The Stuff of Legend: Prince Bira, The Mighty Mouse of Siam

September 29, 2015 by Jeremy McMullen

In the film Tombstone there is an exchange of dialogue between Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. The subject is life. Earp says, 'All I ever wanted was to live a normal life.' To which Holliday responds, 'There is no 'normal' life, there's just life...' When born of a royal family that later becomes the subject of a couple of Hollywood films, there is no 'normal' life, there's just life. Prince Birabongse's life, however, would not be normal; it would be the stuff of legend.

The scene in the pits and among the French citizenry would be of nervous electricity. Frantically, the Asian crew would set to work replacing the plugs on the 1.5-liter B-Type ERA voiturette. This team, with its small Siamese pilot, would stun the assembled crowd by passing Pierre Veyron and Earl Howe to be amongst the top three early on in the 7th Grand Prix de Dieppe. But now, with second place almost assuredly in hand, this 'B. Bira' would be in the pits in need of some new plugs just to make it to the end of the two hour race around the coastal city.

The work would carry on around the ERA. The advantage would be lost, this impressive debut looked to be coming to an early end. But then, the work would be finished and Bira would storm back into the race. Time winding down, The Siamese driver was still well back of Veyron, but, with a much improved pace, he would quickly eat into the Frenchman's margin. Then, amazingly, this small man, who nobody knew, would sweep by Veyron and would go on to finish one of his first races in second place. Nobody had ever heard, let-alone pronounce, Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh's name, but they certainly now knew who he was.

The nephew of King Mongkut, Prince Bira would be one of three of the Siamese royal family to make their way to England for further studies. Born in Bangkok in July of 1914, Prince Bira would be just four years old when his mother, the second wife of Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse, died. Studying at Eton College in England, Prince Bira would soon lose his father leaving him an orphan. He was not 18 when he left Eton and moved in with his new legal guardian, his cousin Prince Chula Chakrabongse.

Only 18, Prince Bira would take a turn at just about anything. Intending to attend Trinity College, Prince Bira would quickly change his mind and would give art a try. He would be particularly interested in sculpture and would prove rather adept to the art form, though it would be suggested he get further training. This is what he would decide to do enrolling in the Byam Shaw School of Art. It would be there that he would soon meet and begin to court one Ceril Heycock.

Prince Bira wasn't one to sit still for very long, and there were too many things to do for a man with the means. As a result, Prince Bira would soon become an accomplished yachtsman and would then turn his gaze heavenward becoming a glider pilot. However, there was something else that really attracted the Siamese prince.

Ever since he was a young boy the Siamese Prince would be interested in motor cars and motor racing. It would be while in the midst of an imprudent courtship of Heycock that Prince Chula would decide to buy Prince Bira his first car for motor racing. His first car to drive would be an MG Magna he would get in 1932. But then, in 1935, Prince Chula would relent and would purchase a Riley IMP for Prince Bira.

Almost immediately, Prince Bira would enter the Riley IMP in a race at Brooklands. Sadly, the car would be too slow to really compete, but, Prince Bira would show promise nevertheless. Prince Chula had created a team name, White Mouse Racing, and, like any other top-flight team, tuning would be very important. Therefore, the Riley would be sent to a nearby garage for some tuning and updates. When a team and driver is left with a car that is slower than the rest there is an important decision to be made: Does a team want to hide, or, draw even more attention to itself?

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Prince Bira would choose the latter drawing inspiration from a dress a young lady had been wearing when Prince Bira had met her. At the time, national colors was how cars were painted to enable greater ease of visibility and detection as to just who exactly was coming. The kingdom of Siam had no such color scheme, at least not until Prince Bira came along. The girl had been wearing a dress of light blue. This seemed the ideal color for the car. But, it still needed that extra special touch. Therefore, the Siamese flag would be added to the tale area of the car right along with a white mouse positioned just ahead of the cockpit. Now, Prince Bira would be recognized.

Having had a passion for automobiles from a very young age, Prince Bira's racing career would begin in earnest. Realizing Prince Bira's passion, Prince Chula would take the step to get rid of the slow Riley and an MG Magnette would be acquired in its place. This would soon be joined by a B-Type ERA nicknamed 'Romulus'. The ERA was an exciting car for its time and Prince Chula would be one of the first to get his hands on one. It was to be Prince Bira's 21st birthday gift. Less than a week later, Prince Bira would garner a great deal of acclaim for his second place performance in Dieppe.

