, when he returned to the RAF for active service flying
Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, 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 ...
s.


Post-war Jaguar motorsport

After demobilisation in 1945 Lofty England briefly moved back to Alvis, but the company had been badly affected by wartime bombing raids and through close friend
Walter Hassan Walter Thomas Frederick Hassan OBE, Chartered Engineer (UK), C.Eng., Institution of Mechanical Engineers, M.I. Mech.E. (25 April 1905 – 12 July 1996) was a distinguished UK automotive engineer who took part in the design and development of three ...
he secured a move to fellow Coventry firm
Jaguar Cars Jaguar (, ) is the sports car and luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational corporation, multinational automaker, car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that ...
in early 1946. He initially joined Jaguar in the same role that he had filled at Alvis, that of service manager. The company did not have any motorsport plans at this stage, but in the hands of a few privateer owner-drivers Jaguar's new XK120, introduced in 1948, proved to be competitive with the more specialised offerings from continental manufacturers.


1949–1952: The XK120 era

William Heynes William 'Bill' Munger Heynes CBE (31 December 1903 – July 1989), born in Leamington Spa, was an English people, English automotive engineer. Heynes was educated at Warwick School from 1914 to 1921 before joining the Humber Limited, Humber Car ...
'
straight-6 A straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balanc ...
XK engine proved eminently tunable and Heynes and England were quick to see the potential benefits of a works motorsport effort. Jaguar's newly formed Engineering Competition Department provided six top pre-war drivers (including England's old employer Prince Bira) with lightweight, pre-production, aluminium-bodied XK120s in 1949, and results were encouraging. Leslie Johnson won major sports car races in Britain and America that year and took fifth in the 1950
Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts :it:Franco Mazzotti, Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi. It took place in Italy 24 times f ...
, the Jaguar beaten only by works Ferraris and Alfa Romeos. At the
1950 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans was a motor race for sports cars, staged at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France on 24 and 25 June 1950. It was the 18th Grand Prix of Endurance. The race was won by the French father-and-son pairing of Louis Ro ...
Johnson and Bert Hadley ran as high as second before mechanical failure forced them out when lying third near the end, while other XK120s finished 12th and 15th.
Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...
drove another of the pre-production cars, entered by Tommy Wisdom, to a dominant victory in the 1950
Dundrod Dundrod () is a small village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, v ...
TT, his speed in the rain also winning him a place in Jaguar's 1951 Le Mans team. Works-prepared XK120s won numerous other events including the Tulip Rally in 1950 and the
Alpine Rally The Alpine Rally, also known by its official name Coupe des Alpes, was a rally competition based in Marseille and held from 1932 to 1971. In the 1950s and the 1960s, it was among the most prestigious rallies in the world and featured an interna ...
in 1950, 1951 and 1952. In 1952 Lofty England and several factory mechanics supported a high-speed endurance run at Linas-Montlhéry, where Johnson, Moss, Hadley and
Jack Fairman John Eric George "Jack" Fairman (15 March 1913 – 7 February 2002) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 13 Formula One Grands Prix, making his debut on 18 July 1953. He scored a total of five championship points, al ...
drove a works-modified XK120 coupé, the personal car of William Heynes, at an average of just over 100 mph for seven days and nights to break nine speed and endurance records.


