The Michael Sedgwick Memorial Trust supported the recent publication of the history of Aston Hill hillclimb, but this was really a by-product of the organisation of an event to celebrate the centenary of the last competitive runs on the hill in 1925. The celebration of 100 years of the last competitive hillclimb held on the Aston Hill above the village of Aston Clinton was celebrated on 17th May by a climb of the hill by cars and motorbikes of the sort which competed in events of the period up to 1925. After their climb, the cars joined a huge gathering of cars of all varieties in the fields just after the finish line of the historic hillclimb.
Unlike its near-neighbour Kop Hill to the south-west along the ridgeway, Aston Hill cannot be closed for an event like this as it gives access to a golf cub and the popular forestry commission woods which host a range of leisure activities. The cars and motorbikes were therefore restricted to a single climb of the hill in a manner more sedate than they would have done in period. The presence of other road users was not always helpful to the successful completion of the climb, with at least one participant complaining that he nearly came to a complete halt necessitating a hill start after being baulked by an indecisive MX5.
To the general population, Aston Hill's greatest claim to fame is that after his performances in Singer cars and his own Bamford and Martin cars, Martin adopted the Aston Martin name for future. This means that the hill has a strong presence in Aston Martin history which was reflected in a significant number of early cars as well as a heavy sprinkling of Astons of all eras. Local and owners cubs were well represented in the exhibition area as well as a large number of individual veteran, vintage and classic cars and motorbikes in addition to the sixty or so cars of the pre 1925 era that made the climb itself.
There were a number of no-shows for the climb due to mechanical issues but unfortunately also as a result of the tragic fire at Bicester Motion which left some vehicles in lockdown at the site. Most owners turned out to be serial collectors and substituted. Two such cases saw a Type 35B Bugatti appear instead of its Type 13 Brescia sibling and a C7 10CV Voisin deputise for an early Panhard. Both of these recalled earlier books supported by the MSMT, Bugatti Magnum of 1989 and Automobiles Voisin of 1991. The Voisin bristled with innovative features from the fertile mind of Gabriel Voisin. The arrangement of screens that folded down inside the doors yet enabled proper glass to quickly seal the apertures without the weight of a winding mechanism were a case in point along with the passing headlight fixed to the "C" pillar of the lightweight body so it didn't glare at motorists coming in the opposite direction.
This Voisin also stood out for its striking blue paintwork, adopted by its previous owner Prince Chula Chakrabongse, who, with his cousin Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh ("known generally as "Prince Bira") was struck by the colour of an attractive girl's dress and adopted it as the national racing colours for their native Siam. There are many versions of this colour but this road car has only once been repainted, carefully following the original hue and is considered to be the true colour as intended. Prince Bira learnt to drive in this car and of course went on to drive Rileys, ERAs and Maseratis in races up to and including Grand Prix.
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