Sydney Allard

Sydney Herbert Allard (19 June 1910 – 12 April 1966) was the founder of the Allard car company and a successful racing motorist in cars of his own manufacture.

Born in London, England, he was educated at Ardingly College in Sussex. "Allard commenced racing in 1929 with a Morgan three-wheeler, later converted to four wheels," which he ran at Brooklands and elsewhere. On 31 August 1929 the new Cyclecar Club held a meeting at Brooklands where: "the first race was won by Sidney (sic) Allard's Morgan, at 73.37 m.p.h. from a couple of Austins." By 1933 he was competing in trials, retiring from the London-Exeter Trial that year in his Allard special, the Morgan converted by Allard to four wheels. He also retired in the London to Land's End trial.

In 1935 he won his class, for unlimited unsupercharged sports cars, at the Brighton Speed Trials in a Ford V-8. In April 1936 he won a 50-mile handicap race on the sand at Southport in his Allard V8. The Allard Special was put into limited production with Ford V8 and Lincoln V12 motors. A Ford-based special was supplied to a Mr. Gilson in 1937, while a four-seater was offered the following year. In 1937 Allard attempted to climb Ben Nevis, a mountain in Scotland, in his Allard car. The car crashed and rolled but Allard emerged with only bruising. Sydney Allard set the sports car record at the inaugural Prescott Hill Climb on 15 May 1938, driving Hutchison's V12 Lincoln-engined Allard Special in a time of 54.35 seconds. That year Allard, with Ken Hutchison and Guy Warburton in the "Tailwaggers" Allard-Special team, competed successfully in trials, sprints, rallies and races. On 15 July 1939, Allard took a class win at the Lewes Speed Trials in a time of 22.12 secs. Allard won the last speed event to be held in England prior to World War Two. Having set the fastest time at the Horndean Speed Trials, his car overturned past the finish line. Both he and his passenger, Bill Boddy, were thrown clear and uninjured.

During World War Two Sydney Allard operated a large repair shop fixing army vehicles, including Ford trucks and Jeeps. During the bombing in 1941: "Sydney and his family had a very narrow escape recently during a raid." In 1943 he had 225 employees and was renovating more than 30 vehicles a week.

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