Who’s Who in the Imp Club
Who’s Who in the Club
Committee Contact’s Page – for contact details for committee members
Jump down to:
• Chairman – Tim Sears
• President – Sue Knight
• Founder – Richard Knight
• Past President – Rosemary Smith
Chairman
• Tim Sears
Tim was elected by the membership into the Chairman’s position at the Imp Club’s September 2024 AGM
“I was honoured to be voted in to the role of Chairman by the membership at this year’s AGM. Now that my daughters have grown up and I have a bit more time on my hands, I hope I can give something back to the Club that has been an integral part of my life for well over 40 years.
One of my earliest memories is sleeping behind the back seat of my Dad’s Imp on long journeys (not acceptable these days but it was very warm and I had the familiar note of the Imp engine to lull me to sleep).
I joined the Imp Club with my father in 1984 and passed my test in 1986 in my Balmoral Grey MK1 called ERX (reg: ERX 500C) as did my Mum after failing in a Mini four times in 1976. I also met my wife Nessa through Imps.
I worked with her sister who owned a Singer Chamois and after Nessa took the car for its MOT, she came to see me to tell me that it had passed. We soon found Nessa another Balmoral Grey Mark 1 Imp; once she owned the Imp I had to marry her! She still drives the same Imp as her everyday car 35 years later.
When our daughters were born we needed a bit more space when travelling; luckily, I was given a Husky that was going to be scrapped. After a tight budget restoration in 2002, the Husky has been used almost every day since, covering nearly 200,000 miles in that time.
As a family we are passionate about Imps. I’ve owned 14 Imps, 12 of which I still own today; 10 are roadworthy and 2 are waiting for restoration. We have no modern car so every journey out is an Imp journey.
My older daughter, became the 3rd generation of Imp drivers in our family and now uses her Imp as her everyday car.
I became Reading Area Centre organiser in 2001 (now the NE Hampshire and SW Surrey Area Centre) and have been involved in helping at several National weekends and was lead organiser in 2022 at Alton.
My approach as Chairman is to ensure a sense of stability and continuity. I would like to focus on the future of the Club by encouraging a wider range of demographics to engage with the Club, particularly through inspiring the younger generation to ‘Keep the Imp Alive‘.
For me the most important part of leadership is listening. I am here to be guided by the membership and am always open to listening to your ideas and suggestions for the Club.
I have made so many lovely friends through the Club over the years and hope to meet even more in the future.
Tim
President
• Sue Knight
Sue has been involved with the Imp Club since day one. Her late husband, Richard, founded the Club back in 1980.
With the realisation that Imp owners were in need of Imp parts to keep their Imps on the road, Richard wrote letters to various car magazines looking for like-minded Imp owners. The result was the birth of the Imp Club.
As membership numbers rose a Club magazine was launched. Sue typed the magazine on the dining room table using stencils and Richard printed it using an old duplicating machine.
Extract from Editorial February 1981 when the membership had reached 50
“I was born in Swindon, Wiltshire and grew up in a ‘railway’ family, going everywhere by train as my parents did not drive. At the age of 17 I was very eager to learn to drive, I passed my test first time and that was the start of my love of cars. My first car was a 1961 Ford Popular in lime green, not very reliable and I learnt how to do a few things with a wrench, sorting the flywheel with missing teeth and the like. The next car was a Mk 2 Vauxhall Viva which was not without many problems. My very close friend suggested their friend could come and help me and (as they say) the rest was history. Richard Knight was the friend and he arrived in his Imp and helped me out.
In 1976 we married and not only was I getting a fantastic husband and father, I was getting a great mechanic, electrician, odd job man, certainly a very clever man. He loved his Imps and so did I.
It is not surprising that this led to the letters to the motoring magazines that started the Imp Club all those years ago.
The connection with the club is documented below and since his passing I have had so much support and acknowledgement of where the club is now as well as how it has developed.
I appreciate all the cars for what they are, whether restored or not. The work and love from members should be celebrated for ‘Keeping the Imp Alive’
In my role as President I hope to attend occasions and meet as many people as possible, both members and the general public.
Sue Knight
Founder
• Richard Vaughan Knight (1949 – 2020)
Richard was born in Bradford and at age four moved with his family to Swindon where he grew up. He was apprenticed in telecommunications and spent many years with the then Post Office Telecommunications (now BT) before doing contract work at various places. In between contracts, and with a love of motor bikes and cars, he ‘temporarily’ took a post in a car accessory business.
Richard met his wife Sue through a mutual friend and they married in 1976. With his two daughters the time was never right to move on to another contract and his ‘temporary’ job became permanent. Imp ownership progressed from his original green Hillman Imp to a blue Singer Chamois and then to a Commer Imp Van with a rear seat conversion to make room for the family.
