I first encountered the work of British artist Rod Diggens in the pages–the inside cover, usually–of Thoroughbred and Classic Car magazine in the early 1970s. Recently, when doing research for the three part Bois de Boulogne articles for VeloceToday, I again discovered Diggens, who had just what we needed; a portrait of Jean Pierre Wimille. But that was done in 1976, and it took me aback a bit when I did the math and concluded that it was indeed 39 years ago. Ouch! Would we be able to get in touch with Rod over all those years?
That’s where the original editors of T&CC came in…Jonathan Wood, who just completed a book about the Squire was of some help, and then Michael Bowler came in with a recent email address. To be sure, Rod Diggens is still painting, and appears at shows like Silverstone and Goodwood with his wares. In those days, Diggens was also hired to portray a long series of drivers that would be included in TC&C, Wimille, Farina, and others. We asked Diggens if he has a website.
He wrote, “No, you won’t find a website; I’m painting mostly commissioned work and submissions for the occasional exhibition and, when time allows, what interests me—Grand Prix motor racing and aviation subjects. I’ve attached a couple of images you might like to consider, I doubt you’ll have much interest in Erle and Donald Morley’s Austin Healey 3000 although it is Red!” For more info contact Rod Diggens diggensart@hotmail.com.
‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’: A painting depicting the Pau Grand Prix of 1954, shows Jean Behra’s Gordini fending off a strong challenge from Maurice Trintingnant and his Ferrari 500 F2. The nose of Behra’s Gordini bears the evidence of his contact with Farina at the start. Amedee Gordini became known as ‘Le Sorcerer’ because of his uncanny ability to produce, on a shoe-string budget, the most amazing little racing cars. The Gordinis were very fast but also rather fragile and unreliable, probably the result of the team being hopelessly penurious. If success eluded Gordini in the major Grand Prix he would fare much better in the lesser events. These races, still supported by the major teams, were hotly contested and the painting shows Behra winning one of these non-championship contests.
‘Coupe des Alpes’ 1961: This painting, as you know, shows the Morley twins in the Austin-Healey 3000 winning the only Coupe des Alpes of 1961. And this was the first time a British team driving a British car had headed an Alpine General Calsification. They won in 62 as well!
‘Jaguar Mk 1V Saloon’: Or ‘The Remains of the Day’ perhaps. The pre-war range of Jaguar Saloons returned in 1945 as truly Jaguars. The ‘SS’ removed as a result of unpleasant connections. The post-war range of these saloon and drophead cars, known retrospectively as Mk 1Vs, were delivered with 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 litre power units.
Hornet: De Havilland DH103 Date painted: 1960s Oil on canvas, 44 x 59.5 cm Collection: Royal Air Force Museum
‘Robert Falcon Scott’: A Vickers Viscount Type 701C of British European Airways.