01 September 2023

Hello I am David Brockington-Hill , or “Biggin” as I am more widely known.

In October this year I will be proud to say that I have (all being well) completed 10 years as a volunteer for Brooklands Museum.

I was going to say it all started when I joined the Outreach Team having turned up one day in a blue Jaguar XK with a Union Flag wrap all over it. Some of you may even remember it being a regular at many of the on and off-site Outreach stands. From day one, Rolie, who was the Outreach leader at the time, called me “Biggin”. He said “Biggin-Hill is a lot easier to remember than Brockington-Hill”; and thus, it has stuck – and who am I to argue?  But 2014 isn’t when my “relationship” with Brooklands started.

As an aeronautical mechanical engineer by trade, and a confirmed petrol head (both from my father’s genes), I have always had a hankering for oily bits of metal, and everything associated with them. In January 2012 I had a rather nasty heart attack and as a result I could do nothing else except stop and think about some of my life choices. For the first 6 weeks after the heart attack, I only stared at the walls in my lounge, and then I was allowed to return to driving. I decided my first trip out would be to somewhere I felt truly comfortable, for some much needed “me” time – and Brooklands fitted the bill – as amongst the machinery, the metal and the mechanical engineering history, I feel strangely at home. And it was a wholly cathartic experience and helped massively with starting my healing and acceptance of who I am. Every week I made the trip just to sit and think, or wander and ponder and soak up the atmosphere.

Like many other people feel, it is hard to put my finger on it, but there is something about the place that just lifts my soul – perhaps “The Spirit of Brooklands”.

After a couple of years of being a member, I joined the Outreach team to spend more time at the museum and to help share in the history of Brooklands and encourage others to enjoy it. In 2018, I was asked to take on the coordination of the Members Fast Track team – you know, those folks who stand around in the sunshine (and the pouring rain!) - to welcome our members in on the busy event days – and with that role, I was invited to join the members committee to which I was duly elected.

After COVID and with a return to a full calendar, it was clear we needed to build a bigger Fast Track team to cover more events, and I am delighted to say that we grew impressively from 6 to 14 people. This included recruiting my current wife, Tara, from outreach, she joined in 2016 to be able to spend some more time with me at the weekend!

Since 2015 I have also been an active and enthusiastic participant in the many Brooklands Members Driving Group Tours, outings, and dinners and so when the coordinator, Angela Hume hung up her goggles at the end of 2022, I was pleased to be able to take on that role. Whilst I remain a member of the fast-track team, I was delighted to hand over leadership to the very capable Derek March.

So, to the future. You may have seen some of the advertisements for our driving group trips and events. I am now building a bigger team to hopefully begin to cater for a wider audience of members and their needs. Don’t be shy, tell me the sorts of things you would be interested in, and we will see what we can achieve.

I’ve seen a lot of changes over the last decade at the museum. For me, it is still an interesting balancing act, working full time and contributing as much as I would like to Brooklands, but it is still a game I find worthwhile and rewarding. Brooklands is built on the foundations of people trying new and sometimes scary and even unpopular things, all aimed at making progress, pushing boundaries and ultimately, being successful.