Prince Bira had only just started his racing career and he had already proven himself to be capable of surprises. Following on the heels of the great result in Dieppe, Prince Bira would earn another 2nd place at the Bremgarten circuit in the Swiss Grand Prix. A 5th place at Donington later in 1935 would conclude an absolute stormer of a first season of voiturette racing for the Prince of Siam, but he was just warming up.

At Monaco, in 1936, Prince Bira would win the voiturette race and would follow this up with no less than three more victories over the course of the season. The four victories would be accented by three more top three finishes making 1936 an even more successful season. It seemed this small man from Siam could challenge even the best in the world.

Against the growing challenge from the European continent, Prince Bira, and the ERA for that matter, would have no answer. This wouldn't stop him from putting together the best performance possible.

The 1937 season would prove to be one of the hardest, and yet, what had to be one of the most rewarding in Prince Bira's young racing career. Racing mostly around England, as there was really no answer for the Italian voiturettes and Silver Arrows from Germany, Prince Bira would start his year off with a win in the Isle of Man. This would be followed up a couple of months later with another victory, this time in the London Grand Prix. This was just the second-ever automobile race held at the new Crystal Palace 2 mile circuit and Prince Bira proved more than equal to the task of 'little Nurburgring'. Proving himself with voiturettes, Prince Bira would show his caliber racing a Delahaye in the Donington 12 Hours sportscar race. Partnered with Hector Dobbs, Prince Bira would go on to score victory. This was a great achievement and certainly suggested Prince Bira was equal to nearly any challenge.

The next task Prince Bira would face would be like climbing Mt. Everest without supplemental oxygen—it was possible, but highly improbable. Hitler's propaganda tools, the mighty Silver Arrows of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union would come in force to Donington on the 2nd of October, 1937. Having no less than seven cars present for the 80 lap race, the German Silver Arrows would absolutely dominate practice and would occupy each of the first seven spots on the grid with von Brauchitsch taking pole with a 2:10 lap.

There was no way an ERA could stand up to the might from Germany. Prince Bira, therefore, would take part in the race driving a Maserati, and this would prove a wise move as he would be the quickest of the rest. He would start the race from the inside of the third row. He was still more than five seconds slower than the slowest Silver Arrow, but at least he wasn't even slower.

The race would belong to the cars from Germany. Having more than a half dozen cars in the race, something catastrophic would have to happen before Prince Bira would even have a chance to finish in the top three. However, considering the talent and machinery around him, he would demonstrate his talents very clearly coming through to finish in 6th place, the best of the rest.

Such strong performances suggested Prince Bira was a champion in the making. He would be the first, even among British drivers, to win the British Gold Star three times. Racing around England throughout 1938 and 1939, he would make believers of more than a few taking victories here and there and rarely falling prey to attrition like so many others. Prince Bira was a solid, dependable driver that had the potential to steal a victory against the best, if he felt up to it at least. But, of course, the victories meant only so much. The female companionship they bought would be of even greater interest, this, despite having married Ceril Heycock in 1938.

Unfortunately, and just as Prince Bira was entering his prime, the world would become embroiled in a war. The threat of the Japanese made even Siam vulnerable and this would motivate Prince Bira to action. He had plans for staging a motor racing in his home country of Siam, but those ideas would be curtailed. Like so many others, the now pale blue and yellow ERA of White Mouse Racing was no longer to be seen. The race tracks were, for now, silent.

Prince Bira meant to get into the war. However, because he was now married and had extensive property in England, he would try and join the Royal Air Force or the British Royal Navy. But there was a problem. Having contracted measles while at Eton, he suffered from terrible short-sightedness and even needed special goggles to be able to race. This would preclude him from being able to join. He was not to be stopped and he would eventually volunteer for the Air Training Corps where he would become a glider instructor.

By the conclusion of the war, Prince Bira's interest in aviation would deepen and he would become the first civilian to earn a pilot's license since the war's end. He would immediately go out and buy a small two-seater Taylorcraft, a glider and a big American stationwagon in order to transport everything.

Prince Bira's love for motor racing had not been eclipsed by the war, or by aviation, and he would soon be back behind the wheel of a racing car. That first race would come on the 9th of June, 1946 with a race in Chimay, Belgium.

