Bid to honour the man who saved VW Beetle

VW enthusiasts who drove from Germany gather to pay respects to the man who saved their car and factory.

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AN unassuming visionary who saved the legendary VW Beetle from extinction is to be commemorated on road signs in the village of his birth.

Saddleworth parish councillor Jamie Curley, backed by an enthusiastic community group, had a unique brainwave to recognise Major Ivan Hirst.

At the end of the Second World War, the major, who served in the REME, was sent to Wolfsburg to sort out the bombed remnants of the Volkswagen factory for the British Army.

But sifting the debris, the major miraculously discovered an early Beetle and considered it would make ideal transport for allied troops and believed it could be a commercial success.

But Britain's motor manufacturers shunned the early prototypes, with an official report stating it 'does not reach the fundamental technical requirement of a motor car'.

However, the major and his superior, Colonel Charles Radclyffe, managed to get one of the rare surviving saloons running and persuaded the allied management to restart production. At the end of 1945, the factory had rolled out more than 20,000. The first Beetle, as it became known, went to Holland two years later.

Having handed over the Volkswagen factory to a new trust run by the new West German federal government, major Hirst left Wolfsburg in 1949 and demobbed two years later.

Unveiling

But he kept in touch with the company throughout his life and a group of VW workers and enthusiasts travelled to Saddleworth after his death to pay respects at Heights.

Councillor Curley, a Conservative member of the parish council, received backing for the commemorative signs from Greenfield and Grasscroft Residents' Association.

Said Jamie: "I would like the names of VW and REME on the signs and I'm still working on the wording. I'm thinking of something like 'Birthplace of Major Hirst (REME) the man who saved Volkswagen'.

"It would be great if we could get the family across for an unveiling."

Chairman of Greenfield and Grasscroft Residents' Association, Dr Andrew Taylor, a VW fan from a very early age, said: "I was aware of Major Hirst's sterling and fundamental contribution to the birth of the Volkswagen story.

"It is only fitting his beneficial contribution to the life of millions be celebrated with recognition of his birthplace by signs on entry to Greenfield."

Jane Braithwaite, the major's cousin once removed, who lives near the graveyard at Heights, said: "A road in Wolfsburg, not far from Volkswagen's factory buildings, is named in his honour 'Major-Hirst-Straße' (Major-Hirst-Road)."

GGRA has contributed £95 each for three signs which will appear on the roads into his birthplace.