Walter Leslie Handley (5 April 1902 – 15 November 1941) born in Aston, Birmingham, known as Wal Handley, was a champion British inter-war motorcycle racer with four wins at the Isle of Man TT Races in his career. Later on, he also raced cars in the 1930s and died in a World War II aircraft accident while serving as pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary.
Walter Leslie Handley was born on 5 April 1902, son of John Thomas Handley and his wife Clara. He had a hard childhood. His father died of cancer when he was only nine and he soon had to help by working. He was just over 12 years old when he left school early and tried a variety of jobs before joining the OK motorcycle firm. He became a Junior Tester and general helper. His motorcycle career began with reliability trials, hill climbs and speed trials. In 1922, aged 20, he took his opportunity to ride an OK in the first Lightweight TT race in the Isle of Man. The story of his setting off in the wrong direction of the course in practice is well known but the ridicule in the Press stung him into action and on race day he gained a fastest lap from a standing start but his lead ended on the second lap with a broken inlet valve. His ill luck continued into 1923 but in the Lightweight Race after leading for the first three laps he managed to finish in eighth place with an average speed of 47.8 mph. He was awarded the Nisbet Shield by the ACU Stewards for pluck and endurance after suffering a 'packet of troubles'. By 1924, he had joined the Rex Acme Company but with his ill luck continuing he was beginning to earn the unwelcome tag of 'Unlucky Handley'. This was after suffering mechanical failures in all his TT races when in the lead. Then in 1925, his luck changed dramatically, he became the first rider to win two TT races in one week and three fastest laps. His first TT victory was the Junior TT. He won at the record speed of 65.02 mph with a fastest lap of 65.89 mph. After nearly three and a half hours in the saddle; it was over 35 minutes faster than the previous year's winner. Of the 50 starters, only 14 managed to finish and only four gained replicas because of the high speed set by the winner.
The following year, Handley finished second in his first Senior TT. He had been delayed by over seven minutes with plug trouble. He piloted his 60-degree Rex Acme V-twin through the field from 22nd to finish runner up to Stanley Woods who had won the first seven lap Senior TT by 4 mins 21 secs. In the following year in the Lightweight TT, he beat the Italian challengers by over eight minutes. In 1929, he gained a second place with his AJS in the Junior TT; then later in the week the Senior TT got off to a wet start and several riders slid off their bikes in the opening lap at Greeba Bridge including Wal. He was unhurt and quickly moved fallen riders and their machines off the road preventing further calamities before going to get help. On 21 June 1929 the ACU Secretary, Tom Loughborough sent Wal a letter thanking him for thinking of others by giving up his own chances.
Handley's fourth win was the rain soaked Senior TT of 1930. He won on his works-assisted Rudge at the record speed of 74.24 mph. He became the first rider to lap the mountain course under 30 mins, the first to do two laps under the hour and the first to do four laps under two hours. It was also the last time a push rod machine won a TT race; and it was the last time that a TT winner's bike could have been bought over the counter by an enthusiast as a near standard production machine. In this race of records, it was also the first TT race to be broadcast live by the BBC.
Handley became successful on track as well as road. At Brooklands, he won both the solo and the sidecar 200-mile events on the notoriously rugged outer circuit. In 1929, he raced up Switzerland's Klausen Hill Climb to win the 350cc class at record speed, riding the Marchant designed Motosacoche. On the European mainland and in Northern Ireland, he had many Grand Prix victories. On three occasions in the inter-war period, he became European champion, twice in the 350cc class (1928 and 1935) and once in the 500cc class (1928). He also became the holder of numerous motorcycle world records taken in 1930 at Arpajon and Montlhéry aboard the Belgian FN designed by Dougal Marchant. Earlier, at Brooklands in 1926, he broke the 200-mile world records for all classes up to and including 1000cc on his 350cc Rex Acme. On the same day, he took the prestigious classic hour record for solo 500cc machines at 91.20 mph on a 350cc machine (Rex Acme-Blackburne). This is the only time this has been done.
In 1933, Handley also added a couple of 250cc continental Grand Prix wins riding Moto Guzzi machines, and in the same year, he broke the run of Norton dominance by winning the 350 class of the Ulster Grand Prix. In 1934, he contracted to race Norton motorcycles and gained his fifth win in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. In 1937, he gained the gold star for BSA by lapping the Brooklands circuit at over 107 mph. He did this at a time when most people had wrongly surmised that he had decided to retire.
Handley took up car racing in 1934, becoming a member of George Eyston's MG team. His car racing ability was soon remarked upon at Brooklands and also drew favourable comment in the Isle of Man 'Round the Houses' contests. He also raced cars at Donington and in the RAC International TT on the Ards circuit in Northern Ireland, but he had no success and, after MG exited motor racing, he teamed up with Freddie Dixon. In 1935, he became Dixon's co-driver and together they raced the Dixon Riley at Brooklands, where Walter shared in their gaining the Race Team Award in the 1935 500-mile race. It was at Donington in the British Empire Trophy Race of 1936 that Handley suffered serious injuries when the Riley somersaulted at the Hairpin Bend. A major factor causing this spectacular crash was due to the fact that Dixon had decided to experiment by locking the differential on the eve of the race and there had been no time to practise. No sooner had Handley recovered from his injuries than he was looking for another opportunity to race when war came.
Handley's main relaxation came from flying. His flying instructor was Tommy Rose, who later became a famous aviator gaining the record for flying from London to Cape Town. Handley soon became a prominent member of the Midland Aero Club, his aircraft included an SE 5A, a Bristol fighter and a Puss Moth. By the time of World War II, he had flown for over 700 hours, an unusual achievement for a private owner at that time. When war came, he immediately volunteered to join the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA). He became the CO at Hawarden, Flintshire - the largest Ferry Pool in the ATA.
Handley died on 15 November 1941 when his Bell P39 Airacobra AH 598 crashed after the engine started cutting-out during take-off from RAF Kirkbride, just south of Kirkbride in Cumberland. The crash site was near Fingland, 2 miles (3.2 km) east of RAF Kirkbride.
The accident was described by an eye-witness:-
"Walter took-off from an aerodrome....and crashed into a ploughed-field within five minutes of being airborne. He was piloting an Airacobra. When he took-off the motor was 'moving' hard with an awful din and when he throttled down, it appeared to cut for a few seconds and then finally died out. Wal side-slipped towards a wood with it seemed the intention of putting his craft into the tree-tops. He missed the wood by feet. The starboard-wing hit the ground first and the machine immediately exploded."
The ATA Accident Committee concluded that the cause of the fire could not be established.
He was 39 years old. Geoff Davison, a fellow competitor, who knew Walter well, said that Wal had many friends and only one enemy, himself, 'he would have had far more success in life had he been less morose in manner, less bluntly and directly accusing when ill-used.'
Handley was buried at Yardley Cemetery, Birmingham.