Thursday 22nd June 1933

Lieutenant Sir Henry R. S. “Tim” Birkin (36), British racing driver, one of the “Bentley Boys” of the 1920s, died. During a pit stop during the 1933 Tripoli Grand Prix, Birkin burnt his arm badly against the hot exhaust pipe while picking up a cigarette lighter. There are different opinions of what then happened. The traditional view is that the wound turned septic whilst others say Birkin suffered from a malaria attack. It was probably a combination of both that proved fatal, as Birkin died at Countess Carnavon Nursing Home in London, aged thirty-six.