Melvin Lewis tells his story
ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME
By Trooper Melvin Lewis (Car 99)
As a 20 year old English soldier serving with the 17th / 21st Lancers in Germany, I was selected as one of a crew of four to drive a 2 wheel drive (2WD) Land Rover in the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon. Other crew members were Lt. Christopher Marriott, Cpl. Charles Skelton, and Lt. Gavin Thompson - whose idea it was to form a crew to enter the Marathon.
L to R. Gavin Thompson, Christopher Marriott, Melvin Lewis, Charles Skelton
Photos courtesy Melvin Lewis
Our crew had to take rough country driving, training, along with long hours behind the wheel, as well as physical training. As for myself, I was very fit having just returned to my Regiment from a stint with the Parachute Regiment, so I was both mentally and physically fit, as we all were for the journey ahead.
Our vehicle was a 2WD Land Rover because one of the rules of the Marathon was it only allowed 2 wheel drive vehicles to enter. On the front of the Land Rover we had a winch attached in case we had to pull ourselves out of any tricky situations. There were racing seats in the front, with a Chieftain tank cooker in between the driver and navigator's seat. It was strategically situated so that we could make hot drinks, soups etc. while on the move. Below the cooker and to the front, was a small but efficient filing system. This filing system had all our maps and currency, all in order, as we would need them when travelling through the many different countries.
In the back we had two passenger seats out of a VC10 aircraft, with full harnesses. When we were strapped in it didn't matter how much our vehicle bumped and bounced around, we could (try) to sleep as best we could in this sort of situation. We also had small cabinets inside the vehicle that stored our food rations, which were dry rations, plenty of water and very limited space for socks underwear, etc. (not necessarily in the same compartment). Of course we had the mandatory, large and infamous Roo-bar on the front to protect our lights - just in case of a kangaroo strike.
We left the start at Crystal Palace to the many thousands of cheering and excited spectators. All the way to Dover, they lined the route. I remember having all sorts of mixed feelings. One thought going through my mind was "I hope I am not the one to let us down on this one".
We set off on the ferry from Dover to Calais and we were soon on our way through Europe. I remember when we left Calais there was a thick fog, it was my turn to drive and Charles was the navigator. As soon as we left Calais, the roads were very winding and with the thick fog, I decided to take it steady. Charles kept reminding me that we must keep our speed up or we would be liable for penalty points. He suggested that because of the thick fog I should follow the white lines in the centre of the road and keep the speed up. For some miles I followed his advice but suddenly the white lines stopped on a bend in the road of course, and with the speed we were travelling at we went hurtling into a ditch.
We just sat there in the Land Rover for a few moments and my thoughts were, "Oh my God, this is the end", and we were only still in France. Fortunately we managed to get out of the ditch and carry on. There was a silence from the rest of the crew - Christopher and Gavin, but it was short-lived thankfully. I thought to myself "well that's my clanger (mistake) out of the way, I wonder which one of us will drop the next one".
From there on for some time it was pretty uneventful. All the driving and navigating change-overs went very well and we were all getting on extremely well together considering emotions can sometimes get tense in such a small and confined space. The driving and navigating through Italy, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria was much as we expected, although there were plenty of spectators who would sometimes try and get a little too close just to see what we looked like. I didn't suppose they realised that our plan was to get through their countries as quickly and as safely as possible.
As we entered Istanbul and saw the Bosporus, we all cheered because we had reached what we called the first 25% of the Marathon, although only a few miles before, I was thinking how exhausted we all were but all that seemed to disappear. It seemed within seconds of that and we were on the ferry. It was good bye to Europe and hello Asia and let's get to Bombay for the 50% mark.
On our arrival in Turkey the roads or tracks as we began to call them were really dodgy and we had a large problem with the children throwing large stones at us. We had an air horn on the Land Rover so when we thought we were about to be 'attacked' we would blast it at them, but this proved no deterrent at all and we came to the conclusion that they must all be deaf as well as stupid.
