Racing driver. Sir Henry Ralph Stanley 'Tim' Birkin, Bt, was born into a wealthy Nottingham lace making family. During World War I, he served in the Royal Flying Corps in Palestine where he caught malaria, an illness which would stay with him throughout his short life. He was short in stature and had a pronounced stammer, yet was a hit with the ladies. Against the wishes of his family, he took up motor racing, and became one of the famous "Bentley Boys". The cost of maintaining this team of blower Bentleys was bankrolled by the Hon. Dorothy Paget, a wealthy race horse owner. At one time he held the Outright Lap Record at Brooklands at 137.96mph. With the depression, the cost of racing became so expensive that Mrs Paget withdrew her support, and Birkin had to finance his sport on his own. In 1933 he bought a new Maserati and came 3rd in the Tripoli GP, during which he burned his forearm on the hot exhaust. When he returned to the UK, he neglected this wound which turned septic. He was taken to the Countess Carnavon Nursing Home but a combination of the septicemia and the malaria resulted in him passing away at the age of 36. One of the best known racers of his day had died prematurely.
Racing driver. Sir Henry Ralph Stanley 'Tim' Birkin, Bt, was born into a wealthy Nottingham lace making family. During World War I, he served in the Royal Flying Corps in Palestine where he caught malaria, an illness which would stay with him throughout his short life. He was short in stature and had a pronounced stammer, yet was a hit with the ladies. Against the wishes of his family, he took up motor racing, and became one of the famous "Bentley Boys". The cost of maintaining this team of blower Bentleys was bankrolled by the Hon. Dorothy Paget, a wealthy race horse owner. At one time he held the Outright Lap Record at Brooklands at 137.96mph. With the depression, the cost of racing became so expensive that Mrs Paget withdrew her support, and Birkin had to finance his sport on his own. In 1933 he bought a new Maserati and came 3rd in the Tripoli GP, during which he burned his forearm on the hot exhaust. When he returned to the UK, he neglected this wound which turned septic. He was taken to the Countess Carnavon Nursing Home but a combination of the septicemia and the malaria resulted in him passing away at the age of 36. One of the best known racers of his day had died prematurely.
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