Paul White - OBITUARY
It is with great sadness that we record the death of Honorary Life Member Paul White on 13th May 2026 just a few days after his 78th birthday. Paul joined Tavern Motor Club in the late 1960's and took over from me as navigator for Bob Chapman in the early '70's winning numerous local events. He was then headhunted by Nigel Rockey and they went on to win both the Motoring News Road Rally Championship and the Ford Mexico Challenge in the same year. Paul's expertise and experience was soon noted by the professional teams which earned him a number of rides including with Russell Brooks and as a member of the organising team of the Camel Trophy Rally. Paul eventually settled into a position with Peugeot/Talbot working with Jean Todt in Paris when the 205 T16 was
being developed. Back in the UK he became manager of the rally team and went on to win the RAC Rally as co-driver for Henri Toivenen. All the while Paul never forgot his roots and remained loyal to Tavern and promoted it at every opportunity and in recognition of that he was made an Honorary Life Member.
I was fortunate enough to act as travelling marshal with Paul on a few long haul events such as The Monte Carlo Challenge, Classic Marathon and Ferrari Challenge in America and I will miss the endless tales of his experiences and wicked sense of humour.
Paul had been ill for a number of years and died at home being cared for by his wife Sue and daughter Sarah to whom we send our deepest sympathy. JD
Events
Tavern MC
60th Anniversary Dinner
Our now quinquennial dinner was held on Saturday 25th March 2023 and hosted over 100 members and ex members plus our guest speaker Nicky Grist.
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Oh and quinquennial means "every five years".
For more and loads of pictures click HERE.
Who are we?
Tavern Motor Club was started in 1963 by a group of Rallying enthusiasts many of who are still involved in Motorsport and Tavern Motor Club.
We are still a club based around Rallying. We run the Cotswold Historic Road Rally with tests and regularity sections all in the Cotswolds. Both rallies have classes for Novices and the more experienced competitor.
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We have a new event in September 2026, The Summers End Tour which is a Scenic Tour for Classic and Vintage cars.
We have competitors taking part at all levels of Rallying both in Britain and abroad.
Being an active club, Tavern Motor Club members are regularly out and about helping to organise and marshal events both locally, nationally and internationally.
If you are interested in Rallying and want to be involved come and visit us on any 2nd or 4th Monday night of the month at the
Royal British Legion at Dundry or contact Denise Desbois on
01761 233510 or at denise@desbois.co.uk for more information.
Where we meet
We meet on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month except Bank Holidays from about 20:00 here:
Royal British Legion Memorial Hall/106 Dundry Lane, Bristol BS41 8JE
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Henri Toivonen and Tavern MC's Paul White on their way to winning the 1980 RAC Rally
Tavern members helping to plant trees at Empowering Futures near Bristol to offset the carbon generated by the Cotswold Historic Road Rally 2025.
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