The hard way down
IN doing so, Halse and his Series 1 Land Rover effectively laid the foundation for the iconic status the soon-to-be-launched all-new Defender reincarnates.
Born in 1927, Robin Halse spent his early years on his family’s homestead in Carnarvon, near Sterkstroom in the Eastern Cape. Aft er an education at St Andrews College in Grahamstown, he furthered his studies in agriculture at Cambridge University in England from 1948 to 1951.
It was here where Halse started work at the Rover plant in Solihull, the same location where the current Range Rovers and Jaguar F-Pace are built today. His involvement in the experimental department – where early Land Rover development was happening – clearly made an impact on the young man’s life as it wasn’t long before he was in contact with his parents at home in South Africa, pleading for funds
