PERRY ROE - A VERY SPECIAL FRIEND. We moved from the Cotswolds’ area to Ottery St. Mary in February 2004 and settled into sorting out a new house and garden. Between house jobs, various motor sport events were being fitted in. Most of these were in connection with Quinton Motor Club in Birmingham. I have to admit, it was 1959 when I first joined Q.M.C. as one of the founder members. Hilary joined some years later in 1963 and we have both remained full active members of the club since. That is regardless of where we were living - it is only 150 miles to go to a club night - a little further than to Exeter’s meetings. Back in Ottery, one of our neighbours, Nick Rosen, had spotted our nocturnal habits and enquired what we were doing, leaving the house at 05.00 hours and not returning till after midnight. It took some careful explaining, for whilst Nick is a very active Scout Leader, he was not into motor sport at all, but was of course interested in the map side of our sport. Some weeks later, in the summer of 2004, there was a knock at our front door and there was a person not known to us standing there. The conversation that followed went something like this. “Hi, I am Perry Roe. Nick Rosen tells me that you and your wife are into rallying.” (Perry’s son, Sion, is a member of the Ottery St. Mary Cubs and that’s how the grapevine had worked.) “Can I come in and have a chat about Exeter Motor Club?” I replied, “Well, yes, at some time, but we have got visitors for dinner at present.” Perry’s reply was, “Well, it will not take too long.” I thought this man is not going to put off easily, so he was invited in. In true Perry fashion, off came his shoes and he joined us at the table, taking up the spare chair, whilst consuming a beer. Perry wanted to know our background in motor sport and it was soon very evident we had a lot of common ground with road rallying, especially in Wales. Perry had competed on a lot of events in North Wales whilst he was a member of Caernarvon and Anglesey Motor Club and most of my road events were in Wales. “I do not want to hold up your meal, but what are you doing next Thursday evening?” said Perry. Quick check of the calendar and we were free. “O.K., I will pick you up for the next Exeter meeting then. We are desperate to get some new members to join the club.” Despite our protests of all the work a new house requires and already being a member of another motor club, this very persuasive guy was not going to be put off. After Perry had left, we and our visitors all agreed how refreshing it was to find a person who was so enthusiastic about his chosen sport and, at the appointed hour the following Thursday, we were transported to the Good Knight Inn by our chauffeur Perry and it was soon quite clear he was not only a good navigator, but also a very accomplished driver. The whole journey was just taken up with rally talk and we both felt that we were going to get on well together. The meeting went well and, although only a small number of members were present, they all seemed to be very keen on what they were organising. On the journey home, Perry enquired, “Well, what do you think then? Will you join the club?” We asked for some time to mull things over and resolve whether we had time for another motor club. Some days later, that same persistent person was back on our doorstep - this time with a membership application form to be filled in. “Please come and join us!” pleaded Perry. “We need people with your experience.” We weakened and it was soon time for another meeting at Cheriton Bishop, where again we were made very welcome. Due to holiday commitments, we missed the next club night, but at the following meeting we discovered we were now both council members of the Club. We suspect a certain person had some input into this arrangement. The next request from Perry was, “Can you marshal on the October 2004 12-car rally that I am organising? It is all very local and not a lot of travelling is involved.” Our information arrived some days before the rally and our duties were two controls, one of which would involve possible give way penalties. Quite simple we thought. As the controls were very near to home, a daylight look at the sites was made. The night of the event came and we made our way to the start at Bowd Inn. Here we met the other members of the Roe family - the children also very keen on motor sport. Perry was very busy with a full entry and he soon drafted me in to help with paperwork. If I remember rightly, the comment was, “You know what you are doing with entries - I will leave you to it, whilst I sort out the marshals.” To help with the controls we had to man, we had enlisted the help of another Claremont Field’s resident, Jason Priest. Jason was also involved with the Scouts and known to Perry. Here was the possibility of another new member to the Club. We set up our first control on the outskirts of Ottery and waited for the first car to arrive. At last, headlights were seen - but from the wrong direction! The