Welcome to the Website of Andy Lambert
Background:
This is the home page of me Andrew Lambert (universally known as Andy). My wife and daughter keep saying "You need to write a biography of your interesting life in Vehicle and Aircraft Recovery, along with all the things you have achieved". Well yes, I would like to, but I am crap at grammar! So here is my life summed up in a few web pages, including some of my many pictures, all of which tell a story. There is a short background to the last 70 odd years and some details of the fascinating events I have got myself involved with. Also, there are links at the top of this page to other websites I have created and the 800 plus videos, often from unique vantage points I have made over the last half a century.
Even by my own admission I have made a 'name' for myself in several different areas including vehicle and aircraft recovery, charity, journalism and both boat and vehicle tracking. I am lucky to have worked with some incredible people on, some seriously mind boggling projects, some of which changed the vehicle recover industry forever, while other projects helped in building Brooklands Museum's large collection. I would love to tell you all about it and so if you have the time, please click on the 'About' link above.
I was born a Cockney, grew up in Wandsworth and now live near the coast in Hampshire. I am proud member of that historical family the Lamberts, (my 22nd Grandfather was Edward the 1st, King of England). I went to the Elliott School in Putney and grew up with an interest in all things Mechanical and Electronic. On leaving school in the sixties, I entered the world of electronics. However, I was soon seduced by the 'Vehicle Recovery' industry and spent nearly all my working life in it, founding both the National Rescue group and the MTS group with my brother Geoff along the way.
Today I have more or less retired, but being a guy who gets bored easily I helped set up the Recovery Industry Charity RISC UK and on the sad death of Tom Johnson in 2018 I was asked to become Chairman. We try and help VRO's in trouble and spend a lot of time lobbying government for changes to safety. I have also continued my forty year connection with the Brooklands Museum, still undertaking aircraft recovery and supporting other volunteer teams on site (even though climbing up on the back of my AEC mobile crane Milly is becoming harder each year!)
So what is of interest on this website?
Along with the 'About' link above you will see ones for 'Media Links'' The Media Link one will take you to and explain my several playlists containing 800 plus fascinating Videos that I have put on-line. Subjects include Brooklands, Motor Racing, Vehicle Recovery, Aviation and Travel, all divided in to playlists. There is also a few of the thousands of photographs I have taken over the years in the Images gallery.
Off special interest to some is my Scrapbook which contains some of the press cuttings I have kept over the years, to start with it shows some of the RTA’s I have dealt with (an RTA (Road Traffic Accident) is what the youngsters call an RTC these days). It then goes on to show a little of the MTS days, a few obituaries and more recently work on Safety and scattered throughout are the odd aircraft and vehicle recovery stories.
Some of the stories you can learn about here
Tesco lorry having a nap
A very difficult recovery down in Sussex the lorry had left the road and landed on it side. We had to empty it then air-bag it onto its wheels, before we could winch it back to the road.
First M25 RTC at Jun 10
The very first accident on the M25 at junction 10 Cobham the motorway junction was still being built when this customer decide it was time to skid over the edge of the A3 and land below.
Lifting a WW II Bomber
This image show me lifting the famous "Loch Ness" Vickers Wellington at Brooklands an an aircraft I have been involved with since its Recovery in 1985. You can see many videos about it at www.andysvideo.com
Lifting a V Bomber Cockpit
This image show me lifting the Brooklands Valiant Cockpit into Barnes Wallis' Stratosphere Chamber using the Brooklands Belle a Recovery Vehicle I designed with Gordon Jackson again more at www.andysvideo.com
Garage Manager software
My wife Christine (above), Ian Lane and myself launched Motor Trade Software (known by all as MTS) in the late eighties and developed the first purpose designed Vehicle Recovery Control software which by the late nineties was used by some 80% of UK Recovery Operators
The Standards Committee
The very first Standards Committee in the Recovery Industry only happened because in 1984 I invited the best person from each Motoring Organisation to a 'boys' day out at Brooklands Museum and then trapped them in a room! This image shows one of the later and larger meetings
BBC Breakfast TV
The Story of how we got Red Lights for Recovery Vehicles is a long one that has been well covered elsewhere, but because of my involvement with it I was invited to the BBC to discuss our success in 2023
Aviation Heritage Award 2023
During my years in recovery and after when I retired, I have been involved in the rescue of a huge number aircraft. In 2023 Aviation Heritage acknowledge this with a life time achievement award.