Oliver Bertram

Who was Oliver Bertram?

Oliver Henry Julius Bertram was an English racing driver who held the Brooklands race track record for 2 months 2 days during 1935. He was twice awarded the BRDC Gold Star.

Bertram was the eldest son of Julius Bertram 1866–1944 and Marjorie Sutton 1878–1947. He was educated at Stowe School, Buckingham and Cambridge University. He was by profession a barrister at law practising in London.

He started racing at Cambridge in 1929. He became the Brooklands outer lap record holder in his 8-litre special Barnato-Hassan Bentley racing car on the 5 August 1935 with a time of 69.85 seconds, attaining an average speed of 142.60 miles per hour. However this record stood for only 2 months 2 days, as on 7 October John Cobb regained the title in his Napier Railton with a speed of 143.44 miles per hour.

Bertram won the Easter Short handicap race in 1935 and with John Cobb took first place in 1937 in the BRDC 500 Kilometres Race – a shortened version of the 500 Miles Race. He was awarded the British Racing Drivers' Club gold star twice – in 1935 and 1938.

He married Anne Clark in Niarobi in 1943. They had 2 children, James Julius Bertram born 24 November 1944 and Janet Lavinia Bertram born 14 August 1946.