competitor stopped and was given a ‘wrong approach’. Several other cars followed, with the same mistake being made. One of the last competitors to arrive said we were in the wrong place and he knew the area like the back of his hand. This started the grey matter working - were the competitors right or were we? Jason made a careful check of the reference and we were on the wrong road! There were two roads about 100 metres apart and I had chosen the wrong one! Now this is a serious situation - we had been entrusted to do a good job and made the worst possible cock-up. This is where local knowledge can catch you out - you think you know your own patch but it is there waiting to bite you back. Whilst driving to the next control, we had time to reflect on next course of action. Do we ignore our mistake or come clean at the finish control? Consensus of our crew was that Perry must be told. How was I going to do this, spoiling his rally on our first night out? We shall never be asked again. We set up the second time control and were met by Chris Elston, who was out taking photographs, so with a bit of luck we had got this one right. The first car to arrive was Perry and Sion, so hands up to what had gone on before. We were expecting the worst, but, in true Perry fashion, we were told not to worry - these things happen in motor sport. Back at the finish pub, Perry was still speaking to us, so things were not too bad and he even bought us a drink and thanked us for our help. If I had been the organiser, I would have found it hard to be that nice to a marshalling crew who had made such a big mistake, but that was the type of person Perry was. Due to my seasonal work in November and December, we missed a few meetings at the club and did not catch up with Perry till February. This time, the event in question was the Rally of the Moors 2005. Perry was going to compete on this event, but thought we might be able to do some of the P.R. work. I know Perry had been instrumental in looking at some new roads with Nigel Colgrave and the sinking of Nigel’s car whilst doing this work. Perhaps Nigel will write the full story for a future magazine. We agreed the P.R. work and the information duly arrived. Then came another call from Perry, “Is it you that makes the awards for the B.T.R.D.A. Quinton Stages Rally?” “Yes, for my sins, it is me. It would be nice if we could do the same for the Moors Rally. What is the chance?” I explained that quite a lot of time was required for a new job. First the artwork had to be agreed, the slates purchased and then screen printed in Birmingham. This all had to happen before I could start my part of making the wooden bases. To make things even worse, we were taking a 5-week skiing holiday for the month of March and into April. Perry said he would speak to Bob Smale and get back to me about the awards. The decision was yes, but were the logistics going to work? Perry said, “No problems - give me the information on your contacts and I will arrange the slates to be ready for your return.” We did the P.R. work and then went away for the holiday, hoping all would happen with the tiles in our absence. No problems of course - Perry had done his part and all was ready for the awards to be made. Next on the agenda was the May 2005 12-car rally - another event to be organised in the Roe house and I believe Lowri was being drafted in to help with some of the work. The question of marshalling help was raised. Was he going to trust us again? I later found out that many of Claremont Field’s residents had also been asked to help. With Perry’s persuasive powers, many agreed and Nigel Luke christened us ‘The Claremont Field Mafia”. The Thursday before the Rally, that man was at my door again. “What now?” was the first thought to go through my mind. “What are you doing on Friday afternoon?” “Not a lot!” was my reply. “Could you drive me round the route to put out the code boards? Sion would like to come with us, but he has to be back home by 18.30 hours.” So this gave us about a two and a half hour window to complete the job. With Sion on the paperwork, Perry on the maps and me at the wheel of Hilary’s Vectra Shed, we set off to erect the boards. All went well and we were only a little bit late returning Sion - apologies for that, Siriol. Just time for quick refreshment and then to the start, to help with signing on. That night, we had Lowri to help with the controls and - no problems this time - we made a great team. Early July is the time for the Quinton Stages and, traditionally, Hilary and I are part of the results’ team, manning a number of P.C.’s during the day. That same weekend, the Roe family were on a visit to Cardiff, so, this time, I made a request for help. Perry duly agreed and arrived with Lowri and Sion at the appointed place on the Epynt Ranges, whilst Siriol was doing some retail therapy back in Cardiff. We had a great day, Lowri was very helpful with phoning the times through to H.Q. and Perry and Sion were kept busy ferrying