Our next problem was the decision which of the routes to take between Sivas to Erzincan, the south route or the northern route? We chose the southern route which was a little longer but not quite as hazardous. Still there was plenty of loose gravel on the steep gradients to slide on and besides that, our travelling on this road was during the night. This eeriness was playing tricks on me because I was seeing things in the tracks, like felled trees and when I mentioned this to the others, I was relegated into one of the rear seats and 'harnessed' in for a few hours sleep and wished 'goodnight' by the others.
Having got through that ordeal without incident, it was from Teheran to Kabul that yet another decision had to be made. North over the Elburz Mountains or South across the desert? Well our minds were made up for us. It had to be North over the mountains because the southern route was said to be unpassable due to flood damage. This was, no doubt, one of the most difficult stages, but with very much care and attention and keeping our speed down, we managed to come out of it unscathed - this could not be said for everyone else. Once over the Elburz Mountains it was on to Kabul and after the terrain we had previously encountered this should be a doddle.
Car 99 - 2 Wheel Drive Land Rover
I might just say - moving off the track for a moment (pardon the pun), we did see many of our other competitors en-route and there seemed to be a lot of camaraderie. We did have time to stop and chat from time to time, albeit for short moments and even give assistance to each other if required. I really did think at the beginning of the Marathon that there would be a lot of 'them and us', but surprisingly there was none at all. While we were not one of the fastest vehicles, as our times proved, and also we were not out to impress anyone, our mission was to test out our Land Rover, but most of all to test ourselves and it seemed to be working out just fine. Meanwhile, back on the road, we arrived in Kabul.
To my amazement, Kabul was not as large as I thought it would be, but it was certainly a very different world to what we were used to. For me, I had hoped that one of the highlights would be the famous north-west frontier and the Khyber Pass.
As we approached the Khyber Pass we knew time was getting on and we had to hurry up, as the Pass is only open between dawn and dusk. Once on the Pass, it was very daunting. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes with passengers hanging for dear life, on so called buses, as they swerved around the bends with a long drop into the abyss below. Overtaking? You could do it at your peril. We did, but I remember thinking "what a game of Russian Roulette". We all enjoyed a sense of relief when we made it into Pakistan. The roads there seemed very narrow. One vehicle width only, with lots of potholes and many people on the roads with their cows.
The views of Kashmir and the Zaskar Mountains were incredible. These pictures will stay in our memories forever.
We crossed into India at a place called Ganda Singh Swala. By this time we were very, very tired but I don't know, something inside keeps pushing you on and on. Maybe it was because Bombay was a lot closer to us than London.
One evening when I was driving on a very dark unlit so called road, everything seemed to be clear ahead when suddenly right in front of us appeared a bullock cart with the bullock driver asleep on top of the cart. Normally these bullock carts have a light on the rear, but on this occasion there was no light. While trying to avoid a collision, I clipped a corner of the cart and off it went, careering into a gully. We stopped to see if the driver and bullock were both OK. The cart was slightly leaning to one side and the bullock seemed to be rather quiet. Naturally the old driver could hardly stop waffling while trying to draw breath. He was throwing his arms about wildly and we didn't want to get into a long drawn out battle with him when we knew he must be OK for him to be behaving as he was. We pulled out a pack of 200 cigarettes to offer him as compensation. Suddenly, as an act from Allah, he grabbed the cigarettes and gestured that he was fine and we should continue on our journey. We were so glad it was not more serious, but whoever suggested bringing the cigarettes deserved an Oscar.
Our journey seemed to go on and on. Now bad roads, then good roads, night driving, many many people, always that element of danger and then before we knew it, we were coming into Bombay. We drove down to the Port area where we would leave our vehicle to be thoroughly cleaned of dirt etc. (quarantined for Australia) and ready for loading on the S.S. Chusan. We were all ready for a long sleep and we knew we must have smelled awful but once in our hotel we all just flaked out, the hot baths would just have to wait.