Around 1978/1979 Richard became aware that some Imp parts were becoming difficult to find and the idea of meeting other owners began to grow. In 1980 he wrote a letter to various car magazines to find other like minded owners. Before long many people answered and the embryo of an idea became a reality. Membership numbers rose and a club magazine was launched.
Listen to Richard talking about his Singer Chamois and founding the Imp Club here.
In the early days Richard’s wife Sue typed the stencils and Richard printed the magazine on an old duplicating machine followed by collating and posting. After a while a committee was formed and the Imp Club as we know it was well and truly in business. Regular meetings and get togethers gelled the club which has gone from strength to strength ever since.
Richard’s beautiful Imp Van was written off by a speeding motor bike and sadly this was the last Imp that Richard owned. He moved back into telecommunications and with company cars and long hours of work was unable to find the time to own and care for an Imp, although the love was never lost.
Visiting events and meeting Imp owners was always a pleasure. Richard was looking forward to the 40-year anniversary with delight that the idea had lasted so long.
Through his illness he would often reminisce on the journeys and adventures with various breakdowns and repairs en route. The love of the Imp remained to the end and within the family for ever.
Thank you to Richard’s wife, Sue, who provided the above obituary. The Imp Club is very pleased that Sue Knight has taken on the role of Vice President of the Imp Club since Richard’s passing.
Past President
• Rosemary Smith (1937– 2023)
Rosemary accepted the position in 1988 and attended the Club’s first weekend National at Capesthorne Hall the same year. She was a regular attendee at the Club’s annual National Event until poor health prevented her attendance.
In 1990 Rosemary sponsored a new award known as the ‘The Rosemary Smith Perpetual Award‘. This Waterford Crystal Trophy has been awarded annually since 1990 to her favourite Imp attending national.
When Rosemary was unable to attend National her prestigious award continued to be awarded. The Imp Club will continue to present this award in her memory.
Over the years the award has been presented to a diverse range of models. Check out the List here
The perpetual award is shown here on the bonnet of Grahame’s winning Super Imp at Capesthorne Hall in 1990.
After the presentation a base was added to the vase and each year a small plaque is engraved and added to the base to commemorate the winner.
Rosemary is pictured here alongside her 1966 Monte-Carlo Rally Imp, FRW 306C.
The photo was taken at Imp 2012 at Matlock shortly after her car had been restored.
FRW 306C retains the same bodyshell and drivetrain with which it contested the 1966 Scottish Rally.
The Imp Club was deeply saddened by the passing of longstanding Club President, Rosemary Smith, in December 2023. In her role of Honorary President Rosemary supported the Imp Club for many years.
More About Rosemary Smith
A female pioneer in a notoriously male-dominated sport, she drove in the Monte Carlo rally eight times, as well as most other iconic rallies all over the world, including an outright victory in the 1965 Tulip Rally, beating all the male drivers to the finish.
Rosemary came from Dublin and rallied Imps in the 1960s. The dedicated Wikipedia Page (external page: new tab) explains much more about her.
In 2013 Rosemary won an Irish Times Sportswoman Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2022 she was recognised by FIVA as one of nine heroes of motoring history to join its Heritage Hall of Fame. See the following press release:
A new name joins the FIVA Heritage Hall of Fame. FIVA, the International Federation of Historic Vehicles, has announced nine new heroes of motoring history who will join its Heritage Hall of Fame, launched last year to celebrate both world-famous figures and unsung heroes in automotive history.
Gaby von Oppenheim, one of the judges, explains: “FIVA clubs around the world were invited to nominate their own motoring heroes, regardless of whether these individuals are household names or relatively unknown. The primary criterion is that they choose men or women who have made significant contributions to our automotive heritage. From among the nominations, a prestigious international panel of judges selects the final inductees.”
For 2022, the list includes Rosemary Smith from Ireland
Rosemary is world renowned for her outstanding achievements in international motor sport, which includes the London-Sydney Marathon in 1968, the World Cup event two years later, the Safari Rally, the Shell 4000 as well as competing in the Monte Carlo Rally eight times and winning the Coup de Dames on several occasions. She has competed in the 24Hr Daytona Race and the 12 Hr Sebring event as well as the Irish Land Speed Record. Her name has been linked with the Hillman Imp (in which she won the Tulip Rally outright in 1965), the Sunbeam Tiger together with Ford Cortinas and Escorts, and the Porche 911T, invariably beating the male counterparts in her path.
Such recognition for Rosemary is heartedly acknowledged and reveals the status in which she is held internationally
