The Rover Entries
Car 44 British Army Motoring, Gt. Britain, Rover 2000TC, Major M. Bailey
Car 54 British Army Motoring, Gt. Britain, Rover 2000TC, Major J. Hemsley
Car 99 17/21st Lancers, Gt. Britain, Land Rover 2WD, Lt. M.G. Thompson
 | ||||
There were three Rover entries in the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon.
It was a comprehensive effort by the British Army with two Rover 2000TC's and one Land Rover two wheel drive entries.
Car 44 was driven by Major M. Bailey, car 54 driven by Major J. Hemsley and car 99 the Land Rover driven by Lt. M.G. Thompson.
All three vehicles were sponsored by the British Army.
Car 99 Two wheel drive Land Rover and Lt. M.G. Thompson.
Photo courtesy Brian Lemon
Car 54 British Army Motoring Gt. Britain Rover 2000TC Major J. Hemsley
Photo courtesy Daily Express Magazine
The suspension on the British Army Motoring Association's Rover 2000TC broke 10 miles from the nearest village in Turkey. Fred Preston, of the Royal Army Ordinance Corps, took the broken piece on a lorry to the village but could not find anyone who spoke English.
He eventually explained he wanted it welded, which was done. Afterwards Preston hitched a ride on the back of an Iranian's motor scooter to the car. "I've never had such a frightening ride in all my life," he said.
Alan Sawyer
Read Melvin Lewis' story of the 2wd Land Rover in the Marathon.
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
The rear nearside suspension then broke 48 miles from Kandahar in Afghanistan. The time 12.00 o'clock midnight, not a light in sight. Note this is entrant No 44. We transferred tools, spare tyres and personal equipment from the interior of the car and strapped it all onto the front end of the bonnet. We then took it in turns to lie between the bonnet and the "roo" bar in order to lift as much weight as possible from the back of the car. After carrying on in this manner for about 20 miles with the rear link "pinging" on the road we managed to flag down a passing bus full of tribesmen en route to Kandahar. I left Freddie to drive on slowly whilst I went ahead to get assistance in the city. This I managed to do with the assistance of the local police who arranged for a mechanic to make himself available to carry out the necessary repairs at the American Aid Workshops outside the city.
After the repairs had been effected we drove on into Kabul 4 minutes within our OTL allowance. Straight in and out across the Lataban Pass to Jelalabad.
There were no further problems until we were half way between Delhi and Bombay when the nearside rear link broke for the second time. We eventually arrived in Bombay and onto Fremantle.
At the restart in Australia we were fitted out with factory reinforced links specially flown out from the UK.
Story: Major Mike Bailey - Driver of Car 44 British Army Motoring Gt. Britain Rover 2000TC
Car 44 British Army Motoring Gt. Britain Rover 2000TC Major M. Bailey
Photo taken in Western Australia en-route to Lake King
Photo courtesy Sydney Telegraph and supplied by Major M. Bailey
