J.O.Sherwood MBE - RACA's "Mr. Motor Sport."

Our motor racing legend.

Time tends to dull the memory however with our great race on next weekend at Bathurst we forget just how connected the RACA is with this event through the auspices of our former President John O Sherwood MBE.

John Sherwood, was made an Honorary Life Member in 1962, joining his father C.O. Sherwood, a RACA legend in his own right, winning the club’s first hill climb in 1905 and who by 1909 had been vested by the state government along with RACA founder Harrie Skinner to undertake the examination of driver’s licenses for N.S.W. motorists.

Importantly, John Sherwood was part of Australia’s motor sport history from the 1920’s and a driving force in the NSW Light Car Club. In his career he was racing driver. journalist. club official and speedway entrepreneur and in 1975 Queen Elizabeth II presented him with an MBE for services to motoring and motor sport.

John Sherwood in his MG Magnette

With an Australian Six and an Armstrong Whitworth in his father’s garage John Sherwood was destined for a life on four wheels. He became motoring editor of the Daily Guardian newspaper, where he pioneered Australia’s early road tests. His reports were not without controversy. Ford pulled its advertising from the paper following his review of the Model “A” Ford as “vibrating too much” and “slipping out of second gear.”

Sherwood’s first chequered flag came when he won the RACA hill climb in Robertson having started his racing career in 1930 at Penrith Speedway which had become a popular venue with the growing N.S.W. racing set. At Penrith in 1936 Sherwood would win the Australian Championship breaking two records including Charlie East’s lap record behind the wheel of a Type 37A Bugatti.

“Prize money wasn’t a great incentive in those days”, he recalled. “For winning the Australian Championship I got a cup and a cheque for 20 pounds. The cup was probably worth more than the prize money.”

Sherwood was always looking for new racing opportunities. When he heard Bathurst Mayor Martin Griffen’s plans for a new tourist road to the summit of Mount Panorama he convinced the council that the road could be combined with a racing circuit. With the circuit nearing completion in 1938 Sherwood imported an MG Magnette from the U.K. hoping to christen the Bathurst circuit by leaving the competition in his dust.

“On my handicap, I thought I had a lay-down misère,” he recalled. “The night before the race the engine blew up. So much for certainties in motor racing! I looked like being a non-starter until I received an offer to co-drive another MG with Alan Crago.” In front of 30,000 spectator’s English driver Peter Whitehead took the first Bathurst title in a supercharged ERA. Sherwood and Crago coming third, from a field of 31 starters.

John Sherwood in his MG Magnette

With an Australian Six and an Armstrong Whitworth in his father’s garage John Sherwood was destined for a life on four wheels. He became motoring editor of the Daily Guardian newspaper, where he pioneered Australia’s early road tests. His reports were not without controversy. Ford pulled its advertising from the paper following his review of the Model “A” Ford as “vibrating too much” and “slipping out of second gear.”

Sherwood’s first chequered flag came when he won the RACA hill climb in Robertson having started his racing career in 1930 at Penrith Speedway which had become a popular venue with the growing N.S.W. racing set. At Penrith in 1936 Sherwood would win the Australian Championship breaking two records including Charlie East’s lap record behind the wheel of a Type 37A Bugatti.

“Prize money wasn’t a great incentive in those days”, he recalled. “For winning the Australian Championship I got a cup and a cheque for 20 pounds. The cup was probably worth more than the prize money.”

Sherwood was always looking for new racing opportunities. When he heard Bathurst Mayor Martin Griffen’s plans for a new tourist road to the summit of Mount Panorama he convinced the council that the road could be combined with a racing circuit. With the circuit nearing completion in 1938 Sherwood imported an MG Magnette from the U.K. hoping to christen the Bathurst circuit by leaving the competition in his dust.

“On my handicap, I thought I had a lay-down misère,” he recalled. “The night before the race the engine blew up. So much for certainties in motor racing! I looked like being a non-starter until I received an offer to co-drive another MG with Alan Crago.” In front of 30,000 spectator’s English driver Peter Whitehead took the first Bathurst title in a supercharged ERA. Sherwood and Crago coming third, from a field of 31 starters.

John Sherwood exiting Murray’s Corner at Mount Panorama, Easter Monday April 10, 1939, on his way to winning the NSW Grand Prix/Motor Road race.

Making the supercars event of today look easy, Sherwood wrote “I look back at that race with horror. I think we were all a little mad to compete. The road was dirt and gravel and broke up early in the race. You can imagine sliding through the esses on loose gravel, knowing that the mountain side was only inches away from your wheels. The car had very poor brakes by today’s standards, and of course, narrow gauge tyres. We were hitting potholes and corrugations down Con-Rod Straight as speeds up to 100 miles per hour.

During his 16-year motor racing career Sherwood competed without accident in more than 100 events, including the Castrol Trophy in 1938 and the 150-Mile Race at Bathurst the following year.

100 mph on Conrod Straight in 1938 on dirt and gravel was a hair-raising experience

World War 11 enforced a five-year break from racing for Sherwood however in 1946 he returned to Bathurst as the Chief Steward for the first post-war Grand Prix.

He would spend nine years as RACA President, seven-year as Vice President, spending 43 years on its general committee and 57years as a member. He was

made an Honorary Life Member in 1962, joining his father who had become an Honorary Life Member in 1937. He died in March 1986 at the age of 81.