Warwick Wright

Warwick Wright was the son of West Midlands iron founder Joseph Wright who was involved in the building of the first railway in India and later became the co-founder of Head and Wright, which became one of the leading iron works on Teesside in the north-east of England. Warwick was a motor car and aeroplane pioneer at the turn of the 20th century. He raced on the roads of the Isle of Man and at Blackpool before the opening of Brooklands in 1907 when he took part in the very first meeting and, driving a Darracq, came close to winning the principal race of the day, The Montagu Cup, but came to a halt on the 10th of 11 laps when leading the race. The following year he took part in the French Grand Prix at Dieppe, and also in 1908 he drove the motor boat Sea Dog in the 6-8 metres C-Class at the Olympic Games. Sadly, despite pushing the other entrant Gyrinus hard, a mechanical fault caused Wright and Sea Dog to abandon the race.

Wright became something of a celebrity across Europe and mixed with some rich and famous people. He rode on the Cresta Run with such people as Lord Brabazon and King Albert of Belgium. He was also reported to have been with his former partner and fellow racing driver Huntley Walker when Walker won £12,000 at the tables in 1909 and became known as “The man who broke the bank at Monte-Carlo”.

Having enjoyed success at automobile racing and motorboating, Wright and his brother Howard had the distinction of being responsible for some of the first flights in Britain in 1910, a few years after their famous American namesake, achieved the first powered flight at Kitty Hawk.

In 1916 Warwick joined the Royal Naval Air Services as a flyer and served in Belgium and quickly rose through the ranks before leaving with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was mentioned in dispatches and was honoured with the D.S.O. in 1918. He re-enlisted in the RNVR in World War II and won a bar to add to his D.S.O.

The name Warwick Wright is synonymous with selling high-class motor cars in Central London after establishing Warwick Wright Limited in 1906. Based in New Bond Street they sold mostly Sunbeam, Talbot and Darracq marques, and in 1910 he acquired the UK rights to the Van Den Plas name. However, by the mid-1930’s the business was in difficulty and was taken over by Rootes. The Warwick Wright Limited name lived on for many years after its founder’s death in the summer of 1945.