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Mark Joseland

1975-1978    Mark Joseland


Mark loved being Captain. He was steeped in Nashing and Nash history and his retentive memory meant that he could reel off the details of cars and owners without recourse to archives. Before he became Captain he served for five years as Secretary and his Captaincy continued in the same efficient and workmanlike manner.

He may not have had the same loud or flamboyant personality as some previous and following Captains but he was equally dedicated in the role. His fettling was usually meticulous and his driving style neat. He was an ace at trials and rallies and he could shave a second or so from a shared car to beat the owner as he did on the Col de Granon with Dick Smith. When he won, whether in cars or cards, he was a jubilant victor and for a moment shed his innate modesty and reticence to the point where he would be reprimanded by Whit with a sharp ‘Mark! We can’t all win’. Like many Captains’ wives, Whit was his mainstay as he competed every other weekend, leading from the front.

He loved female company and often misquoted Dr Johnson when driving in the Nash: ‘there is nothing finer than driving in an open carriage with a pretty young woman’. He lent his cars to friends’ wives and insisted on female bouncers when trialling. And he could persuade girls to help using his diffident and charming approach even to getting his socks washed in the ’76 Raid to Scotland.  He wasn’t a womaniser; he was a charming ladies’ man.

What did Mark bring to the party? An erudite and classical knowledge with a wide range of conversation, tact and diplomacy and an eye for detail.  Above all he was a Captain for everyone and he led the section efficiently and effectively for his three years in office. Having been Secretary and Captain he later went on to become Editor: was instrumental in changing us from a section of the VSCC to an autonomous club and finally amassed an enormous amount of detailed information on Archie Frazer Nash in preparation for a biography, which was completed after his death by Trevor Tarring.

Everyone respected him and what’s more -  he made things work!


Tim