Europe was on the brink of war, and yet such was the determination of the gentleman racer for the excitement of travel and the need to compete, that not even these troubled times would deter them. The 1939 Monte Carlo rally would be a memorable event, where one team set the memories on paper, with witness and crew member WE Currie keeping a diary of the event.
The written word as events happened are especially valuable to historians where real time is arrested without influence of what was to be. We are extremely indebted to John Mangoletsi for access to Currie’s diary, now in the custody of the Mangoletsi family. This unique 41-page document is a blow-by-blow account of the rally as it happened, with the tale taken up at the arrangement stage. There is also a comprehensive range of newspaper cuttings offering a daily account too. War was brewing as the pages reveal by the telling observations of the time.
JANUARY 1939, GETTING TO THE ATHENS START
The narrative begins as Currie offers his guide of the route. His first recorded consideration was one of cost, but he was “most happily reassured” and was proved correct, especially with the hospitality found during the rally. Of note was the type ofcompetition licences were all sorted, and then it was time to collect the car.
