Woolf 'Babe' Barnato

Biography

St Judes United Church Cemetery, Surrey, England Birth: September 27, 1895 London, England

Death: July 27, 1948 (52)

Immediate Family:

Son of Barney Barnato and Frances Christina Barnato

Husband of Dorothy Maitland Barnato; Jacqueline Claridge Barnato and Joan Barnato

Father of Virginia Barnato; Diana Walker, MBE; Peter Woolf Barnato and Michael Jay Barnato

Brother of Leah Primrose Haxton and Isaac Henry 'Jack' Barnato Woolf Barnato was born in 1895.

Woolf is listed on the manifest of S.S. Empress of Britain in August 1931 with the following personal details: Height 5 ft 10 1/2 inches. Complexion: Dark. Hair: Black. Eyes: Brown. No distinguishing marks.

In WW1 he enlisted in the army rising to the rank of Captain. Woolf was physically imposing which gave rise to his ironic nickname 'Babe'. On reaching the age of 21, in 1916, he inherited vast wealth from his late father and was able to indulge in his love of motor racing. In 1926 he became the major shareholder in Bentley Motor Cars and an enthusiastic race of the marque as one of the famous "Bentley Boys".

Financier, motor racing driver and Chairman of Bentley Cars. Joel Woolf 'Babe' Barnato was born in Westminster, London, the son of Barney Barnato, an exceedingly rich man who made his fortune in the Kimberley diamond mines of South Africa. At the age of only 2, whilst sailing back from South Africa to England, his father inexplicably committed suicide by jumping overboard. After many years a wrangling, Woolf was finally given his inheritance. As he grew older, he joined a social set of very rich daredevil amateur drivers called the 'Bentley Boys' as they liked the cars of W.O.Bentley. Nicknamed 'Babe' because of his heavyweight boxer's physique, he agreed to finance W.O.Bentley and became Chairman of the company in 1925. He began racing at Brooklands and in 1925 he co-drove a Bentley to break the World's 24hr record at 95.03mph at Montlhery, France. Woolf raced Bentleys in the Le Mans 24hrs races in only 1928, 1929 and 1930, winning each time. In 1930 he accepted a challenge to race his Bentley against an express train, Le Train Bleu (the Blue Train) from Cannes to London. Barnato bet that he would drive his Bentley from Cannes to London and beat the train to Calais. After averaging 43.43mph during the 570 mile journey to Calais, Barnato crossed the Channel and finally reached the Conservative Club in St.James Street, London, beating the Blue Train to Calais by four minutes and winning his £200 bet. Barnato died in Marylebone, London, in 1948.

Family links:

Parents: Barney Isaacs Barnato (1851 - 1897) Frances Christina Bees Barnato (1858 - 1943) Spouse 1: Dorothy Maitland Falk Wainwright (1893 - 1961)* Children: Virginia Barnato Flory (1916 - 1980)* Diana Maitland Barnado Walker (1918 - 2008)* Jacqueline Barnato (1919 - 1919)* Siblings: Leah Primrose Barnato Blackwell (1893 - 1933)* Isaak Henry Woolf Barnato (1894 - 1918)*

Burial: Englefield Green Cemetery Englefield Green Runnymede Borough Surrey, England GPS (lat/lon): 51.42645, -0.57425

Sources

Classic and Sports Car Magazine April 2005 Various contemporary Jewish articles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolf_'Babe'_Barnato

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13927132

Woolf was born in 1895. He was the son of Barney Issacs and Fanny Bees. He passed away in 1948. [1]