Prior to the war, Prince Bira's motor racing budget had become stretched thin having purchased Dick Seaman's Delage. Despite hiring Lofty England to help prepare the car, costs were becoming such that White Mouse Racing was struggling. The war, though terrible and tragic, would end up being something of a blessing as the inactivity, and the relatively light destruction in Siam, meant Bira's budget had rebounded. This would enable him to take part in motor racing as soon as he crawled back into the consciousness of the Europeans. The race in Chimay, therefore, would be one of the first attempts to start over anew.

Starting over anew for Prince Bira meant getting behind the wheel of something old. Entering his old Maserati 8CM, Prince Bira would prepare for his first race in some five years. This first race would see the Siamese driver finish a respectable 6th. Interestingly, he would finish a little more than four laps behind winner Leslie Brooke driving a B-Type ERA.

Another 6th place finish in the 1st Grand Prix des Nations would set the stage for victory in the 1st Ulster Trophy race held at Ballyclare on the 10th of August. Finishing three seconds ahead of Reg Parnell, Prince Bira would achieve the victory driving his C-Type ERA. Parnell would set the fastest lap of the race, but it was Bira who would start from pole and take the win.

Prince Bira had proven the war had not stolen his talents. He showed himself capable of picking up right where he left off and winning. Throughout the course of his career, Prince Bira would be described as two different drivers. In England and near home, he was fast. Too far from home and he was much more careful and reserved because of the costs associated with motor racing. This made nearly any factory drive a highly coveted position. And, in 1947, Prince Bira would earn just such a role earning a spot driving for Simca-Gordini.

Driving for his cousin's team would not be very successful throughout the 1947 season. During the early part of the '47 season he would suffer an unusual amount of early retirements. Simca-Gordini, on the other hand, offered him some good news. a victory in a Simca-Gordini 11 in the 1st Coupe des Petites Cylindrees held at Reims on the 6th of July would be followed by another victory on the 10th of August in the Manx Cup race held at Douglas. A second place in a T15 in the Coupe de Lyon toward the end of September, and then another victory, this time in the 1st Prix de Leman held at Lausanne on the 5th of October, meant Bira's last half of the season ended up so much better than the first.

Throughout the remainder of the 1940s, Prince Bira would continue to muster a victory or two whenever the mood suited him. He would have the honor of taking the win in the first Zandvoort Grand Prix in August of 1948. He would give Juan Manuel Fangio fits in the Grand Prix du Rousillon and then the 4th San Remo Grand Prix, and, he would also finish 5th in the first-ever British Grand Prix in 1948. He would start 2nd in the 2nd British Grand Prix alongside Luigi Villoresi, and, he would finish 2nd behind Louis Chiron in the 6th Grand Prix de France in July of 1949.

A number of those strong results throughout 1948 and 1949 would come at the controls of a Maserati 4CL and 4CLT entered by Enrico Plate's own team. This team would make it possible for Prince Bira to make his first start in the new pinnacle series getting its start in 1950—Formula One.

Formula One would have its beginnings in what was, at the time, the 5th RAC British Grand Prix. The race would be held on the 13th of May at the relatively new aerodrome circuit known as Silverstone. Living in England, this first round of the new World Championship was not a race Prince Bira was about to miss.

Starting the race a respectable 5th in the Enrico Plate Maserati 4CLT/48, Prince Bira had an outside chance of ending up on the podium, though this would be difficult with the presence of the mighty Alfa Romeo 158s driven by Giuseppe Farina, Luigi Fagioli, Juan Manuel Fangio and Reg Parnell.

Bira would run strongly throughout the first half of the race looking to be on target for a top four result. However, as the race neared the 50th lap, Bira's Maserati began struggling to pick up fuel. Then, finally, after 49 laps, he would be forced to retire. He had been running in the top five before parking the car. Despite the retirement, Prince Bira appeared to be one of the strongest of the non Alfa Romeo drivers.

Following the disappointing retirement at Silverstone, Prince Bira would recover to finish a strong 5th place at Monaco. He would be one of the few to make it through the waves that hit the circuit during the first lap. He would ride that wave of good fortune all the way to his first two championship points.

Monaco would be bested by a 4th place in the Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten later on in the year. Having now five points to his credit, Prince Bira was within the top ten of the standings for the first-ever Drivers' World Championship. Unfortunately, and much akin to his season in non-championship races, this would be the extent of the great news for the 1950 season. The only real exception to this would be on the 30th of September when Prince Bira managed to finish just two seconds behind the much hyped, but overly-troubled BRM Type 15 driven by Reg Parnell in the 3rd Goodwood Trophy race.

