| Nationality | British |
|---|---|
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Participating years | 1925 – 1928, 1930, 1933 |
| Teams | Sunbeam Bentley Motors Ltd. Alvis Aston Martin Ltd. |
| Best finish | 1st (1927) |
| Class wins | 2 (1925, 1927) |
Sydney Charles Houghton "Sammy" Davis (9 January 1887, London – 9 January 1981, Guildford) was a British racing motorist, journalist and clubman.
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Houghton was born in South Kensington, London on 9 January 1887, the son of Edwin and Georgina Houghton, his father was a Merchant and Tea importer. He was educated at Westminster School and University College London before becoming an apprentice with the Daimler Company.[1] Houghton became a technical illustrator with the Automobile Engineer and was by 1912 also a writer and sub-editor.[1] At the start of the First World War he joined the Royal Naval Air Service and served in France with armoured car section.[1] Following his demobilisation he became sports editor of The Autocar although he also served in the Second World War in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.[1]
While best known as Sports Editor of The Autocar, writing under the pen-name Casque (French for helmet), Sammy Davis also competed in many forms of motor racing in the 1920s. He won many awards in the popular trials competitions of the day. In 1925 Davis finished second at Le Mans with co-driver Jean Chassagne in a Sunbeam 3-litre, covering 1,343.2 miles in the 24 hours,[2] some 45 miles behind the winner.[3] On 7 May 1927 Davis finished second in the Essex Car Club Six Hour race at Brooklands on an Alvis.[4]
Davis became a member of the famous Bentley Boys of the late 1920s. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans outright in 1927. Partnered with Dr. Benjafield, they covered 1,472.527 miles in the twenty-four hours at an average speed of 61.354 m.p.h.[5] Motor Sport reported: "The victory, in spite of its accident of the crippled 3-litre Bentley driven by J.D. Benjafield and S.C.H. Davis, will always remain an epic, and even if the competition was not as keen as in the past, it is great thing to have won a race with a car which was damaged in the early part of the event." [6] In 1928 he finished ninth overall at Le Mans on a 1½-litre front-wheel-drive Alvis.[7]
In 1929 Davis finished second overall, and class winner, in the Brooklands Double Twelve on a 4,398 c.c. Bentley.[8] He finished second again in 1930 on a 5,597 c.c. Bentley.[9] At Le Mans in 1930 he met with misfortune: "Another Bentley driver, Davis, was forced to retire through a stone being thrown up by the car ahead, breaking his goggles. It is feared that he will lose an eye." [10] On 4 October 1930 Davis was partnered with the Earl of March in an Austin Seven and they won the B.R.D.C. 500-mile race at Brooklands outright.[11] He had a spectacular accident in an Invicta S-type at Brooklands in 1931.[12] In 1933 he finished ninth at Le Mans in an Aston Martin.
On 15 April 1937 Sammy Davis drove a road-equipped Frazer-Nash-B.M.W. round Brooklands, covering more than 100 miles in an hour, at an average speed of 102.22 m.p.h.[13]
He was one of the founders of the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain in 1930, and the first Vice-President of the Aston Martin Owners Club in 1935, designing the Aston Martin "wings" badge. After the war, he did much to promote the revival of motorsport in Britain, both as Vice-President of the Vintage Sports-Car Club and as President of the new 500 Club (later the Half Litre Car Club). He was a committee member of the BRDC.[14] He also served on the Competitions Committee of the Royal Automobile Club, the governing body of motor sport in the United Kingdom.[15]
Sammy lived his later years in Guildford, never losing his boyish enthusiasm for life. He was a great storyteller and made a modest living writing articles and painting oils. He was an excellent driver and even as his years advanced he trained police drivers at Hendon. He owned a white Bug-eyed Sprite, and an 1897 Léon Bollée tricar, called "Beelzebub," that he took on the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.[16] He had completed the London-Brighton course in 1930 in the Léon Bollée in a time of 3hrs 20mins 0secs at an average speed of 17.17 m.p.h.[17] He died in a fire in his home in Guildford on his 94th birthday[1], likely caused by his ever-present smouldering pipe.
His son Colin Davis also became a driver.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert Bloch André Rossignol |
Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1927 with: Dr. Dudley Benjafield |
Succeeded by Woolf Barnato Bernard Rubin |