Oliver Henry Julius Bertram (26 February 1910 – 13 September 1975) was an English

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

who held 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, ...

race track record for 2 months 2 days during 1935. He was twice awarded the BRDC Gold Star. He was also a Barrister-At-Law and a Judge Advocate.

Early life and education

Bertram was the eldest son of Julius Bertram (1866–1944) and Marjorie Sutton (1878–1947). Born in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London, he was educated at

Stowe School The Stowe School is a public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, England. It was opened on 11 May, 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, between 1923 and 1927 (under headteacher, John Fergusson Roxburgh), and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he graduated with an Ordinary BA (a ‘pass degree’).

Legal career

He was by profession a Barrister at Law practising at 2 Essex Court Chambers, Temple EC4 in London. Bertram was admitted to the

Honourable Society of the Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with which it shares Temp ...

on 19 November 1928. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales on 10 May 1933 (Easter Term). After the Second World War, Oliver resumed his legal career and having served in the Army, he was appointed as a

Judge Advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

in 1952, which saw him try cases around Europe.

Racing career

He started racing at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in 1929. He became the Brooklands outer lap record holder in his 8-litre special Barnato-Hassan

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 ...

racing car on 5 August 1935 with a time of 69.85 seconds, attaining an average speed of . However this record stood for only 2 months 2 days, as on 7 October John Cobb regained the title in his Napier Railton with a speed of . Bertram won the Easter Short handicap race in 1935 and with John Cobb took first place in 1937 in the BRDC 500 Kilometres Race – a shortened version of the 500 Miles Race. He was awarded the

British Racing Drivers' Club The British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) is an exclusive invitation-only members club for racecar drivers who are judged to have achieved success in the upper levels of motor sport for a number of seasons. Except under exceptional circumstances, ...

gold star twice – in 1935 and 1938.British Racing Drivers Club
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Military service

In 1939, Bertram was a Second lieutenant in the Army Reserve and later that same year, enlisted in the Regular British Army. In 1947, Oliver Bertram, gained the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Personal life

He married Jennifer Anne Pleasant Clark in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

in 1943. They had 2 children, James Julius Bertram born 24 November 1944 - 19 June 2015 and Janet Lavinia Bertram born 14 August 1946 - 2016. In later life, he brought a farm in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, where he lived with his second wife, Jane (b 1933) who he married in 1974 in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

, Devon. Oliver Bertram died after a fall in the snow in Parracombe, Devon in 1975, aged 65.

References

Historic Racing
*Motor Sport – ''Profile of Oliver Bertram'' 1983 No 6 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertram, Oliver 1910 births 1975 deaths British Army personnel of World War II People educated at Stowe School BRDC Gold Star winners English barristers English racing drivers People from Kensington 20th-century English sportsmen