The 1950 would prove the highlight season for Prince Bira in Formula One, at least for a few years. Competing in 1951 under the team name Ecurie Siam, he would fail to finish any of the World Championship races he would enter. Things would only slightly improve the following year when he drove for Equipe Gordini. Despite the fact Formula One ran according to Formula Two regulations throughout 1952 and 1953, the best Bira could achieve would be a 7th place result at the wheel of an A-Type Connaught in the British Grand Prix.

Though Formula One would offer the Siamese driver few, if any, highlights, non-championship races generally went better. Prince Bira would stand upon the top step at Goodwood in March of 1951 having taken victory in the 3rd Richmond Trophy race. He would share a 2nd place drive with Robert Manzon in the Grand Prix de Marseille. Then there would be the 24th Grand Prix des Frontieres.

Prince Bira would race the 1954 season under his own team name. He had started out the year driving one of Officine Alfieri Maserati's factory A6GCMs in the Argentine Grand Prix and had come away with a 7th place result. It had been his best result in Formula One since the British Grand Prix the year before driving a Connaught. But this year, 1954, was different.

Maserati was producing a brand new grand prix car, the 250F. It had a predecessor that wasn't all that bad either. Known as the A6GCM, the car would be also known as the 'Inter' and it offered greater performance and better handling than the much older and out of date 4CLs and 4CLTs that were pretty much banned because of the change in regulations. Prince Bira was yet to get his hands on one of the new 250Fs, and therefore, would be forced to make due with an Inter as he prepared to take part in the Grand Prix des Frontieres on the 6th of June.

Prince Bira obviously would be in the mood, no doubt encouraged by the potential of the Inter chassis. No one could fault him if he had lost interest over the past couple of years given the poor performances and the injuries resulting from a skiing accident back in '51. But, this year would be different. Jacques Pollet would capture the pole, but Bira would be right there in the middle of the front row just looking for an opportunity to present itself.

Tragedy would afford Prince Bira the opportunity he needed. Jacques Pollet would be quick in the Gordini T16. However, he would be surprised by Andre Pilette's own T16 spun-out in the middle of the road. Pollet would swerve to avoid hitting his teammate. Terribly, Pollet's missing Pilette meant hitting and killing a couple of spectators. Bira would slip right on through into the lead, a lead he would never relinquish.

It had been a long time, but Bira was back on the top step of the podium. Standing there with him was a renewed vigor for motor racing. And the momentum rise could not have come at a better time.

Adorned in the now familiar light blue and yellow colors for Siam, Prince Bira would take delivery of his very own Maserati 250F, and just in time for the Belgian Grand Prix on the 20th of June.

Entered in his own 250F, Prince Bira looked forward, perhaps for the first time in a long time, to a round of the Formula One World Championship. The weekend would start out slowly for Bira. However, he would avoid some trouble and would put together one of his usual steady performances to finish and impressive 6th place behind race winner Juan Manuel Fangio.

The near miss of the points in the Belgian Grand Prix would be quickly followed by the French Grand Prix held at the fast Reims circuit. Mercedes-Benz was back with its potent W196, but Bira had a very capable 250F. He just needed to be in the mood for a long day's battle.

Starting from the third row of the grid behind the three Mercedes and Ferrari of Jose Froilan Gonzalez was a good sign the small Siamese driver was ready to put up a fight. This would be easier said than done against the sleek W196s that disappeared into the distance right from the start. But, Bira's tactics needed to be different to those that blindly went all hell-bent in pursuit of the Silver Arrows. Bira needed to outlast the circuit and the race.

It was working. And, though he would drop back early on as a result of losing a couple of gears, he would, by the latter-stages of the race, find himself in an incredible third position. He would overcome even more challenges and would end up an impressive 4th earning himself the last three points he would ever earn in Formula One.

Prince Bira's 1954 season would end with a 2nd place at the arduous Pescara circuit. Then, heading into the 1955 season, he would have one more surprise in store taking victory in the New Zealand Grand Prix. It was to be the final highlight, that perfect time in which to walk away. Immediately after the victory down under, Prince Bira would sell his Maserati and would look to life outside of racing.

