A letter from the Deputy Editor – June 2026

I can’t believe we are halfway through the year, having just passed the longest day. This of course reminded me of D-Day, the famous film, and the fact that our European trip this year was to the battlefields of WW1 which is covered in this edition.

Since I last wrote to you, Bluebird going back onto Coniston Water has come and gone. It did get up onto the plane on one occasion during the K7 Festival week, but unfortunately a couple of days before our visit.

The festival was years in the planning, but the event was dogged by various technical issues which the team had to deal with on a daily basis. No sooner was one technical issue solved, then another manifested itself.

However, thousands of people were able to get close to Bluebird and to see it on the water rather than sitting in the museum. On the water, it takes on a completely new stance and people see it for what it is – a British icon which broke several world water speed records while being piloted by its skipper Donald Campbell CBE.

The Coachmakers’ group was also able to get up close to the boat and met several personalities during the visit to Coniston. Assistant Nick Lyford has written a report on the trip, which everyone enjoyed.

On the speed record front, the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu has recently finished restoring Sir Henry Segrave’s 1,000hp car, which as you read this is in a container and on its way to the US. It will go on display at the Pebble Beach Concours, then the Petersen Automotive Museum, before travelling to Daytona Beach to celebrate the anniversary of its record-breaking run.

I was fortunate to be invited to the send-off and to see the car put into its shipping container for the trip to the West Coast and I include a picture to whet your appetite.

It won’t be driving at any record-breaking speed, but it will visit Daytona Speedway and will be on Daytona Beach on 27th March 2027, 100 years to the day that it broke the land speed record at 203mph.

The Slug, as it was affectionately called by those who worked on it at Sunbeam works, was an amazing piece of transport innovation just like the Elecy, a four-wheeled e-bike created by young engineer Tamara Ivancova, who is 25 years of age. You must read her story in this edition, which is truly inspiring, and I am sure Sir Henry Segrave would have recognised a kindred spirit in innovation.

Not losing sight of the fact that this all evolved from carriages, the Coachmakers enjoyed a superb day of carriage driving at the British Driving Society’s Annual Show at Smith’s Lawn, Windsor. We were represented by Senior Warden Mark Broadbent – Master-elect for our 350th year, Past Master Michael Kimber, and Immediate Past Master Stephen Fitz-Gerald. They were joined by Colonel Sir Toby Browne, the former Queen’s Equerry or ‘Silver Stick’ and his wife Lady Serena who judged the Concourse d’Elegance.

There is a huge amount of work going on across the Company to celebrate our 350th year, which starts in just a few weeks’ time. I commend you all to keep up to date with notifications as and when they come in, about events and banquets that you might attend during the following year.

The Master has made this point in his monthly communication and has reminded us once again of the importance of all Coachmakers attending at least one dinner a year, and other interesting events. It is these activities that not only enable us to make the charitable donations that we do, but also promote the fellowship and friendship we so cherish.

He reminds us all that there is one final livery dinner to take place of this year, which will be at Girdlers’ Hall on 16th July, a hall not often used by other Livery Companies as it is not available to hire. This is the Coaching Dinner that follows the Summer Court, where our coaching awards will be presented. The capacity is only 125 so early booking is advisable. Our guest speaker will be Rebecca Stephens MBE, the first British woman to climb Everest in 1993 and the following year the first British woman, and only the third in the world, to climb the ‘Seven Summits’.

The Master and his daughter Emily, who is Group Head of Marketing at Nyetimber, hosted a visit to the famous estate recently. The day was led by Emily, who communicated her depth of knowledge of the history of the Estate and the variety of the grapes grown. You can read about the visit in this latest edition.
During the summer there are lots of events coming up so do try and support them if you can.

I hope that you have a great summer and happy holidays

Deputy Editor David Barzilay