From South Australia to West Wales, via Surrey

For many years Mrs Special has liked nothing more than visiting antique shops and, what she refers to as ‘tat shops’. But we all know that old adage ‘you never know what you might find’ can apply.

And that’s the case with this competitor’s medallion that she unearthed, probably in the early 1990s, in a shop in either Surrey or Sussex – she can’t remember which county it was.

And, for a good few years, the medallion has sat in a cabinet at Special HQ, alongside numerous old Corgi, Dinky and Matchbox cars. Typically, familiarity means it was overlooked: a wet afternoon changed that approach when it was given a closer examination, which in turn started enquiries in the Southern Hemisphere and then back to the UK.

One side of the medal features a single seater car while the other side – arguably the more interesting – offered enough information to pique The Special’s interest and dig a little further.

The reverse side is engraved with:

SCC of SA Vintage Section: Colingrove Hill Climb 11/9/66. Winner PVT Sports/Touring Class, 44.6 secs. R. Smith Darracq

Surely that was enough to get to fill in the gaps? It was, thanks to Rob Bartholomaeus of the Sporting Car Club of South Australia’s library and colleague Sandra Brooker. Within 48 hours of our initial email Rob supplied us with the results published in the club’s ‘Wheelspin’ magazine and a photograph of the car at that event.

Rob told us Ron Smith moved to the UK and brought the car with him – if anyone can bring us more up-to-date we’d love to do a follow-up.