It gives MSVR tremendous pleasure to congratulate Mildred Wiltshire on receiving an British Empire Medal for her services to motorsport.

A familiar face to all at the club, Mildred’s initial interest in motor racing came from her school friend David Gilbert, who had become a marshal in the late 1960s spending many of his weekends at Brands Hatch. When her nephew Neil then took a keen eye to motorsport in the early 1970s, Mildred began organising some Sundays at Brands Hatch with him. These trips were enjoyed greatly by both Mildred and Neil, so much so that attendance at Brands Hatch club event meetings became a regular occurrence.

Mildred always supported and championed the marshals knowing how much time and effort they devote to a race weekend, feeling that their dedication was not always recognised at it should have been. Her friendship with David, who continued to grow more experienced as a marshal, enabled Mildred to meet and befriend a great number of people in the community as they ventured to destinations further afield. This would soon include British Grand Prix weekends, where together Mildred and Neil spectated from just about every spot at Brands Hatch and Silverstone!

Not content with just spectating, Mildred became involved in assisting with the administration at race weekends, initially logging the many messages that came in to Race Control from the marshals’ posts via telephone. Mildred’s writing was the neatest there is, citing the importance of the writing being legible for the Clerk of the Course to read when following up incidents. It was not long before this became more widely recognised and, as a result, Mildred was asked to carry out the same task at the British Grand Prix.

Mildred’s role in race administration quickly extended far beyond the weekend duties, to include organising marshals’ attendance leading up to a race weekend. Often spending five days a week receiving mail and phone calls from marshals, and then organising post allocations for the weekend and distributing tickets, Mildred’s name is likely known by a large majority of UK marshals. Her support often extended outside of the circuit too, having continued to build up many friendships over the years. According to Neil, this is particularly demonstrated at Christmas by the hundreds of cards she receives each year.

Mildred’s lifetime contribution to British motor racing and the marshalling family has been nothing short of legendary and all at MSVR are delighted to see her dedication justly recognised and rewarded.