Life is full of surprises!

As I get close to finishing my book about the adventures I’ve had with AC Bluebird, I get a surprise email from Sally Clayden, the daughter of Euan Clayden, who owned the Aceca in the late 60s.

Sally found this website while recovering from a hip operation. She contacted me and we spoke on the phone. It was amazing to speak to someone who knew the car and Sally was very enthusiastic about the website and my book. She sent me a bundle of lovely photographs of her father, and described on the phone how he worked on the Aceca with the aim of restoring it to how Donald Campbell had the car. Unfortunately, Euan, a successful architect, had too many projects on the go and he never managed to fully restore the Aceca.

Sally, and her partner Jim, have promised to find out more about Rod Cummings and Sylvia Nickless, who also had the Aceca after Sally’s father.

I plan to use some of the photographs in my book. The photo of Euan Clayden will be included and I might sneak in the drawing that Sally did of the Aceca. The drawing is very good and better than I could do.

If there are any other previous owners of VPL441 out there I’d really would like to hear from you.