Bill Dryden – Obituary

Bill Dryden  January 13 1943 – Saturday November 15 2025

The SMRC are saddened to learn of the passing of former Club Member Bill Dryden who died today, 15th November 2025.  Honorary Club Member, Graham Gauld provides this fitting tribute;

Bill Dryden spins John Romanes’  Brabham BT21 when trying to overtake Andrew Fletcher’s Brabham.  (Gauld)

There are surely few members of Scottish Motor Racing Club who will not remember some of the greatest battles seen at Ingliston circuit between Bill Dryden’s various Vauxhalls and Douglas Niven’s Boss Escort. They used to light up the saloon car race at every meeting and were fairly evenly matched which added to the excitement.

Bill was born into cars as his father George Dryden was Managing Director of the SMT Garage group in Scotland and went on to be Chairman of the Scottish Motor Trade Association. As a result Bill’s his career was laid out for him and he was to join SMT where his brother Denis Dryden also worked. Bill was to eventually handle the GM truck division in the SMT Group and so from the start he was wedded to Vauxhalls.

But not quite, as the first time I saw Bill in action was in a small driving test meeting run by either Lothian Car Club or MG Car Club. A  fresh-faced Bill turned up with a little Fiat 500. He was spectacular, and promptly rolled the 500 when swerving into one of the garages on a test.  He then moved on to an MG Midget which he ran in rallies and hill climbs. Clearly he had talent and this was to develop partly in rallies.

In the mid 1950s Vauxhall produced the VX/490 and it was quickly prepared for rallying and was to be a stalwart in British events. Clearly Bill’s father, George, who could be stern at the most appropriate times, was, however, persuaded to run a team of three Vauxhall 4/90’s on the International Scottish Rally for  Bill, his brother Denis and Jimmy McInnes and they performed well.

But it was racing that attracted Bill and he quietly entered the Vauxhall for the very last race meeting held at Charterhall in October 1964 and proved to be as competitive on the track as he was in rallies.  That was it, from then on rallies were put on the shelf and racing was the aim.

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A youthful Bill Dryden at the wheel of a Formula V single seater, his first single seater drive. (Gauld)

It was season 1965 that totally changed the face of motor racing in Scotland with the opening of the Ingliston circuit near Edinburgh airport.

Bill Dryden raced at Ingliston for the first time at the second ever race meeting in May 1965 driving a Lotus Elan that had been bought by his friend Nick Cuthbert. On his first outing on the circuit Bill impressed everyone by finishing third in the GT race behind Bill Stein driving the Ecurie Ecosse Tojeiro-Buick coupe and Team Lotus official driver Mike Beckwith in another Lotus Elan.

Indeed Bill was to impress circuit owner John Romanes so it was no surprise when Romanes became an entrant for Bill in some of his early races.

When there was a move to promote the new Formula Vee single seater class in Britain a group of Vee’s were sent to Scotland by VW UK  run by the best Formula Vee driver at the time, Nick Brittan. Bill Dryden was chosen to drive a Dolling but it was uncompetitive.

In 1966 SMT Sponsored the GT Trophy events and Bill won the lower capacity class with the Cuthbert Lotus Elan.

At the September meeting David Murray chose Bill to drive the Ecosse-Climax single seater that Stan Sproat had built out of the damaged Cooper Monaco Ecosse had built as a Libre special. He was to finish second to Alan Rollinson’s Brabham and ahead of Jock Russell’s Russell-Ford V8 libre car.  By 1967 Ecurie Ecosse had created two small single seaters powered by Hillman Imp engines and Murray tested a number of Scots drivers so it was no surprise when Bill was given one to race late in 1967 and took fourth place in the libre race.

By 1968 John Romanes was easing his way out of racing and loaned his Brabham BT21 to Bill at Ingliston but on his first drive he spun on the back straight and was lucky not to hit anything. However he was to win the Libre race at the next meeting.

Bill Dryden’s first race, at Charterhall in October 1964 diving down the inside of two Minis (Gauld)

It was not until the May Ingliston meeting of 1969 that a new name was to appear in Scottish saloon car racing, Doug Niven, who finished second in his Ford Anglia. A  year later and Doug had his Escort Twin Cam and Bill Dryden arrived with a Vauxhall Viva GT.

At the July race meeting we saw the start of the Dryden/Niven campaign when Niven just pipped Dryden to finish first and second at the SMT Trophy Race meeting.

I do not intend to catalogue all of their future battles and saloon championships but it is sufficient to say Bill Dryden and Doug Niven became true local hero’s and along the way they both graduated to bigger and better cars.

There was the Vauxhall Firenza and the ex-Gerry Marshall Vauxhall for Bill –  plus a run with an imported Holden/Vauxhall from Australia – and for Doug Niven, the Ford Boss Escort . These were great times and the rivalry between the two was enjoyed by them both and never turned into a grudge match as is often the case.

Bill Dryden was continuing to race but mainly in local events. He even raced one of the small Honda’s for H & G Robinson at Ingliston but he retired from racing when his wife Sheena gave birth to their daughter..

 Bill did not walk away from the sport.  Instead he spent more time on the Committee of SMRC  and working in the background. Meanwhile he was kept more than busy in his normal work at SMT.

He was by now a member of the British Racing Drivers Club and was a regular attender at BRDC Scottish members meetings  organised by Hugh McCaig but motor racing was taking a back seat.

Then came tragedy when his wife Sheena died and he was to spend the rest of his life at his home by the coast near Aberlady. In recent years he took ill and he died on November 15.

Bill Dryden will always be remembered by those who knew him as a  tough competitor in racing and in golf which he enjoyed but  it was those battles  with Doug Niven will always remain in the mind of motor racing enthusiasts over the thirty years Bill raced. SMRC send their condolences to his family.

Bill Dryden as we will always remember him battling with the Vauxhall against Doug Niven’s Boss Escort at Ingliston (Gauld)

Graham Gauld