the time cards from the competing cars. During the afternoon, Perry took the children into the trees to see what forest rallying was all about. On their return, the looks on their faces told a wonderful story - they really had had a good day. This was the year of Rally G.B. in September. For this event, we normally man the start control for the two Brechfa Stages and this requires a team of 4 people. We then man the hospitality area on Day 2 of the rally. Due to the new date for the rally, our team was a man short, so Perry was asked to join us. He jumped at the chance to work on a W.R.C. event, but there was a shortage of holiday time left, so Perry had to go away and work out how he could arrange the few hours he had left. Within a very short time, Perry came back with a plan that if he went into work very early on the Thursday, he could then drive up to Wales and work just the one day with us. This was very good news. One thing we had not mentioned to Perry was that he would be sharing a bedroom with my road rally navigator, Graham, but this did not put him off. Hilary and I collected Graham from Bromsgrove at midday and took a leisurely drive to our B and B accommodation near Brechfa. Later in the evening, Perry arrived, having made very good time from Exeter. Questions on motorway speeds were avoided. We all went out for a meal before turning in for an early night. The B and B refused to serve breakfast at 03.00 hours - strange people -, but they did provide us with a very substantial lunch pack. At the stage start, Perry was introduced to members of the club and was soon in his element, waiting for the first cars to arrive. As we were the first proper stage on the rally, there was a good chance we should see most of the entry. Perry’s job was to line the cars up on the start line, which gave him a good chance to speak to the crews and also take some photographs. First stage over and we all tucked into our packed lunches and then sat in the sun waiting for the cars to return for the second Brechfa Stage. Not so many cars to put into the stage for the second time - the Welsh forests were already taking their toll, even on the first day of the rally. All the action was over by lunchtime and we envisaged a nice quiet rest back at the B and B and Perry would make his way home. But, as you might have guessed, Perry already had a plan in hand. First question, ”How far are we from the main service area in Felindre? Then, “Can we make it in time before the next service halt?” After consultation with our paperwork, it was decided that if we did not waste any more time, we could arrive before the first car. So, a quick pack of the car and a watchful eye for the mobile speed cameras, which were on almost every road the rally was using. On arrival at Felindre, our marshal passes allowed us into the main service area, but to get near the works’ teams was out of the question for us lesser mortals. But, once again, Perry had a plan. We made our way to opposite the Mitsubishi area and made signals to the team. Within seconds, Simon crossed the road, gave us all V.I.P. neck danglers, which gave us access to look round their service area and also partake of some very nice refreshments. Simon was now free from readying his team for their first competitor, so he gave us a conducted tour of what goes into making a W.R.C. team tick. Some of the figures quoted for parts and the times that it took to change them left us all standing there with eyes wide open. Like most good things, it ended too soon. Another Q.M.C. member, Paul Mills, joined us and had a quick word with Simon, saying that their first crew was in the holding control and everyone needed to go to their stations. I had lost contact with Paul since my road rally days, but later found out he was one of the main Mitsubishi service organisers. The first Evo car arrived and we could watch the action very close to the car - the mechanics descending on the red machine like a plague of ants. We had asked Simon if rehearsals for servicing took place back at base and he said not - only if a major component had been modified or completely changed. “We just all know what to do and also what our colleagues are doing.” Whilst all this frenzied action was taking place, Paul was walking round the car, just checking on general progress and keeping one eye on the large digital clock, counting down the elapsed service time for each of the cars. Paul was also talking via his mobile radio to a team of operators sat at computers in another part of the service area; the cars were also plugged directly into the computers in the tent. Another person walking round this hive of activity was a W.R.C. scrutineer - we believe he was checking what parts were being changed and used on the car. Both of the cars were completely serviced in the time allowed and then sent on their way to the next batch of stages. The team now cleaned the work area, put all the tools back in the right place and any replaced parts that could be reused