Val's early life was largely uneventful, though his godfather, the adventurer and gentleman racer Arthur Andrews, was responsible for his passion for motor racing.
Upon his Bankruptcy discharge in 1936 he persuaded his godfather to finance the purchase of a long-chassis VDP tourer, and in short order bought the entire stock of parts when the Squire Car Manufacturing Company was placed in Voluntary liquidation the next year.
Suspension and modified frame from the Riley stable retained the 102" wheelbase of the short chassis Squire, providing the back-bone for what was to be an interesting but doomed venture.
There was a final glimmer, when Zethrin sold the remaining Squire in his possession to an American car dealer, Charles Davison, who was signed up to promote the Rennsport in The USA.
[7] No more was heard of the car until 2007, when the heavily damaged remnants of Val Zethrin's automotive property came to light, stored in a derelict coachhouse at Sandown, on the IOW.