In 1934, Florence Blenkiron and Theresa Wallach left England with their 600cc Panther Redwing with a Watsonian sidecar to cross the African continent. Something that had never been done before with a motor vehicle.
The ladies met at the Brooklands track in 1933, the year Florence gained fame as the first woman to win the Gold Star*. The BMCRC (British Motor Cycling Racing Club) granted the Gold Star to those who completed a lap with an average speed exceeding 100 mph, a considerable challenge for motorcyclists in the early decades of the sport.
On one occasion Florence said to Theresa that her best friend had emigrated to South Africa and she wanted to visit her. Theresa proposed to do it with her on a motorcycle. It was a wild idea but Theresa insisted until Florence finally agreed.
Sponsorship was a problem as manufacturers were of the opinion that the venture would fail. The project was supported by the influential Lady Astor and another Brooklands regular, Sir Malcolm Campbell, also a keen motorcyclist.
It took some persuading to encourage Phelon & Moore to come aboard. The Panther 600cc Model 100 Redwing was an ideal sidecar hack, and the P&M workshops developed a specially reinforced machine aptly named “Venture” for the harsh conditions of the desert. The Redwing was equipped with a heavy duty Webb fork, thicker wheel bolts, wider mudguards to fit 3.5-inch Dunlop tyres, and a Moseley pillion seat. The sidecar was equipped with heavy duty springs.The combination pulled a large trailer.
A crowd of a thousand people attended the send-off for the women when they sailed from England for North Africa. After obtaining the permits from the administrators of the French colonies they would traverse, the pair departed Algiers on Boxing Day 1934 facing over 7000 miles of rugged terrain including almost 1000km across the Sahara desert, during which they visited six garrisons of the French Foreign Legion. The garrison commanders would contact the next in line and if the women did not turn up within a nominated time (several days) then a search and rescue mission would be launched.
The most difficult stage was from Tamanrhasset to Agadez which had many large dunes, a track then only recently opened to vehicles and deemed impassable by a heavy sidecar combination. The Watsonian and trailer were dismounted and the women set off solo across some 900km of Sahara desert.
Even with a solo machine the terrain was difficult and the Panther retired hurt about 100 km from Agadez with a broken conrod. Tuareg tribesmen towed the motorcycle to Agadez by horse. It took a month for the replacement parts to arrive from the P&M factory in England but evenually the sidecar and trailer arrived, the Venture’s engine was resurrected, and the three of them resumed their journey.
From Niger they travelled through forests via muddy tracks and across rivers. In Chad the front wheel was damaged, taking several days to repair. On then via the Congo to Uganda and Kenya.
Both women were very competent mechanics (Theresa had an engineering degree) so coping with breakdowns, though arduous, was never an insurmountable problem (except of course when the engine melted). They fixed numerous punctures and all manner of mechanical failures.
Yet another misadventure befell them when the only car in Tanganyika clobbered them on a curve.
Circumventing the Kalahari desert in Rhodesia they experienced more mechanical woes and more nights camping with the wildlife.They then visited the magnificent Victoria Falls as a guest of the mayor of Livingstone.
On into South Africa via Pretoria and Bleimfontein and finally, with their now totally exhausted Panther, into Cape Town on 29th July 1934, where they were greeted by a sizable crowd and the international press. Theresa and Florence has travelled 7,500 miles in seven months. from one end of the African continent to the other, the first to have done so by vehicular transportation.
*Although initially not allowed to compete, only three extraordinary women achieved the Gold Star in Brooklands: Florence Blenkiron, Beatrice Shilling and Theresa Wallach.
