kevscrivener
Moderator
It's my sad duty to inform you that my old pal Terry passed away on Sunday. His name will be familiar to many longer serving members, as one of the fixtures of our old Shipley rally.
I first met Terry in 1989, the first year I attended Shipley. Very much in his prime then, with that battered and well travelled 45 that I came to know so well, we hit it off from the start; not an easy thing to do since even his best friends would acknowledge that he could start an argument in an empty room, but he along with his great friend Albert Emmett were to be my inspiration to get into old Harleys in general and 45's in particular.
Those two, along with Johnny Hayes, were a breed apart; they were rallying and partying hard all over Europe when I was still in short trousers, and the stories they could tell would have made a fascinating book; and this in the days when there were probably more Vincents on British roads than there were Harleys.
I was actually the last person to ride with Terry, following him back from Shipley in 2012; even then he was finding the 45 hard work due to various accumulated injuries coupled to a steadfast diet of beer and roll-ups, but he persevered and we eventually made it back to his home in Macclesfield, having scared the life out of a fair few car drivers en route!
After that, Terry had a sidecar fitted but I don't think he ever went far with it; his later years were dogged by ill health but he kept his interest going to the end by building another 45 from his vast collection of parts stashed over the years. He attended his last Shipley this year, being brought by car by one of his many friends. His knowledge of old Harleys was a priceless treasure trove to me; they really do not make them like that any more. I am willing to bet that even as I am writing this, he will be up there starting yet another argument with Albert which will probably end up getting them, and all their other cronies, thrown out of heaven as they were from so many pubs!
Rest in peace old pal.
I first met Terry in 1989, the first year I attended Shipley. Very much in his prime then, with that battered and well travelled 45 that I came to know so well, we hit it off from the start; not an easy thing to do since even his best friends would acknowledge that he could start an argument in an empty room, but he along with his great friend Albert Emmett were to be my inspiration to get into old Harleys in general and 45's in particular.
Those two, along with Johnny Hayes, were a breed apart; they were rallying and partying hard all over Europe when I was still in short trousers, and the stories they could tell would have made a fascinating book; and this in the days when there were probably more Vincents on British roads than there were Harleys.
I was actually the last person to ride with Terry, following him back from Shipley in 2012; even then he was finding the 45 hard work due to various accumulated injuries coupled to a steadfast diet of beer and roll-ups, but he persevered and we eventually made it back to his home in Macclesfield, having scared the life out of a fair few car drivers en route!
After that, Terry had a sidecar fitted but I don't think he ever went far with it; his later years were dogged by ill health but he kept his interest going to the end by building another 45 from his vast collection of parts stashed over the years. He attended his last Shipley this year, being brought by car by one of his many friends. His knowledge of old Harleys was a priceless treasure trove to me; they really do not make them like that any more. I am willing to bet that even as I am writing this, he will be up there starting yet another argument with Albert which will probably end up getting them, and all their other cronies, thrown out of heaven as they were from so many pubs!
Rest in peace old pal.
