Phil Llewellin was one of the world’s best motoring and travel writers and a member of the Midland Group of Motoring Writers, which runs the fund named in his memory.
He began his career at the Oswestry and Border Counties Advertizer at the age of 16 and was for many years a freelance who wrote for CAR, Automobile, Car & Driver, Truck, the Observer, the Daily Telegraph, the Independent and many more. His career saw him drive more than two million miles in 62 different countries, though he was never happier than when he was at home in the Welsh borders.
Octane called him 'motoring's own Bill Bryson'. Gavin Green, one of his editors at CAR, said he 'lived his life to every cubic inch of its capacity' and was the magazine's most versatile writer. Former Top Gear presenter Frank Page said Phil was 'one of the best motoring writers, if not the best, of the past four decades'.
He died following a heart attack in July 2005. Such was his enterprise and thoroughness as a motoring writer that he had once road tested the hearse that carried him to his funeral.
Read more about Phil and recollections from his colleagues at Automobile Magazine.