into one of the large articulated trucks. We said our goodbyes to Simon and Paul, thanking them very much for their help and hospitality. There was time now to look from afar at some of the other teams working, but it was just not the same as being part of the action. It was now getting dark and time for Perry to leave us for the long drive back to Devon. He had got to go to work the next day whilst we were still playing rallies. Just before leaving us, Perry commented to me, “I am amazed how many people you seem to know in motor sport. Everywhere we have been today, someone has come up and spoken to you.” My reply was that after 47 years of motor sport competing, organising and latterly marshalling, you do make a lot of friends and just a few enemies on the way. We all have to thank Perry very much for what he arranged for us through his contacts with Simon. Future Rally G.B.s will just not be the same. After Rally G.B., Perry announced that for 2006 he would not be so active in motor sport; he would possibly do more on the organising side rather than sitting in the co-drivers seat. The main reason for this was that Siriol’s Open University Work was going to get more intense and this would free up some time to give the help needed. On the subject of Siriol’s work, there was a certain time when, during one of her earlier modules, the submission date was to be on a Saturday. During the preceding week, the Roe computer decided to crash and despite all the met office expertise, the computer would not talk to the printer. So a plan was hatched for the Saturday, whereby Perry would try and retrieve as much work as possible from the ailing machine and, coupled with many floppy disks, we would try and finish the project off on our computer. The project contained many graphics, some of which were too large to fit on one disk, but Perry was running between the two houses and we seemed to be getting somewhere with Siriol’s work. There were many sheets of paper coming off our printer and most of these had to be cut, pasted and then photocopied. All this time, Perry was working with the two computers - he must have lost a lot of weight with the number of runs he made between our houses. Hilary and I were helping Siriol with another part of the work - in the end our house looked something like the Fawlty Towers of Printers. After many hours of work for us, the entire project was complete and ready for submission. Some weeks later, I did hear that we had all received a distinction for the project! After recovering from Open University work, Perry then suggested that it would be a good idea if he and I got involved in running a road event for Exeter M.C. The Rally of the Moors, with its new date of mid–March, was already in the calendar, so what about a September date? This was fine and discussion followed along the lines of Perry doing the secretarial work and me being the Clerk of the Course, but, as you would imagine, most of the route ideas came from Perry. Sadly, the eventual date that was chosen to fit in with local date clashes and enough darkness to run a sizeable rally, coincided with a holiday that we had already got booked. So for the time being, these ideas were put on the back burner and attention turned to the 2006 Rally of the Moors. Again our holidays were in the way of this event; we would hopefully be on the snow and not the mud in March. Perry then had another idea - if we were not going to be here for the rally, could we take on the job of the whole P.R. task? At first this was a little daunting, knowing just how many properties there could be on a 150 mile route and I asked for a little time to think about the job. Hilary then came up with a suggestion that if we put four people in the Vectra Shed, the job would be a lot more fun and quicker. So Carole and Iain Smart were approached and readily agreed to help. The system worked fine - Iain worked with the maps all the time, I kept the checksheet record when not driving and the two ladies did the letter-writing and delivery. If a small hamlet was encountered, I could also do some of the legwork. We had a great time, with picnic lunches in some very scenic locations and meeting the local people was great fun. Just the odd complainant here and there, but, in the main, the householders were just very grateful to be told what was going on in their area. The P.R. work was completed in 6 days with nearly 900 properties visited and, with very little recourse to Bob’s phone, all was looking pretty good. Whilst we were on holiday, a phone call was received from Bob to say the rally had run well, but a number of cars had been the targets of a resident’s shotgun. Bob also mentioned that this was now a police matter and we would be required to make a statement on our return. You can imagine this situation was very worrying for us. First thoughts were - was it a house that we had missed or maybe the property had changed hands? On the return to Devon, a police officer took our statement, but would have