The adventurous life of Irish pioneer racing driver Leslie Porter

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He learned to drive on a Léon Bollée. He was an electrical and mechanical engineer and opened the first motor garage in Belfast when he was just 18 years old. He was wrongly reported dead 4 years later when competing in the 1903 Paris - Madrid race. Sadly, he died as a pilot of a 1916 Sopwith 1½ Strutter in the Royal Flying Corps in the hands of the Germans on 24th October 1916. The man we are talking about is (Captain) Leslie Porter.

Born in 1881, Leslie Porter set up the Northern Motor Company together with George Combe in 1899. Based at 5 Montgomery Street in Belfast, they were the first motor garage in town. At that time, cars weren’t seen on the streets in Ireland. But Porter and Combe saw the future and knew how to deal with the situation. They advertised in the Belfast News Letter that they would “lend a motor car to any owner of horses for the purpose of enabling the animals to become accustomed to the machines”. Besides that, they offered drives around the town to journalists. Business was good and they expanded a few times before Leslie Porter decided, in August 1907, to set up his own motor company: Leslie Porter Limited, Consulting Motor Engineers & Brokers. The new business promoted itself in the local press as selling Humber Motor Cars and being the sole agent for Daimler Motor Cars. Later on, they were also the agents for Darracq, Minerva, Daimler, Hotchkiss, Arrol-Johnston, Delage, Singer and Calthorpe cars.

Leslie Porter is best known for his participation in the 1903 Paris - Madrid race. The race that was stopped during the event as it turned out to be far too dangerous for both participants and spectators.

Car number 243 was a 50hp Wolseley, raced by Leslie Porter and his mechanic Willie Nixon. They set off in the race at 5.32 am on Sunday 14th May 1903. Sadly, as for many others, their race ended in tragedy. They crashed on a sharp bend at a railway crossing. The Belfast News Letter of the next day stated that the Belfast competitor Mr Leslie Porter was in an accident which led to his death. However, later that day news came in that it wasn’t Porter who died but his mechanic and friend Mr Willie Nixon who lost his life. Not only Willie but also the woman who was crossing the road was killed instantly. It was a sad day and several years passed during which Porter wasn’t interested in participating in motorsports again...

It was 1908 when Leslie Porter entered a Calthorpe into the Irish Automobile Club’s Reliability Trial. And he took the gold medal for winning his class. This led to him driving for the Calthorpe Company in which he also gained many successes over the next couple of years. His most notable success was finishing fourth in the Isle of Man TT 4-inch race (all entrants must have a 4-inch/ 100mm bore engine!).

In November 1915 Leslie Porter, who had only learned to fly a year before, volunteered to join the Royal Flying Corps and in 1916 his Squadron went to France. On 22nd October Captain Leslie Porter led an attack behind enemy lines with Sopwith 1½ Strutter Airplanes. Unfortunately, he and his plane didn’t return. The German authorities said that the pioneer in cars and racing driver died on 24th October 1916 when he was just 35 years young.

His legacy will continue and today, according to Companies House, Leslie Porter Limited is still active.

His Grandson, also named Leslie (Porter Murray), still drives and participates in the VSCC’s Edwardian racing today. He sent us the attatched photo. This was taken beside his motor garage but we don’t know the year or make of the car. Does anyone recognize it?

Words by Laurens Klein. Sources: Companies House, History Hub Ulster, Belfast News Letter.

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