The Marendaz light aeroplanes of the 1930s were the product of a man who served as a Royal Flying Corps pilot and built some excellent sporting cars — but who courted much controversy, not least due to his political views
MARENDAZ
That one of the first results in an internet search for his name is a site devoted to debunking ‘myths’ about Oswald Mosley tells you much about the alleged political views of Donald Marcus Kelway Marendaz.
Some might call his life out-of-theordinary, colourful, or something similarly euphemistic. Other, stronger interpretations are available.
While his First World War service is beyond doubt, so, seemingly, is the fact that Marendaz was a member of Mosley’s British Union of Fascists, and that he was imprisoned, albeit on trumped-up charges, as a potential security risk. His own firm built a very well-regarded series of Marendaz Special sports cars, which still have a devoted following, yet some of the claims he made about his automotive career were, at best, questionable. His post-war move to South Africa ended up mired in controversy and legal dispute, so he returned to Britain, writing regular missives to magazines at the merest criticism of his vehicles — and sometimes th…
