Anyone who has taken part in the Veteran Car Run during the last five decades is likely to recognise Ian Nelson. Ian – the latest recipient of the Veteran Car Run’s Volunteer of the Year award - has been marshalling at the Hyde Park start since 1976, and the 2025 Run will mark his 50th year helping to ensure that participants get off to the best possible start on their journey to Brighton. 

A chartered accountant, Ian spent most of his career with a big insurance company, managing their company mergers and acquisitions.  This involved being overseas quite a lot of the time, but he always managed to be in London for the start of the Run. We caught up with this staunchest of supporters of the event…

How and why did you get into marshalling the Veteran Car Run?

In 1975 I lived in Bayswater near Hyde Park and was going for a jog in the park early one Sunday morning in November when I noticed some familiar faces from the 750 Motor Club, the Austin 7 club of which I was, and remain, a member. I asked them what they were doing there, and they said they were marshalling the start of the London to Brighton Run. That sounded interesting, so I put my name down to marshal the following year. 

Tell us about marshalling back in the 1970s

It was a lot more old fashioned in those days. The number of cars that could enter was limited to 150, and there were no metal railings to keep the crowds out, so in our instructions we were told to bring a whistle. We’d blow on these to get the attention of pedestrians, dogs and cyclists and ask them to get out of the way. Which they generally did without argument – though it didn’t stop more of them stepping in the way, so we were forever blowing whistles!

Marshal sign-on was handled by a nice lady who had a little old Mini parked in the Triangle  car park, and we’d all queue up in the dark and wait our turn to sign on. She was armed with a torch, and all the sign-on sheets were on the roof of her Mini.  The admin was rather rudimentary back then, and once we were signed on, we’d head off to our various sectors (there were fewer sectors back then, because there were only 150 cars).

One big difference at that time was that, in the early hours of the morning of the Run, the Royal Automobile Club would place individual metal plates on the ground in the sectors – one plate for each car - numbered from one to 150. Then we had to line the cars up in numerical order by their respective plates, which was challenging, not least because it was so dark. Odd-numbered cars went on the right-hand side, as you’re walking towards Hyde Park Corner, and even-numbered vehicles on the left. This latter was problematic, because the left-hand side was the sandy surface for horse riding, and drivers of even-numbered cars weren’t too pleased to be told to park the veteran car they’d lovingly prepared for the Run onto sand and puddles. Many would downright refuse to do that, which caused all sorts of traffic jams before the event even got underway.

Another major difference back then was the rule that said that if a car in Hyde Park failed to make it over the Start line, it was automatically refused entry to the next year’s Run. This was harsh but, with only 150 starters allowed at the time, there was always a waiting list of people keen to take part. 

Obviously the veteran cars haven’t changed at all, but what has changed at the Hyde Park start since you first became a marshal there?

Well, there are many more vehicles now, of course – that 150 is now 300 or 400 – and everything is much better organised. There’s a nicely lit sign-on caravan for marshals (no more queueing up to see a lady with a torch!), the assembly area for the cars is floodlit and vehicles don’t have to be lined up in numerical order anymore. They still have to park in their sectors, of course, but no-one is parked on the sandy horse-riding surface, so that’s popular! 

Nowadays marshals have LED torches, which makes it so much easier to see the entry number of veteran cars approaching in the darkness, so we can stop them and direct them to the correct sector. And we have walkie-talkies, which makes communication around the site so much more efficient.

The introduction of metal railings to keep the crowds back is another positive development, because it really does make things so much safer. When they were first introduced, I’m sure some people bemoaned the fact, but looking back to the decades when the crowds would mill around cars which were trying to make their way to the start, with us marshals blowing whistles to try to keep people safe, it’s definitely an improvement and makes it much easier to keep things under control.

Marshalling is as much about people control as it is about vehicle control. Are the Veteran Car Run entrants a well-behaved group in general?

Absolutely! In my nearly 50 years of marshalling at Hyde Park I’ve never had a cross word with any one of them, everyone has been very good natured. We quite often have to push start cars, and the drivers and passengers are always very grateful and cheerful. 

What happens once the final veteran vehicle is off on its way to Brighton?

Once all the vehicles have gone, we receive word over the walkie-talkies that we can stand down. Then all the Hyde Park marshals make their way to the Royal Automobile Club clubhouse on Pall Mall, where they treat us to an excellent breakfast.

Wouldn’t you prefer to jump on a veteran car and join them all on the journey to Brighton once your duties are done for the day?

Absolutely not! The one painful moment in my year is at about 4am in the morning when the alarm goes off on that Sunday. For a minute or two it’s not great, but then you just get up and head off down to Hyde Park because the marshals have to be there from 5am, and the cars arrive from 6am. So by the time the cars have all disappeared at around 8am it feels as if I’ve already done a day’s work, and the last thing I feel like is going down to Brighton! But we all very much like going to the Royal Automobile Club to have a good chance to chat to each other and catch up. Then we all head home, feeling that we’ve done a good day’s work, and one we know is very much appreciated. 

Finishing my ‘day’ when the final car has driven off also has the advantage that, should the weather be poor, I can get changed into something dry and warm . This is something the entrants on the event can't do! This was definitely something I was thankful for in the ‘deluge’ year, 2022. Having said that, I’m sure the participants are buoyed up by all the support they receive from spectators along the way, which probably makes up for being a bit soggy if the weather is bad.

After nearly half a century of pre-dawn arrivals at Hyde Park, do you still feel that sense of excitement when the cars start to arrive in the dark? 

Yes, particularly as it's our job to flag down the cars which should be in our sector, and it's quite difficult to make out the car entry numbers in the dark, though the aforementioned LED torches help!

Is there a sense of camaraderie amongst the long-serving marshals at Hyde Park - you see each other once a year for this very special few hours? 

The marshals are all very good natured and some have to get up at 3am to drive into London. In my sector, I only see the other marshals once a year, but we instantly strike up a rapport, usually talking about old cars - surprise, surprise!  

Do you still own an Austin 7? Or any other classic cars?  

I have a 1937 Austin 7 Pearl Cabriolet which I've owned for 35 years.  Each year in June, I organise the Pre-War Austin 7 Club's National Austin 7 Rally at Beaulieu. Last year we had over 200 Austin 7s on the rally field, including the Royal Automobile Club's Austin 7 Chummy breakdown car.  I also have a rare 1953 Austin A40 Somerset Convertible which I take to events at Woodcote Park.  Finally, I have an Austin J40 pedal car and am Treasurer of the Austin J40 Pedal Car Club. 

If anyone reading the piece is thinking about volunteering for the Run for the first time, would you encourage them to do so? 

Definitely. Marshalling offers a fantastic opportunity to be involved in such an iconic motoring event. Last year I met a nice lady who'd come all the way from Ireland to be a marshal. She found the event both exhilarating and bewildering. It’s a very special event to be a part of, and a terrific way to spend a Sunday in November each year!

As you head into your 50th year of marshalling on the Veteran Car Run, do you plan to continue for years to come?

I certainly do.  For several years I’ve had Parkinson’s and I think it’s important to carry on living life as normally as you can. After a half-century of Hyde Park starts, marshalling the Run is well established as a part of my 'normal life', and it’s something I enjoy enormously.

The Veteran Car Run team would like to extend its heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Ian and his fellow marshals for their dedication and enthusiasm, and for giving up their time to make sure that the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run runs as smoothly as possible.