Kaye Don - he goes to prison

Apology. Since writing this article, I have received a communication from the family of Francis Tayler, the racing engineer referred to herein. They have rightly pointed to the suffering of Tayler's family, which continues to this day - I understand that he still has a surviving direct relative. A member of my family once referred to Don as "a bit of a daredevil" and this was how he was described by his prosecutor. My description of what happened is as accurate as I could make it - I copied from the contemporary court reports. What follows may, then, indicate that Don was improperly treated as a hero in some quarters. We all know that motor racing is dangerous, but in the 20s and 30s there appears to have been some disregard for the consequences. Indeed, there were instances when racing continued at Brooklands after persons had been killed and others seriously injured. It has not been my intention to treat Kaye Don as a hero and I apologise unconditionally for any offence or hurt caused.

Kaye Don was best known as a Brooklands race driver, but he also drove on flat tracks and road circuits, and was British Motor Racing Champion in 1928 and 1929.

On Monday 28th May, 1934, Don was preparing to race an MG Magnette on public roads on the Isle Of Man. He was involved in an incident which caused the death of Francis Tayler, an MG employee.

After testing in the morning, Don had complained of poor steering, though this was disputed by MG. Late in the evening, as Don prepared to play Bridge with his wife and race driver H.C. Hamilton, Tayler informed him that the car had been worked on and tested. Kaye Don took the car out for a further test, with Francis Tayler as passenger. This took place at 10pm. The car had no lights, number plates or insurance, yet it was driven on open public roads. Don claimed that the light was adequate, indeed, lighting-up time was 10:25 pm. As he rounded a bend, the MG was in glancing collision with a hackney carriage driven by Mr Ralph Cain, who had five passengers. Fortunately, no-one was hurt in the cab, but the MG lost a wheel and overturned. Both occupants were injured, being admitted to hospital at 10:45 pm. Tayler died at 5:15 am the following morning.

By a majority of seven to four, the Coroner's Court found that Tayler's death was due to negligence on the part of Kaye Don who was, then, sent for trial on a charge of manslaughter. The trial opened on the 14th July, in the traditional Isle Of Man Tynwald court. The evidence was presented and Don was found guilty and sentenced to four months in prison. He appealed, partly based on the grounds that, before he died, Francis Tayler might have said something to his - Kaye Don's - detriment. Don's counsel claimed that this, alleged, statement had become public, during the trial, and could have swung the jury. In fact, there were sixteen grounds for appeal, but all were rejected and, on September the 29th, the appeal was dismissed. Kaye Don was admitted to prison, where he was treated as a priviledged prisoner and continued to receive medical treatment. The court believed there were special circumstances, and reduced what would normally be a six-month sentence by two months. He was released on 10th of December on medical grounds. It was reported that Don was to be entertained at dinner in London and was to holiday in Florida, early in January.

The alleged statement by Tayler was not introduced in to the case by Don. He heard, belatedly, that there had been a statement but did not know the content, nor did he take any action. MG had claimed that the car was ok, but Francis Tayler found a substantial fault (loose king-pins), so any statement could have referred to that. Grounds put forward for reduction of the sentence were:-
Don may not have known that the road was open to traffic as it may previously have been closed.
He was testing for racing, so could not be treated like a member of the public belting along.
The car was not insured for the public roads. Don had met what would be the insurance claim out of his own pocket.
Don had lost someone he valued and respected, and this was a punishment in itself.

In his summing up, and in reducing the sentence, the deemster, (judge), said this:-
"There is the fact that any punishment that I may impose is not the whole, perhaps not even the main part of what you yourself will have to suffer - quite different from another man charged with a like offence. There is the effect on your career, circumstances, reputation and so forth. Not only that, but it is a case where you have not disturbed your senses with drink or anything of that sort, and, although you, in the opinion of the jury, acted in such a way as was criminally careless of human life, nevertheless, you took out this racing car in the belief, wrongly of course, that you had a right to practise it, and therefore it is not quite like a case of a man in an ordinary car going 'blinding' along the road."

Hugh Charles Hamilton, referred to above, unfortunately died in the Swiss Grand Prix, a month later, and should not be confused with Brooklands racing driver "Ginger" Hamilton.