We had three days to rest and recuperate, which we did by visiting the sights of Bombay. From snake charmers to the Indian rope trick, it was all fascinating stuff and I do believe that the locals were very interested in us, especially where the American dollar was concerned.
With nearly 7,000 miles (12,000 klms) behind us, we were 50% up. We now had nine days on the boat to Fremantle, Australia with a stop over in Colombo. We didn't do very much on the Chusan but we mixed with the other drivers and met many nice passengers. But after a few days I think we just wanted to get back on terra firma and finish the other 50% of the Marathon.
I was amazed when we docked at Fremantle, I thought it seemed very basic for a port. Perth itself was a very modern capital city with skyscrapers, modern highways and very, very, clean. We were ready once again, all lined up at Gloucester Park Trotting Track. We had done our maintenance checks and were ready to go to our first Australian checkpoint, the old mining town of Youanmi (pronounced you and me), 350 miles from Perth.
It was very rugged indeed, with loads of sand and dust, not to mention the heat. Also we were very aware of kangaroos because we had heard how much damage they could cause if you ran into one and, at this stage, we didn't want any problems - we were all very determined to make it to Sydney.
At Marvel Loch we came to a road that was only supposed to be a crossroad. There were eight roads intersecting at this point. The pace notes said turn right - my question was 'which right?'. Anyway, after a few minutes of deliberating, we decided to take one of the 'tracks' to the right. With more luck than judgement, which you sometimes need, our decision was correct and it got us to Lake King (our destination).
Then on to the Nullarbor. How can you describe the Nullarbor? It goes on and on and on and up and down and up and down for all those miles. Maybe a sighting of the odd Aborigine standing on one leg and overtaking the rare road-train (if you could or dare). Then it was on to Ceduna (the end of the Nullarbor) then Quorn, Blinman and Mingary. While I remember, there was one very large rock on the side of this track on a very sharp bend and when we came towards it I noticed it was multi-coloured (had we found a new variety of opal)? No it was where most of the other cars had scraped it while skidding around that bend. I wonder if it is still there today?
From Mingary to Menindee, then Gunbar to Omeo, we were fast approaching Sydney. As we entered the outer suburbs, it was very dark as we were later than most of the other entrants. We entered Warwick Farm to the still flashing cameras and we were presented with a large bottle of champagne which we consumed thirstily. However we sat there for quite a long time - I suppose we felt deflated but at the same time - very proud that we had achieved finishing the Marathon.
We had driven 10,000 miles in ten days. It's only now when I think back to those days, it was a Journey of A Lifetime and we had achieved our 100%.
We had a wonderful time in Sydney and made many friends with many people. I found Australians genuine and very open people. To me they were all 'fair dinkum'.
Our journey did not end in Australia however. The precious Land Rover went to America by ship. We flew there then drove across America. The Land Rover took us all around the world with only 2 punctures and NO oil change. Once we arrived in New York, we flew back to England - never to see that Land Rover again but I know one thing; I will never forget what a wonderful workhorse that Land Rover had been.
By Melvin Lewis - London to Sydney crew member. Entrant Car No. 99
1st February 2002
SS Chusan passage ticket to Fremantle
Photo courtesy Melvin Lewis
Official licence and ID for the Marathon
Photo courtesy Melvin Lewis
 | ||||
| ||||
Home I A Tale Of Two Cities I How It All Began I The Entrants I The Rules I Timetable I The Route I Their Story I Photo Albums
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ladies I How They Finished I BMC I Ford I Holden I Other Marques I Site Map I Memorabilia I Credits/About Us I Links
Home I A Tale Of Two Cities I How It All Began I The Entrants I The Rules I Timetable I The Route I Their Story I Photo Albums
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ladies I How They Finished I BMC I Ford I Holden I Other Marques I Site Map I Memorabilia I Credits/About Us I Links
