Tom Wheatcroft
| Tom Wheatcroft | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Frederick Bernard Wheatcroft 8 May 1922 Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England |
| Died | 31 October 2009 (aged 87) Arnesby, Leicestershire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Businessman, car collector |
| Spouse(s) | Helena Morgenstern (m. 1946) Sheila Wheatcroft |
| Children | Kevin Wheatcroft and 6 others |
Frederick Bernard "Tom" Wheatcroft (8 May 1922 – 31 October 2009) was an English businessman and car collector. He made his fortune through building and construction, and was known for resurrecting the Donington Park motor racing circuit and founding the Donington Grand Prix Collection museum.
Frederick Bernard Wheatcroft was born in Castle Donington, Leicestershire, in 1922. Early in life he was nicknamed 'Tom-Tom' by an uncle, owing to his habit of repeatedly patting his stomach, and the name stuck with him for the rest of his life. Wheatcroft had only 20 months of formal schooling, and following the end of this he became an apprentice plasterer. However, he preferred to bicycle from his parents home in Leicester to Donington Park to watch pre-war motor racing. He was in attendance at the circuit during the 1937 and 1938 Donington Grand Prix races:
During World War II Wheatcroft served as a tank driver. He saw action in many theatres, including Madagascar, India and the Middle East, and was a part of the Allied invasion of Italy. Toward the end of the conflict he was invalided home after he was temporarily blinded by a nearby mortar explosion. Following the end of the war Wheatcroft returned to the construction industry as a labourer. When a storm caused significant damage to parts of Leicester he organised repairs.
Using the money made from this he funded the construction of two houses, and from there he rapidly built a thriving construction business, Bernard Wheatcroft Ltd. In 1946 he married Helena Morgenstern, known to her family as "Lenchen". Wheatcroft had always lived within a 30-mile radius of Castle Donington, had by his death had amassed an estimate fortune of £120 million, and was father to seven children.
Following on from his childhood passion for motor racing, after Wheatcroft's construction business started to provide a stable source of income he returned to visiting race events as a spectator. In 1964 he bought an elderly Ferrari 125 Formula One car, formerly owned and driven by Peter Whitehead. Despite having had its Ferrari V12 engine replaced by a Chevrolet Corvette V8 by the previous owner in Australia, Wheatcroft enjoyed driving the car at test sessions. The car sparked a buying spree and formed the first of what was to become a major collection of Grand Prix machinery. Over the following years Wheatcroft and his distinctive laugh – described by historian Doug Nye as "like a rusty truck failing to start" – became a familiar feature at race circuits around the world.
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