A businessman, a charity man, and – always – a gentleman (From Surrey Comet)

A businessman, a charity man, and – always – a gentleman

9:36am Friday 29th October 2004 in News

Guy Salmon who has died, aged 91, was not just a car dealer. He was a car enthusiast. For those old enough to remember, the very mention of his name sparks memories of a bygone and, through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, a more glamorous era. HANNAH SUMMERS reports.

Who could forget those Bentleys and Jags outside his showrooms in Thames Ditton through the 1950s and 1960s, at a time when most people dared not even aspire beyond their motorcycle combination to a Ford Anglia.

He was part of that great era of Kingston dealerships that saw John Cooper developing his famous Minis in Hollyfield Road, Surbiton, and top grands prix driver Roy Salvadori running a showrooms on Tolworth roundabout.

Guy Salmon bought his first car after borrowing £25 from his mother. Aged 20, he went on to set up a dealership in Surbiton's Brighton Road, with a few Rolls Royce and Bentley cars in 1934.

After driving a fire engine during the war, he founded the site of what is still the original Guy Salmon dealership in Thames Ditton.

Then a factory that produced powered mountings for gun turrets during the war, the site cost him just £10,000. He transformed it into a showroom and turned the nearby air-raid shelters into offices.

The business grew and grew, and Salmon was soon highly respected both by motor traders, and as an individual in the community.

St John Standley, who now owns a restaurant in Esher, started work washing cars for Guy Salmon at the age of 12.

He recalls: "It was not like having a boss that looked down on you." He speaks of Guy Salmon's "flamboyant character and unbelievable dress sense".

He says: "He would wear the most amazing clothes and drive a white Bentley that had red stripes down the side and a black leather interior with red piping.

"Only someone like him could get away with driving a car like that. He was a real gentleman and commanded respect wherever he went.

"He wasn't really a drinking man but enjoyed a glass of wine, and he appreciated real jazz."

Mr Standley still remembers a piece of advice he was once given by Mr Salmon: "He told me you need three things in the business world: money, brains and luck. You can borrow the money and buy the brains, but you will get nowhere without the luck.' I still believe that today."

If you need luck to develop a business, then Mr Salmon certainly had it. His first dealings with Jaguar Cars UK were in 1946 when he bought his first Jaguar for £1, 650, and then sold it for a profit a year later.

His business went from strength to strength in the 1950s, when he acquired the Jaguar franchise from Pages of Epsom, and then went on to become the top distributor for Jenson cars.

Mr Standley says: "He was a man who built things up and he certainly built his business on quality of service, that's for sure."

Mr Salmon's brother, Mickey, echoes this sentiment. He would give his customers a refund if they were unhappy with a car, as long as it was undamaged.

"He would rather write a cheque than create a fuss, no matter how ungenuine a complaint," he says.

It was such an attitude that honed Mr Salmon's reputation and expanded his customer base, which has included celebrities in the past such as The Moody Blues back in the 1960s, Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard and Michael Buerk.

Sales manager of 16 years John Morgan describes him as a "truly inspirational man and charitable to all those around him".

He describes how, when the housing market crashed in the 1990s, Mr Salmon helped set him up in a new home.

He says: "I had only been working here for 18 months and he did me a huge favour. He was like that with everyone and also donated a lot of money to charity."

Gloria Verrell, who has worked for Guy Salmon Jaguar since 1969 as a receptionist, remembers how Mr Salmon would always "go to town" on the launch of a new car.

Gloria says: "He once got a Jaguar fighter aircraft on the forecourt to promote a new car. Another time we had the Royal Scots Guards marching up and down outside with all the children looking on."

Gloria started work there around the same time that Mr Salmon's son, Richard, joined the company, taking care of the rental side of the business, which specialises in Ferrari, Porsche, Rolls Royce, BMW, Bentley and Mercedes-Benz.

This started out with just a few cars but expanded quickly with premises at Sloane Square and Marble Arch. Now it has regional offices throughout the UK.

The company is no longer a family business, however, having been bought by the Sytner Group in 1998. But the name that built up such a strong reputation has remained.

Guy Salmon, who has a son and two daughters, died on September 12. Hundreds are expected to attend a memorial service at the Thames Ditton dealership this week.