Brooklands Stories: Raymond Mays

Raymond Mays (1899 – 1980) was a racing driver and entrepreneur who played an instrumental role in transforming British motorsport.  

Born 1st August 1899, Mays grew up surrounded by cars. His father was a motoring enthusiast who entered local speed trials and hill climbs and would let Mays sit behind the wheel of his cars. In his autobiography Split Seconds Mays recalled designing cars with his friends from a young age, he also attended motorsport events and collected the autographs of the competitors.  

Mays attended Brooklands with his father in the 1910s, arriving at race days early so that he had time to watch the cars and drivers getting ready in the Paddock.  

It was at Brooklands that Mays later stated he saw newspapers with the headline “War” in 1914. Mays was too young to join up at the outbreak of the First World War however he served later in the Grenadier Guards, returning to England in 1919.  

While studying at Cambridge Mays got a car, a Speed Model Hillman. He worked with his former school friend, and future engineer, Amherst Villiers to modify the car which he named “Quicksilver”. It was in this car that Mays achieved the fastest time of the day at the University’s Automobile Club hill climb. After a childhood of designing prop cars and attending races, Mays was starting his own career in motorsport.  

In 1921 Mays travelled in his Hillman to Brooklands. Working with Villiers he managed to increase the car’s speed from 56mph to 80mph. Mays won his first race and came second in the next one. That summer Mays and Villiers travelled to many speed trials and hill climbs, testing out the Hillman and winning several awards. 

Mays then competed in a Brescia Bugatti. By this point he was a well-known name in motorsport, winning many races and setting hill climb records. 

In 1933 Mays co-founded English Racing Automobiles (ERA) at his home in Bourne, Lincolnshire. He dreamed of not only being a racing driver, but of creating a car which would be able to compete on the world stage. The first ERA car was revealed at Brooklands in 1934. 

After the Second World War Mays wanted to create a British Grand Prix car. In 1947 he co-founded British Racing Motors (BRM). BRM would go on to win 17 Grand Prix races.  

Mays retired from motorsport in 1950, having competed for over three decades. He remained a well-known figure in the sport, publishing books, and being interviewed about his life and career. One element of his life he did not comment on were his partners. Mays never commented on his sexuality, likely because for much of his life homosexuality was criminalised, however his relationships with men were widely known amongst his close friends and colleagues. Today Mays is celebrated as a successful driver and entrepreneur, and is remembered as one of the earliest LGBTQ+ figures in motorsport.  

This article is part of the Brooklands Stories Uncovered project, our National Lottery Heritage Fund project to share our lesser-known LGBTQ+ history at Brooklands.