Celebrating The Life of Richard ‘Dick’ Salmon (1925-2025)

Former BRM Formula 1 Mechanic.

Born in Irnham, the son of the village postmaster and his wife, who ran the village shop, Dick grew up with a fascination for things mechanical and left school at 14 to work in local garages.

Keen to serve his country, he joined the Home Guard at age 16 and received his army call-up in 1944. Service in various parts of the Middle East broadened his mind considerably, and like many others of his generation, he wasn’t too keen on the prospect of an ordinary office or factory job following his ‘demob’ in 1947.

Initially, Dick returned to working in a local garage, but in 1950, a friend’s tip-off about an opportunity at BRM, led to his being one of the first people employed by Raymond Mays.

Dick immediately showed great initiative and was soon promoted to a Mechanic’s role in the Racing Team. There followed 15 years of travelling the world, working with and for many of the greatest drivers of the era. The pinnacle of Dick’s career was undoubtedly serving as Graham Hill’s mechanic in 1962, the year of BRM’s World Championship triumph.

With family responsibilities pressing, Dick stepped back from the Formula 1 team in 1965 and later took up the offer of a job with Lotus, testing production cars. By the early 80’s, Dick had become a partner in a successful car restoration business, based in Billingborough.

Finally, at the stage in his life where pipe and slippers would beckon most men, Dick turned his ever-active mind to writing; producing two excellent books, relating the intertwined stories of his own life and the rise and fall of BRM.