1951–1953: The C-Type era

While results continued to come with the production XK120 model, England and Heynes realised that it was too overweight and aerodynamically compromised to have a serious chance of winning the Le Mans race. Their solution was to take the drivetrain from the XK120 and to install it in a lightweight chassis. William Heynes developed a new design with a new frame chassis and new bodywork with air flow shape developed by aerodynamist Malcolm Sayer. The XK120C (for ''competition''), later known as the C-Type, made its debut at the Le Mans race. Lofty England's racing experience and sharp strategic thinking required that Moss and co-driver
Jack Fairman John Eric George "Jack" Fairman (15 March 1913 – 7 February 2002) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 13 Formula One Grands Prix, making his debut on 18 July 1953. He scored a total of five championship points, al ...
act as a "hare", driving hard from the start to draw other cars into chasing it in the hope that their cars would fail. The strategy worked almost entirely as planned. Moss posted a new lap record of 105.232 mph before the lead Jaguar failed after 92 laps. However, the failure of the Ferrari and Talbot-Lago competition by this time allowed Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead's car to inherit the lead, which by the end of the 24 hours they had extended to nine laps. Lofty England's debutant team had scored a striking victory over 19 cars with engines larger than the C-Type's, but more was to come. The event was nowhere near as successful, as modifications made to the bodywork caused overheating and all three works cars failed before an hour had elapsed. However, for England's Jaguars were back at La Sarthe with improved engines, the original bodywork, and innovative all-wheel
disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the #Calipers, calipers to squeeze pairs of #Brake pads, pads against a disc (sometimes called a
rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...
rotor) to create friction. There are two basic types of brake pad friction mechanisms: abrasive f ...
s. On this occasion the team scored another victory, improved reliability allowing the green cars to take second and fourth places as well. Lofty England's contribution to the C-Type's success was crucial. Taking a lead from
Alfred Neubauer Alfred Neubauer (29 March 1891 – 22 August 1980) was the racing manager of the Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix team from 1926 to 1955. Biography Neubauer's father, Karl Neubauer, was a furniture-maker in Neutitschein (), which then was part of the ...
's running of the pre-war Mercedes team, he ran the Jaguar squad always with an eye for the greater good of Jaguar, rather than the individual demands of any one driver. The 1953 Le Mans event was a case in point, as the Jaguar cars were initially excluded for a technical infringement. The eventual winning driver pairing of Duncan Hamilton and
Tony Rolt Major Anthony Peter Roylance Rolt, MC & Bar, (16 October 1918 – 6 February 2008) was a British racing driver, soldier and engineer. A war hero, Rolt maintained a long connection with the sport, albeit behind the scenes. The Ferguson 4WD pro ...
headed to a bar expecting that they wouldn't race that night, while Lofty England took matters in hand and managed to persuade the
Automobile Club de l'Ouest The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (English: Automobile Club of the West), sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organ ...
to reinstate the cars. It was rumored that unfortunately for England, his drivers were drunk and it took all of England's managerial and motivational talents to get them into the car for the start.Randall, H. 2003. ''Replay: 14 June 1953''. The Independent on Sunday. 22 June 2003. England and Rolt both later denied that the drivers had been drunk at the time.


1954–1957: The D-Type era

For 1954 Lofty England decided that Jaguar had taken the C-Type as far is they could, and a new car was designed around the successful XK engine. Appropriately, the iconic D-Type made its debut at the
1954 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans was a race for Sports car racing, Sports Cars which took place on 12 and 13 June 1954, at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France. It was the 22nd 24 Hours of Le Mans and also the fourth race of the 1954 World Sport ...
race, where Hamilton and Rolt were beaten into second place by only one lap, by the Ferrari 375 of
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
stars
José Froilán González José Froilán González (5 October 1922 – 15 June 2013) was an Argentine racing driver, who competed in Formula One between and . Nicknamed "the Pampas Bull", González was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in wit ...
and
Maurice Trintignant Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (; 30 October 1917 – 13 February 2005) was a French racing driver and winemaker, who competed in Formula One from to . Trintignant won two Formula One Grands Prix across 15 seasons. In endurance raci ...
. The event was poised to be a direct contest between England's Jaguars, and the Mercedes team of Alfred Neubauer. Tragically, an accident triggered by the D-Type of
Mike Hawthorn John Michael Hawthorn (10 April 1929 – 22 January 1959) was a British racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . Hawthorn won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and won three Formula One ...
caused the deaths of Mercedes driver
Pierre Levegh Pierre Eugène Alfred Bouillin (22 December 1905 – 11 June 1955) was a French sportsman and racing driver. He took the racing name Pierre Levegh () in memory of his uncle Alfred Velghe, a pioneering driver who died in 1904. Levegh died in the ...
and 83 spectators, plus injuring 120 others. Neubauer's team were withdrawn from the race some hours later and invited Jaguar to share the gesture, but England decided to keep the Jaguars running. Lofty England attracted some criticism for his decision after the race but, as he maintained for the rest of his life, England did not regard Hawthorn as being at all responsible for the tragedy and therefore the team had no reason to withdraw. The decision was typical of the unsentimental, hard nosed manner in which Lofty England ran the team, demanding complete loyalty and adherence to the team principal from his drivers. When, at Reims in early 1956, Le Mans hero Duncan Hamilton ignored England's pit signals, the team manager fired him on the spot. The
1956 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans was a race for Sports Cars which took place on 28 and 29 July 1956 on the Circuit de la Sarthe. The race was won by Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson driving a Jaguar D-Type for the new Ecurie Ecosse team. This race ...
was to be the last outing for the works Jaguar team. However, there was to be no swansong for Lofty England's squad. The new longnose D-Type variant could only manage sixth place. Fortunately for Jaguar, Lofty England had always encouraged privateer teams and ensured that serious contenders received as much help as the works could offer, and it was one of these teams,
Ecurie Ecosse Ecurie may refer to: * Écurie, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais département in France * Several car racing teams (compare '' scuderias'') : ** Ecurie Belge ** Ecurie Bleue ** Ecurie Bonnier ** Ecurie Ecosse, a former motor racing team from ...
which scored the D-Type's victory that year. The Scottish team would also go on to win the race with an England-supplied, ex-works longnose car the following year. England also ensured that Jaguar's name remained prominent in motorsport by providing support for both privateer entrants of Jaguar cars, and for Jaguar-engined specials built by the likes of Lister and John Tojeiro. England's hope of helping Jaguar return to Le Mans in 1966 with the Jaguar XJ13 unfortunately came to nought and the one-and-only Le Mans Prototype was destined to never race.