Although interrupted more than a few years by the Second World War, Prince Bira would end his racing career 20 years after it had started. He had won some races and turned more than a few heads, especially female. However, when he made the decision to retire there would be absolutely no hesitation. He had come, now it was time to go.

Prince Bira may have hung up his racing helmet, but he would far from retire. Besides returning to the new Thailand nation to run his own airline, he would don his sailor's cap and would take part in a number of Olympic Games representing Thailand. Not surprising, he would perform well, representing his home nation proudly earning 19th in the 1960 Rome Olympics. In total, Prince Bira would appear in three Olympics.

Much of Prince Bira's time after motor racing would be occupied with aviation. During the last few years of his racing career he would be seen flying more and more. He would achieve some amazing heights flying from England to Thailand in 1952 in his own personal airplane. Then, of course, there would be the airline that he managed.

Even though much of his early racing career would make him an easily recognizable individual around the paddock, his latter years would be one of obscurity. He would divorce Ceril Heycock in 1949 and would wed some four more times before remarrying Ceril Heycock in 1983. And, though he would be one of the very few Formula One drivers to have been racing during what would be considered the golden era of grand prix racing, the era of Nuvaliari, Caracciola and Seaman, he would often be reluctant to recall those days in interviews. In fact, in many respects, he would live very much in the moment. Never really one to look back, Prince Bira looked ahead, and this made him an absent figure amongst all of the nostalgia that surrounds Formula One and grand prix racing.

As a result of the obscurity, Prince Bira would not be readily recognizable when he collapsed at Baron's Court Underground Station in London on the 23rd of December, 1985. He had outlived his cousin Chula. He had even outlived one of his children. But, there on that station platform, and only after Scotland Yard contacted the Royal Thai Assembly to confirm his identity, Prince Bira's life would come to an end at 71 years of age.

Prince Bira's life would be the stuff of legend. His family would be immortalized in film. He descended from royal blood. But, he would also be there when grand prix racing was entering what would be considered the golden era. He would remain around long enough to see a whole different era begin, but would be just as proud of his achievements in the air and on water. There would be no discounting his achievements. There were the Olympics appearances, the artwork exhibitions, the achievements in the air, and then those special days of dueling with Fangio, Moss, Villoresi, Caracciolla, Lang, Rosemeyer and Seaman. But, perhaps one of the greatest facts surrounding Prince Bira would be the fact that until Alex Yoong's appearance in 2001, Prince Bira would remain the only Formula One driver to hail from southeast Asia.

One would be hard-pressed to find something Prince Bira could not do, or that he did not excel at. Quite fitting, his cars bore the white mouse symbolizing his and his cousin's small physical stature. However, the mouse adorning the side of the car should have been Mighty Mouse, for such was the effect of his presence in the air, on land and on sea.

Sources:
Snellman, Leif. 'The Prince and I', (http://8w.forix.com/bira.html). 8W: The Stories of Motor Racing Facts and Fiction. http://8w.forix.com/bira.html. Retrieved 13 July, 2015.

'Drivers: Prince Bira', (http://www.historicracing.com/driver_az.cfm
?type=drivers_alpha&tStartRow=1&
AlphaIndex=B&driverID=2171). Historicracing.com. http://www.historicracing.com/driver_az.cfm
?type=drivers_alpha&tStartRow=1&AlphaIndex=B&driverID=2171. Retrieved 13 July, 2015.

'Legendary ERA Racer Prince Bira Dies', (http://en.espn.co.uk/onthisday/motorsport/story/2588.html). ESPN F1. http://en.espn.co.uk/onthisday/motorsport/story/2588.html. Retrieved 13 July, 2015.

'Drivers: Prince Bira', (http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/drv-birpri.html). GrandPrix.com. http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/drv-birpri.html. Retrieved 13 July, 2015.

Princess Ceril Birabongse. 'The Prince and I: My Life With Prince Bira of Siam', (https://books.google.com/books?
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v=onepage&q=Prince%20Bira&f=false). Google Books. Retrieved 13 July, 2015.

'The Golden Era-Drivers: B', (http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/db.htm). The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing. http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/db.htm. Retrieved 13 July, 2015.

Wikipedia contributors, 'Birabongse Bhanudej', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 30 June 2015, 02:18 UTC, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Birabongse_Bhanudej&oldid=669272968 accessed 13 July 2015 .