1924 Accident
Sunbeam's works drivers for the Grand Prix were Henry Segrave and Kenelm Lee Guinness. Guinness' usual mechanic, Bill Perkins, had been injured in a crash at Brooklands some weeks earlier, when the driver, Dario Resta, had been killed.
Two mechanics travelled to Spain with Segrave and Guinness, Tom Barrett and the Italian, Marocchi. As Segrave spoke a little Italian, he and Marocchi were in one car, Guinness and Barrett in the other.
September weather for the race day was wet with rain and the track was slippery. There was an attempt to sprinkle sand on the track for extra grip, but the earth from local fields that was used was more clay than sand and actually made things worse.
On the 11th lap Guinness's car hit a rut in the road, which along with the slippery surface, caused him to lose control. The car left the track, spun, rolled, and crossed back over the track before coming to rest. Both occupants were thrown out of the car and into a railway cutting. Barrett was killed instantly. Guinness was a little more fortunate, his fall being broken by some telegraph wires, but was still seriously injured. He never raced again and seems to have been permanently affected by the crash, culminating in his suicide in 1937.
Segrave was always known for his concern for others in his team, but he was unaware of the accident. After winning the race, he was aghast to discover the fate of his colleagues.
On 16 October 1924, Barrett was buried at Holy Trinity Church, Heath Town, Wolverhampton. Many of his engineering colleagues from Sunbeam, Guy and Joseph Evans attended.
After the accident, Lillian was given a job at Sunbeam. She later worked as an auxiliary nurse at the Wolverhampton Royal Hospital.
Read more about this topic: Tom Barrett (riding Mechanic)
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