Jaguar management career

Immediately following Jaguar's withdrawal from racing Lofty England returned to his role as director of the Jaguar service department. In 1958
Tony Vandervell Guy Anthony "Tony" Vandervell (8 September 1898 – 10 March 1967) was a British industrialist, motor racing financier, and founder of the Vanwall Formula One racing team. Motorsport Vandervell was the son of Charles Vandervell, founder of CAV ...
offered to sell England the
Vanwall Vanwall was a British motor racing team and racing car constructor that was active in Formula One during the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall ...
Formula One team, after the death of Vandervell's protégé
Stuart Lewis-Evans Stuart Nigel Lewis-Evans (20 April 1930 – 25 October 1958) was a British racing driver, who competed in Formula One at 14 Grands Prix from to . Born in Luton and raised in Kent, Lewis-Evans served in the Royal Corps of Signals before sta ...
during the
1958 Moroccan Grand Prix The 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix, formally the VII Grand Prix International Automobile du Maroc, was a one-off Formula One motor race held at Ain-Diab Circuit, Casablanca on 19 October 1958, after a six-week break following the Italian Grand Prix. It ...
. England refused the offer and was never directly involved in motorsport again. Instead, Lofty England began to climb the corporate ladder within Jaguar. England's alma mater, Daimler, merged with Jaguar in 1960, and in 1961 Lofty England joined the Jaguar board as assistant managing director. During the following five years he was heavily involved in the negotiations which resulted in the merger of Jaguar with BMC to form
British Motor Holdings British Motor Holdings Limited (BMH) was a British vehicle manufacturing company known until 14 December 1966 as British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC). BMH was created as a holding company following BMC's takeover of both Jaguar Cars and th ...
in 1966. At the end of 1967, on the retirement from the managing directorship of Sir William Lyons, Lofty England and
William Heynes William 'Bill' Munger Heynes CBE (31 December 1903 – July 1989), born in Leamington Spa, was an English people, English automotive engineer. Heynes was educated at Warwick School from 1914 to 1921 before joining the Humber Limited, Humber Car ...
succeeded him as joint managing directors of the company. In turn, BMH merged with
Leyland Motors Leyland Motors Limited (later known as the Leyland Motor Corporation) was an English vehicle manufacturer of lorries, buses and trolleybuses. The company diversified into car manufacturing with its acquisitions of Triumph and Rover in 1960 a ...
in 1968 to form the
British Leyland Motor Corporation British Leyland was a British automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partly nationalised ...
. In between the management upheaval, Lofty England invited back old friend Walter Hassan to develop Jaguar's XJ V12 engine. The engine made its debut in the Series III version of Jaguar's ageing E-Type in 1971, one year before Lofty England succeeded William Lyons as chairman and Chief Executive of Jaguar Cars. It was during his time as CEO that England had to negotiate with the unions to ensure that the car the V12 was built for, the V12 version of the
Jaguar XJ The Jaguar XJ is a series of mid-size/full-size luxury cars produced by British automobile manufacturer Jaguar Cars (becoming Jaguar Land Rover in 2013) from 1968 to 2019. It was produced across four basic platform generations (debuting in 1968 ...
saloon, was not delayed into production. Reflecting his own previous success and the Daimler company history, England decided that the Daimler version of the V12 should be called the '' Double Six''. With increasing industrial tensions and centralised decision making within British Leyland, England felt that his position was untenable and, aged 63, he retired to Austria in 1974.


Post-retirement

During his time at Jaguar, Frank "Lofty" England was probably second only to Sir William Lyons himself in determining the corporate direction and public image of Jaguar Cars. Following his retirement, although he had no direct involvement with the company, England always maintained an interest in Jaguar's fortunes. After moving to
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
during retirement, England became a consultant to Reliant Motor Company of
Tamworth, Staffordshire Tamworth (, ) is a market town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Staffordshire, England, north-east of Birmingham. The town borders North Warwickshire to the east and south, Lichfield District, Lichfield to the north, south- ...
, UK. The company wished to establish a European distribution network for its Scimitar GTE sports estate car following the development of its more refined SE6 version in 1986. England was successful in assisting Reliant to appoint importers and distributors in
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. England died on 30 May 1995 at the age of 83.


External links


Lofty England page at the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:England, Lofty 1911 births 1995 deaths People from Finchley Auto racing crew chiefs British motorsport people Daimler people People educated at Christ's College, Finchley 20th-century English engineers 20th-century English businesspeople Royal Air Force pilots of World War II