Iconic Spotlight : Stirling Moss, by Michael Ward

Stirling Moss, Silverstone British Grand Prix
Stirling Moss, Silverstone British Grand Prix

The British Grand Prix was coming up. Stirling Moss, then Britain's most celebrated racing driver, was a likely winner. I knew him slightly through the never-ending publicity appearances that my previous wife, Susan, was asked to make in the fond hope that they would further her career. Although I hadn't seen him for a while, I phoned Stirling and asked if we could meet to discuss the possibility of doing a photo story on him and his wife, Katie, during the Grand Prix. He took me to lunch at the Steering Wheel club in Mayfair and said that as long as I didn't get in the way that was fine. I thanked him very much. As I was leaving, I remembered that I didn't have a decent camera and I couldn't afford the cost of hiring one. So I went back to the table and said,'There is one snag - I'm afraid I don't have a camera. May I borrow yours?' He had a Rolleiflex f2.8. He smiled and said, 'Yes - but mind you look after it.'

I went home and started to learn how to use it. When the Grand Prix came, I took hundreds of pictures. Stirling won, and as he was leaving the circuit he suddenly called out to me, 'Hey - can I have my camera back!'

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Extract taken from "Mostly Women, A Photographer's Life", by Michael Ward.

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