liked assurance that this property had been visited. From our records, we were sure all was in order, but a drive out to the location to refresh the memory was all that was needed. On approach to the house, I could remember it was one of those that I had actually visited myself and there had been no one at home, but a letter was left. This information went back to the police officer who was very impressed with the way Exeter M.C. runs their motor rallies. It was now approaching time for Perry’s May 12-car rally. The request that I received this time was to plot the route onto a clean map to see if it all worked. The paperwork duly arrived and I have to admit to struggling in certain areas of the plotting information. I have always been a driver in motor sport and, whilst I am ok with 6 figure map references, the route information did have me scratching my head and, at one time, I was using the same road twice in both directions - not a good idea! At the next meeting with Perry, he showed me what was required of the current road rally navigators and I take my hat off to them. Perry did say his information was quite simple and other events were much harder! This 12-car rally was going to be a classic, with 80 miles of some of the best lanes Devon has to offer; it was just like a half night event, but what value at £5.00 for the entry fee! The week before the event, a call was received from Perry, asking if I was free on Wednesday evening to drive him around the route. He normally did this job with one of the children or alone. Fortunately I was free and, as there were only going to be the two of us in the car, we decided to take Bora 4 Motion V6 for a play in lanes. Perry had said the route did not require a sumpguard. We started the route off in daylight, so care was being taken in the very narrow parts and there were a lot of these. For this event Perry had devised a new method of code boards - instead of the traditional posts with number plates, he was using the county junction signs and most cross or T junctions seemed to have their own names. Some of these names were quite long so the plan was to use the first seven letters on each post. This latest innovation was great as we would not have to go out on Friday afternoon to place the posts at the P.C’s and, subject to the odd traffic accident, the posts should still be there. So, I have digressed a little from the route checking. By now the sun had gone down and we could increase speed, although this was governed a little by the standard lights on the Bora, which are not the best in the world. By this time, we were covering the miles at quite a pace and I could now see why Perry was so much in demand as a navigator - not a wrong slot or missed bend all night. Sadly the final control came and I have to say I would have been tempted to do the whole route again in darkness; it was that superb. On the way home, Perry said, “You really seemed to enjoy the latter part of the route that was in the dark. We must do this again as a proper entry on a future 12-car rally.” Perhaps my driving is not too rusty after all. The night of the rally arrived and there were the usual paperwork jobs, but we did have Lowri’s help this time, so the workload could be spread. This was just as well, as we had received the first full entry for a long time. The competitors were left to plot the route and Hilary and I made our way to the first of our two controls. When our controls finally closed, we made our way to Perry at the half way control. Here we had to say goodnight, as we were committed to working on another event the next day. The rally continued to a finish just outside Ottery St. Mary for a Bar BQ in one of the country car parks - what another great idea to come from the organiser. Some weeks later, I drove past this car park to see a “No fires” sign. Was this caused by the rally? To have only known Perry and his family for just two short years was not enough. I wish our paths had crossed much earlier, but, due to life’s fate, this was not be. My other two wishes would have to have been able to take up Perry’s offer to organize an event together and to have had the opportunity to compete on that 12-car rally. With regard to organizing the rally, there is a route still on his maps, which, sadly due to the circumstances, did not take place. It is a must that this route should be used on a future rally in Perry’s honour and I would be very proud to be part of the team running the event, probably taking on the whole P.R. role again. I hope many other members would share my views. I think it is very important that we continue what Perry had started for the grass roots of motor sport at Exeter Motor Club. His enthusiasm for young newcomers to the sport was fantastic and this must be followed through. On the February 2007 12-car rally, Hilary and I had the pleasure of taking Siriol, Sion and Lowri on the event. It was a very enjoyable evening and I hope it will be the first of many more outings to come. Mike Stratton