Yorkshires Motorsport legends: Jill Scott 

Here at Classic Yorkshire we like to champion Yorkshires motorsport heroes, and the more obscure the better. I am pretty confident that not many of you will know of the pioneering motor racer and aviator Jill Scott from Barnsley.

Jill was described as “swashbuckling” and was a distinctive figure in motor racing, dressed in cherry-red from head-to-toe whenever she appeared at the race track.

Like many early motor racing pioneers she was from a wealthy family who owned coal mines. She was born Eileen May Fountain in 1902 at Birthwaite Hall in Darton near Barnsley.

Along with her first husband,  William “Bummer Scott” (perhaps not a nickname he would have chosen today) she lived in a large house near the Brooklands race circuit and the couple were early and enthusiastic collectors of automobiles. They bought their first Sunbeam Indianosepolis shortly after their marriage and quickly added several Bugattis to their collection. Their cars all wore a distinctive black livery with emerald green wheels, and the couple collected frequent trophies racing their Bugattis at the nearby track.

Following the death of J G Parry-Thomas they they bought two of his cars, one of which Scott used to exceed 120 miles-per-hour on the Brooklands track. She was granted the right to display a coveted British Automobile Racing Club badge acknowledging the achievement. She was also elected to membership of the BARC, but this offer was downgraded to honorary membership; It was not until 1994 that women were able to become Full Members.

In 1929, she entered her first big international race, driving a 4.5 litre Bentley with Bummer. It was the JCC Double Twelve race, and the Scotts were eleventh overall, from 26 finishers. Just a week later, Jill won a Brooklands ladies’ handicap, driving a Delage, after the first past the post, Miss Burnett was judged to have jumped the start.

In 1974 Jill Scott died and Thomas died a few months later. After her death, her racing trophies and Brooklands 120mph badge were found in a charity shop.