Having worked with Bev for more than 15 years at Rothmans before the closure of the Tepco/ASL Laboratories site at the end of 1999, and our continued friendship ever since, I have a fund of treasured memories of him. My Trident left parked-up in the 'bike shelter' inevitably got us together at first, and our discussions on all things motorcycle related flowed on from that point on, with my 'essential' visits to the Tepco workshop for 'maintenance' on some mysterious part of a smoking machine providing good cover for the continuance of interesting discussions, plus a bit of covert fettling in the workshop.
 
His guidance during my inept attempts at using the Tepco Myford (and later the bigger Churchill) were invaluable, as I slowly learned the art of 'turning' bits of metal. The next autojumble was always a good source for a yarn, listing the bits we needed to complete the latest project - if not that new project that we always needed so badly(!). We regularly met up at the 'jumbles to compare our finds, and had our own favoured seats in the Grandstand at Kempton for our lunchtime sit-downs, where we would often meet up with the usual suspects, including his Brother Brian, Mark M and Andy.
 
A talented engineer, I watched with fascination as his pair of formidable 3-wheelers came together. Slightly less formidable were his beloved cyclemotors, on which he would dispense many hours of loving attention, making them go far faster than their designers had ever intended! His ability to extract performance from a two-stroke engine was prodigious, his well-tuned MZ's proving an eye-opener to those who had low expectations from such apparently unassuming fare.
 
He proved equally adept at providing nursing care, drawing the short straw and picking me up from hospital after I'd had an op, and then staying with me overnight to make sure that I didn't fall down the stairs/plughole/etc which the nursing staff thought a highly likely scenario for a bloke living on his own! He was always on hand if I needed some assistance, acting as co-pilot when I picked up my last two new cars which happened to be located in The Smoke.  
 
We spoke every week on the phone, and this was a great way of keeping in touch especially all through last year when he was enduring the chemo, and the subsequent Covid restrictions meant that we couldn't get together anyway. That he missed being able to get out into the workshop was very evident, and he looked forward to the day that he was able to get back out there. Unfortunately, this has proved not to be. I will miss his cheerful presence and the interest he always showed in my own endeavours, as well as the tours of his workshop and sheds which proved to be even more jam-packed with treasure than my own!
 
So farewell Bev, my dear old friend - save some bench space for me up there!
 
Julian