Brian Edmund "Bug" Lewis, 2nd Baron Essendon (7 December 1903 – 13 July 1978), was a British racing driver, company director, baronet and peer.

Biography

Born in Edmonton, Middlesex, Lewis was the only son of the first Lord Essendon, the shipping magnate, by his wife Eleanor (died 1967), daughter of R. H. Harrison of West Hartlepool. In 1938, Lewis married Mary Duffil, widow of Albert Duffil, daughter of G. W. Booker of Los Angeles.

Educated at Malvern,Cricket Archive profile of Brian Lewis. www.acscricket.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010. and Pembroke College, Cambridge, Lewis was a Director of Furness WithyVIP Voyagers II (9 March 2009). R. M. S. Queen Mary: Vintage news about the stateliest ship afloat. (the family shipping firm), Barry Aikman Travel Ltd and Godfrey Davis & Co Ltd.

Lewis raced Frazer Nashes in England in the 1920s and entered a private Maserati 8CM at the Swiss Grand Prix 1935. As The Times put it in 1978: 'Along with a distinguished band that included Lord Howe, Sir Henry Birkin, and the Earl of March, later the Duke of Richmond, he was one of a bunch of titled and talented amateurs who did much for the image of British motor racing in the 1920s and 1930s, albeit mainly at the wheel of foreign cars.'

In 1930, along with noted pilot Charles Barnard, Lewis founded Brian Lewis and C.D. Barnard Ltd as aircraft dealers, becoming the main UK agent for de Havilland. In 1931 the company became Brian Lewis and Company Ltd and merged with Selfridges Aviation Department, declaring itself as “The largest retailers in the world”. Based at Heston Aerodrome in Middlesex, the company expanded to Hooton Park Aerodrome, Liverpool and later to Renfrew Airport, Glasgow and Ipswich. It later moved from Heston to Elstree Aerodrome, then known as Aldenham.

In the late 1930s, Lewis was a motoring correspondent of the News Chronicle and a President of the Guild of Motoring Writers.

Lord Essendon succeeded his father in the peerage and barony in 1944. His main recreation was golf. He was a member of the Bath Club in London.

Lewis lived in London and at Avenue Eglantine 5, Lausanne, Switzerland. He died in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Motorsports career results

Third in the 1930 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Talbot. Third in the 1932 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Talbot. Third in the 1933 24 Hours of Le Mans in an Alfa Romeo. First in the 1933 Mannin Moar in an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza. Sixth in the 1933 Nice Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza. First in the 1934 Mannin Moar in an Alfa Romeo Tipo B. First in the 1935 Mannin Moar in a Bugatti T59. Did not finish the 1935 Nice Grand Prix in a Maserati 8C. Did not finish the 1935 Swiss Grand Prix in a Maserati 8CM. Not classified in the 1935 Donington Grand Prix in a Riley. 15th in the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup in an ERA B-Type.

European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pts 1931 Earl Howe Bugatti T51 Bugatti 2.3 L8 ITA FRA12 — Sir Henry Birkin Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 Alfa Romeo 2.3 L8 BEL4 1935 Earl Howe Maserati 8CM Maserati 3.0 L8 MON FRA BEL GER SUIRet ITA ESP 32nd 55 Notes – Lewis was co-driver with Howe at the French GP and with Birkin at the Belgian GP, therefore rules excluded him from the championship.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1929 Fox & Nichol Tim Rose-Richards Lagonda OH 2.0 29 DNF DNF 1930 Fox & Nichol Hugh Eaton Talbot AO90 3.0 162 3rd 1st 1931 Fox & Nichol Johnny Hindmarsh Talbot AV105 3.0 132 DNF DNF 1932 A. W. Fox Tim Rose-Richards Talbot AV105 3.0 180 3rd 3rd 1933 A. W. Fox Tim Rose-Richards Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 3.0 225 3rd 3rd 1934 A. W. Fox Johnny Hindmarsh Singer Le Mans 1½ Litre 1.5 195 7th 3rd 1935 Earl Howe Earl Howe Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 LM 3.0 129 DNF DNF

References

The Times, 19 July 1978. Obituary, page 19.

External links

Cricket Archive profile of Brian Lewis. www.acscricket.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010. Historic Racing profile of Brian Lewis. www.historicracing.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010. List of famous students at Pembroke College, Cambridge : Brian Lewis, 2nd Baron Essendon www.listaba.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010. "historicracing.com: 188 - Fitted out in a nice bespoke suit and tie here we find 'Bug' ready to tackle the outer circuit at Brooklands in 1930." www.Facebook.com. Retrieved 3 May 2010.