Jill Scott (racing driver)

Jill Scott (21 May 1903 – 1974) was a British racing driver and aviator. She was described as "swashbuckling" and was a distinctive figure in motor racing, dressed in cherry-red from head-to-toe whenever she appeared at the race track.^[1]

Early life

She was born Eileen May Fountain on 21 May 1903 at Birthwaite Hall in Darton, near Barnsley, Yorkshire, to Minnie Eveline (née Longley) and Joseph Fountain, a family made wealthy from their coal businesses.^[1]^[2]

Racing career

Along with her first husband, William Berkeley "Bummer" Scott, she lived in a large house Grasmere, in Old Byfleet^[3] near the Brooklands race track in Surrey, England, and the couple were early and enthusiastic collectors of automobiles.^[2] They bought their first Sunbeam Indianapolis shortly after their marriage and quickly added several Bugattis to their collection.^[2] Their cars all wore a distinctive black livery with emerald green wheels, and the couple collected frequent trophies racing their Bugattis at the nearby track.^[2]^[4] Following the death of J. G. Parry-Thomas, they bought two of his cars, one of which, the 2-litre 1924-type Grand Prix Sunbeam,^[5] Scott used to exceed 120 miles-per-hour on the Brooklands track, (a lap at 120.88 m.p.h.) in September 1928. She was the woman to do so and earned the right to display a coveted British Automobile Racing Club badge acknowledging the achievement.^[2]^[1]^[6] In 1928 she became the first woman elected to the British Racing Drivers' Club.^[1]

She earned her pilot's licence (No. 8554) on 16 April 1929 in an Avro Avian Cirrus II at Brooklands School of Flying.^[7] Her 1938 portrait by Yevonde is on display at the National Portrait Gallery.^[8]

Personal life

Jill and William Scott married on 21 November 1925^[9] and had a daughter, Sheila, who attended boarding schools and Cheltenham Ladies' College, and then Cambridge University.^[1]

In 1930 she divorced William and married another driver, Ernest Mortimer Thomas, who was also a former RAF pilot.^[2]^[1] They had raced together previously.^[10] Scott herself had learned to fly a few years earlier, and operated an Avro Avian.^[2]^[1] She and her new husband continued to race at Brooklands for many years, her in an Alfa Romeo and him in a Frazer Nash.^[2]

Scott died in 1974. Thomas died a few months later.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Williams, Jean (2014). A Contemporary History of Women's Sport, Part One: Sporting Women, 1850-1960. Taylor & Francis. pp. 180–181. ISBN 9781317746669. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Bouzanquet, Jean François (2009). Fast Ladies: Female Racing Drivers 1888 to 1970. Veloce Publishing. p. 29. ISBN 9781845842253. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
^ "Bonhams : The ex W.B. 'Bummer' Scott Team Car specification,1929 Bentley 4 1/2 litre Le Mans Sports Four Seater Chassis no. NX 3451 Engine no. XF 3507". www.bonhams.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ Boddy, Bill (December 1976). "The racing cars of W.B. Scott". Motor Sport. 52 (12): 1459, 1462–1464. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
^ "The racing cars of W.B. Scott". Motor Sport Magazine. 7 July 2014. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ "Fast Women". Goodwood. Spring 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
^ "Great Britain, Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificates, 1910-1950". www.ancestry.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ "Jill Scott - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ "Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938". www.ancestry.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ Harris-Gardiner, Rachel (14 September 2015). "Speedqueens: Jill Scott-Thomas". Speedqueens. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.

External links

Portraits of Jill Scott at the National Portrait Gallery, London

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[chws-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Williams, Jean (2014). A Contemporary History of Women's Sport, Part One: Sporting Women, 1850-1960. Taylor & Francis. pp. 180–181. ISBN 9781317746669. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.

[fl-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Bouzanquet, Jean François (2009). Fast Ladies: Female Racing Drivers 1888 to 1970. Veloce Publishing. p. 29. ISBN 9781845842253. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.

[3] "Bonhams : The ex W.B. 'Bummer' Scott Team Car specification,1929 Bentley 4 1/2 litre Le Mans Sports Four Seater Chassis no. NX 3451 Engine no. XF 3507". www.bonhams.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.

[boddy-4] Boddy, Bill (December 1976). "The racing cars of W.B. Scott". Motor Sport. 52 (12): 1459, 1462–1464. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.

[5] "The racing cars of W.B. Scott". Motor Sport Magazine. 7 July 2014. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.

[goodwood-6] "Fast Women". Goodwood. Spring 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.

[7] "Great Britain, Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificates, 1910-1950". www.ancestry.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.

[8] "Jill Scott - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.

[9] "Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938". www.ancestry.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.

[10] Harris-Gardiner, Rachel (14 September 2015). "Speedqueens: Jill Scott-Thomas". Speedqueens. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.

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