Sad to report that Frazer Madder
passed away in hospital on the 16th of November. A name which will be familiar
to many of you, but few of you will know the man.
He was one of the founders of the Scottish Motorsport Marshals
Club and was one of the men who crewed the Motorsport Rescue units in the early
days of the organisation. On that basis you didn't really want to meet Frazer
because if you met him on duty during an event that meant you were in trouble!
Frazer was one of a number of regular motor sports Marshals in the
early 1970s that realised that motor sport was dangerous, more so for amateur
and club racers and rallyists than the professionals at the sport's top level.
At that time the British Racing & Sports Car Club had a
Scottish 'division' and some of the northern stalwarts attended a training day
at Silverstone in 1970 and there they saw their first ever dedicated Motorsports
Rescue unit. That sparked a desire to
create a more 'professional' approach to the volunteer support back home in
Scotland.
Along with David Swinton, Mike Gascoigne, Iain Ralston and others,
Frazer helped to found the Scottish Motorsports Marshals Club in 1976 and a
previously unheard of activity was introduced to the volunteers - 'training'.
Their first rescue unit was a Ford Transit, donated by Mike
Fenwick of Auchentoshan Distillery and it was Frazer who kitted it out - after
taking off the Auchentoshan signwriting! In fact he actually kitted out most of
the early rescue units himself. He was very much hands-on, designing the interiors,
constructing the racking and overseeing the on-board equipment.
He was also part of the team which organised the first ever SMMC motorsports
marshals training day at Croft Circuit in 1979. The day's activities have
entered into the club's folklore where certain individuals still believe that
they hold the lap record at Croft - with a 42 seater coach. The MSA would have a fit at what went on that
day, but everyone left Croft having learned a hell of a lot even with their
singed eyebrows from the fire rescue demonstration. Yes, it was fun, but there
was a serious purpose to the day, and that continues.
On their return, training became a staple part of the club's
activities between events, and a surgeon was initially cajoled into attending
events to help train the volunteers.
It has been said that he could be a pain in the *rs* at times, but
if you want things done, then someone has to take charge and see it through.
Otherwise he was relatively quiet. A financial consultant, auditor and accountant by trade, he had more of the 'pencil
and calculator' approach to figures - computers were an abomination!
He stood down from active duty around 2009 but his contribution to
the sport and improvements in safety are incalculable. Motor sport owes him a
huge debt, especially those competitors who required their medical assistance
in times of extreme need .
Those early pioneers of the SMMC had a vision. More than that,
they actually turned their vision into reality at a time when 'safety' was a
bad word in the sport.
He'll be sorely missed by friends and colleagues, but his place and
achievements amongst those early visioneers is assured.
Note: His funeral will take place on Thursday 1st December at 2pm
at West Lothian Crematorium, Cousland Wood, Starlaw Place, Off Starlaw Road, Livingston
EH54 7FD. All are welcome to attend.
