D.M. Bartley with Jean Behra, probably in 1959 at Sebring. We think 1959 as he is wearing a Ferrari lapel pin and placed second at the Sebring 12 hours driving a Ferrari 250 TR 59 with Cliff Allison. Others think that it might be 1957, the year Behra won with Fangio in a Maserati. But wearing a Ferrari lapel pin?
Like many of our readers, I often read articles by a ‘D.M. Bartley’ in a variety of automobile magazines in the 1950s and 1960s. And then, as now, I was fascinated by automotive journalists, be they Ken Purdy or Henry Manney, but there was scant information about Bartley, who remained a mystery for a number of years. Years ago, I decided to ask a few writers to tell us what they knew about D.M. Bartley. Jim Sitz, Karl Ludvigsen, and the late Denise McCluggage all pitched in with their impressions. Doing more research, through Clark University, we found Abigail Kimball, Bartley’s friend and neighbor, who was glad to provide even more information about Diana Bartley as well as a few photos from the Bartley collection. We begin with Abigail’s story.
Abigail Kimball:
Diana Bartley was born on June 18, 1926 in Toledo, Ohio. She died on July 31, 2011 at age 85 in New York City.