Leonard John Kensell Setright (1931 - 2005)

Born 10 Aug 1931 in London, England

Ancestors

Died 7 Sep 2005 at age 74 in London,England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Beverley Melchior [send private message]

Biography

Place of Birth: London

Born:August 10, 1931

Died:London, September 7, 2005, aged 74.

With his distinctive LJK Setright byline, Leonard Setright was one of the finest, most eloquent and best- loved motoring correspondents.

Although coming late to Ortho-dox Judaism, he had deep Jewish roots in his parent’s native Australia. His mother Selena’s family were founder members of Sydney’s Great Synagogue. His father Henry Roy Setright, was an engineer, best known as the inventor of the rotary ticket machine, widely used on British buses till the 1970s.

Born in Hackney, Leonard Set-right went to grammar school in Pal-mers Green, North London, and read law at London University. But he did not enjoy its practice, so in 1960 he turned to writing about engineering, which held a pivotal place in his affections, due to his father’s influence.

He joined a leading technical magazine, “Machine Age,” and be-came its editor before attracting att-ention in “Car Magazine” at home and “Car & Driver” in the USA. He spoke on radio and wrote more than 25 books. The most recent, “Drive On! A Social History of the Motor Car,” was published in 2003.

His style and knowledge were unrivalled, as was his love of provocation. In his reviews of new models of cars and motorbikes he delighted in challenging contemporary fashion as he argued against speed limits, modern car design or diesel engines.

Any editor who commissioned an article from him knew it would arrive on the required day, with the exact number of words, no mistakes, and usually laid out precisely for that publication. He would embellish with Latin or even Hebrew quotations, apparently taking the reader’s literary knowledge for granted.

A fast and expert driver, with a romantic picture of the unfettered driving of a past era, Leonard loved cars and motorbikes, especially his Bristol and Honda machines. He was equally stylish in his own persona, sporting a black Russian cig-arette and glass of champagne.

He was an equally accomplished musician, a founder member of the Philharmonia Chorus and an expert clarinettist who, as a National Ser-viceman, had played in the RAF or-chestra, sharing a desk with Dudley Cohen, founder of the Zemel Choir.

When called up, as Ariel Jon-athan ben Zvi, to read the haftarah at Kingston, Surbiton and District Synagogue, where he was a member, he would write out music and words on manuscript paper, from which he chanted. He had a collection of shofarim with which he delighted generations of children .

A ba’al teshuvah, Leonard experienced his return to Judaism after the tragic death of his first wife in 1980. With his two daughters having left home, he visited the US to change direction professionally —but ended up still writing about cars.

In Texas he came under the influence of the Lubavitch organisation. On his return, he remarried and moved to Surbiton, where he could easily attend synagogue.

Embracing his new-found Jud-aism with his usual wholehearted enthusiasm and style, in 1986 he wrote a defence of shechitah for the JC, citing its viability on “scientific, religious and humanitarian grounds.” He also enjoyed meetings of the Guild of Jewish Journalists.

He is survived by his two daughters and his second wife, Helen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._J._K._Setright

Sources

http://simanaitissays.com/2014/10/07/drive-on-urges-l-j-k-setright/

• http://www.geni.com/people/Leonard-Setright/6000000000952788018?through=6000000000984022155