Hello Dale and family
Having just enrolled to the CR mailing list, and in order to comply with the family rules, I though I ought to introduce myself to everyone. In fact I'm sure many of the UK 'family' will already know me or know of me, as I have been in the hobby of classic lightweights for many decades - on and off!
About me - I'm 62 years old and recently retired mainly due to ill health (heart). I live in a beautiful part of the UK - Devon in an area known as the Blackdown Hills (a protected area of natural beauty). Unfortunately very hilly and I hate cycling hills with a passion!
I am married (second time around) with one son who still lives at home. It's nice to have a mate at hand! Apart from a keen interest in classic lightweight cycles I also have a passion for classic cars, owning three (1965 Sunbean Rapier; 1972 Triumph Stag; and a 1985 Mercedes-Benz 280 TE - just about classic status in the UK)
I rekindled a teenage interest in cycles when single again in the early 1980's and decided to cycle for health and leisure. I couldn't find anything of my own era (1950'60's) at the time, so I had a bespoke frame made by Roberts of Annerley, South London at that time, in 1984 and built it up with components of the time. I very quickly heard of a club, the (Southern) Veteran-Cycle Club and joined in 1985. This proved to be a revelation and opened up a whole new world to me that I never knew existed.
Being single and earning a good salary in senior management, which took me all over the UK, I quickly became very acquisitive and bought just about everything that came my way. In those days, barn, shed, garage finds were commonplace and I purchased some real gems of frames and equipment from old racing cyclists as well as fellow club members and collectors.
All this resulted in my building up a huge archive of literature, components and frame and cycles. Finally, at my peak owning around 30 classic cycles with about another 10+ frames in the pipe-line for build ups.
My particular passion was having an example of each and every 'unorthodox' built cycle and then an example of each lug style of Hetchins. Naturally in order to reach that 'holy grail' (which I did) it meant many hundreds of quality built frames passing through my hands. In addition, as many of the old 'luminaries' of the British cycle industry were still alive or even trading as in the likes of the Taylor brothers, I either met them perosnally or corresponded with them before their passing. I was a regular visitor to the Taylor Bros in Stockton during the 80's as I passed their premises fortnightly on visits to my company's factory in Northumberland, near Newcastle.
However, by 1986 I had met my future wife and we very quickly got married and had our son in 1988. By 1990 the UK experienced a massive recession (almost as bad as the current one) and I left my job before a relocation move came about at the other end of the country. I was out of work for a year as a 'house-husband' and we moved to our present location and I set up my own business. By 1994 I needed an injection of capital into the business and (reluctantly) sold almost my entire collection and parts to many of my friends, but the bulk of my cycles went to Martin Coopland in Scotland who had recently acquired the business 'Classic Bikes' which had been set up and run by Ray Etherton, of whom many of you will know I am sure. Ray and I became close friends in around 1986. I am pretty sure many of my bikes will have been sold off to some enthusiasts in the US and unkowingly will own many which I lovingly restored!
Anyhow, fast-forward 12 years and we bring ourselves to the past year whereby yet another recession (this time global, by the selfish antics of bankers) brought about the closure of my business through trading downturn, which in turn brought about a heart attack. Which fortunately I survived. The consultant and GP advised a regime of regualr cardio-vacular exercise which, by the nature of my size and build meant that cycling was the obvious solution, so I though I would again, rekindle my interest in classic lightweights.
Now I had kept four of my most cherished machines over the years after selling off my entire collection, so this allowed me a 'kick-start'. This has very quickly increased to seven with four frames to be built up! Good job I kept my 'little black book'.
My collection:
Original four cycles 1. 1960 Ephgrave No 1 Super (refurbished in 1995) 2. 1954 Granby Taper Tube (sold by my local cycle shop when I was a teenager!) Recently repainted 3. 1982 Jack Taylor Super Tourist (all original) 4. 1984 Roberts Fast Tourer/Club cycle ( as bought and built up by me)
Recent acquisitions: 5. 1954 Claud Butler Avant Coureur Speciale Bi-laminated 6. 1962 Condor (Bill Hurlow) WBH No 1 Superb 7. 1955 Sun Wasp Champion Du Monde (racing team replica)
Frames currently or due to be built up: 8. 1954 Rotrax Super Course 9. 150ish little known Bradford built Geoff Clark (one of the most delicate built frames I have owned with very early Nervex Pro lugwork) 10. 1952 Claud Butler Avant Coureur road frame built with the very long spear point bi-lam lug work that were only built for two years in road version) 11. 1951 F H Grubb 'Perfection Exquisite' lugged frame which apparently was part of the liquidated stock purchased by Holdsworth after Grubb's demise.
As you can see, this 'habit' can quickly take hold despite 10+ years of 'cold turkey'!!
I circulated extensively in club circles in the UK for around 20 years and know most of the established 'sages' or gurus within the classic lightweight movement here within the UK despite being in hybernation for 10 or so years. I had heard of the CR site many years ago but did not venture to look until about two years ago and only recently corresponded with dale over information of many Jack Taylor frames and cycles that I have had built for me, owned, or passed on with documented evidence in the form of invoices that would confirm frame dating for the benefit of others.
If there is anything I can do to assist anyone in researching, identifying, dating or just providing deatil on maker, then please feel free to get in touch.
Kind regards to all
Derek Athey 7 Kennedy Way Dunkeswell Honiton Devon UK EX14 4XG
As a footnote, any historians amongst you in the US might like to know I live on a housing development that sits on the site of bilets that were occupied by around 3000 American troops of the USNAF, the only US NAVY Air Force base in the UK during WWII. It is adjacent to an airfield (still operational) that was used by the USNAF flying Liberators and Catalina flying boats doing radar patrols for German submarines in the English Channel, Irish sea and the Bay of Biscay. The 'Kennedy' part of my address was so named after Joe Kennedy (JFK's brother) who was stationed here during the war. We have Louis Way (after Joe Louis who performed exhibition bouts); Liberator Way; Catalina Close. There are memorials and plaques in the village church naming many troops killed during their station here, including of course, Joe Kennedy individually, although he was killed on a secret mission out of an airbase in Suffolk in 1944.
A little piece of history linking our two great nations!