Book Review by Maggie Woods | Haynes: The First 40 Years

Haynes: The First 40 Years,
1960 To The New Millennium

“The name ‘Haynes’ is
synonymous with the best
in motoring books and
car manuals. But it’s more
than just manuals, as this
fascinating story of the
company with a passion
for cars reveals...”

THE WORLD LEADER IN CAR AND MOTORCYCLE service and repair manuals celebrated four decades in 2000. In Haynes: The First 40 Years, 1960 To The New Millennium, author Jeff Clew looks at the early years and follows the company's ups and downs on the road to making The Haynes Group the successful enterprise it is today.

The grainy black-and-white photograph of John Haynes with his 1954 Austin Seven Special at the front of the book was taken with a Brownie box camera (remember those?!) and marks a very special time for the man who was the founder of J H Haynes & Co Ltd, which became The Haynes Group.

As a schoolboy at Sutton Valence boarding school in Kent in 1954, John Haynes built the Austin Seven Special and then published a booklet explaining how he did it. The booklet was an instant sell-out, so he progressed to a part time booking publishing and mail order business. Eventually he produced further motoring titles before forming J H Haynes & Co Ltd in 1960 and The Haynes Group now operates from its headquarters in rural Somerset and has operations in America, France, Sweden and Australia with a sales network across the globe.

The second photograph shown is that of John Haynes, OBE, outside the Haynes Motor Museum with a beautiful 7-litre straight-eight, twin-overhead camshaft 1931 Model J Duesenberg Derham Tourster — the only one in Europe. This sets the scene for a fascinating story about
a company that has grown and adapted to an ever-changing world in the hands of a man who is passionate about cars.

John's writing has always been from personal, hands-on experience, rather than from second-hand information. His success was built on creating mutual benefits with his contacts and a firm idea of what
he wanted.

Haynes: The First 40 Years, 1960 To The New Millennium is the com-plete story of The Haynes Group and includes building up the business, moving to Sparkford, going public, getting through the difficult times, surviving recession and the creation of The Haynes Motor Museum. There is also an illustration of the changing face of the Haynes Manual showing the face-lifted cover, introducing new technology and taking The Haynes Group into the 21st Century

In the 35th year of the company's foundation, chairman John Haynes achieved recognition for his services to publishing. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queens 1995 Birthday Honours list, receiving the honour at Buckingham Palace from HRH The Prince of Wales. When Charles asked if John had published a manual for his Aston Martin, John said 'No,' missing a rare opportunity!

One of the highlights of the book is a wonderful action photograph of John Haynes' much-modified yellow TVR Tuscan being put through its paces by John Blundell at a Weston-super-Mare sprint.

The photographs in Haynes: The First 40 Years, 1960 To The New Millennium are not just a record of John's life with his company, they are every bit a piece of nostalgia as the beautiful and historic cars displayed in the Haynes Museum.

This fully-illustrated book — there are 120 pictures, some in colour — takes a frank look at the company's evolution: the acquisitions, diversifications, good times and bad and will be of great interest to all those who study business enterprise as well as those with a passion for cars and motorcycles.

It is a tribute to its founder and his success, and also to the loyal and hard-working employees who have been part of that success. There is also a list of all 900 Haynes books currently available for those who share John Haynes' passion for cars.

• Haynes: The First 40 Years, 1960 To The New Millennium, by
Jeff Clew, is available now in hardback at an RRP of £19.99. ISBN: 9781859604182.

home • top of page • all book reviews