I was born on 22 June 1940 and lived in Werrington. Attended Deacon’s Grammar School in Peterborough. My first job was motorcycle delivery in the Peterborough area, for Godfrey Holmes Ltd, based in Lincoln.
I eventually started my own company, A.R.E. Limited and founded the first buying group in the automotive aftermarket industry, called the IFA.
A lot of visitors ask me what attracted me to motorcycles. In my village when I was a lad there were many worn out bikes lying in sheds. People knew I was crazy for bikes and told my mother. I would go out and push them back to our house – they were worth nothing in those days but I would spend hours fettling them to sell for a pound or two, so bikes were in my blood. When I left school my father had died so I had to work. I got a job with a Lincoln based firm delivering car and truck parts on a 225cc James with a Watsonian box sidecar. Motorcycles were now in my blood.
I was ambitious, loyal to my employer and determined to carve out a career in the industry. Eventually I got a role in upper management. My job enabled me to buy old bikes and restore them to good-as-new condition. I had a lot of contacts so if I had problems I always knew someone who could help me out. Slowly my collection grew along with my career.
Upon retirement at 60 I moved to the Isle of Man to continue collecting and restoring bikes, which has become my life’s work.
A.R.E. Classic Motorcycle Collection 