Barry hailed from Northern Ireland and was a keen supporter of GP motorcycle racing and had been a dab hand with a camera...He had all these neat pics and negatives, the internet didn't exist, no such thing as emails...aghh!
We resolved the problem with a huge leap of faith by Barry...despite having never met, I recal telephoning him, he posted me many of his precious negatives and photos, half way across the world, and I made prints from the negatives, copies off the photos and then prints...a set for him and a set for me. then I returned the precious cargo to him.
He was delighted...my joy was unbounded!
Well it's time to share some with you and to acknowledge Barry's effort and ownership of these pics that follow in this and subsequent blogs.
Sadly I've lost contact with him...he returned to Northern Ireland when he retired and I regret to admit I don't know if he is still alive....I sure hope so and who knows, a viewer of this blog may put us back in contact again...
Left click on the images to enlarge.
Just so you know what he looked like...first pic is at the 1954 Ulster Grand Prix ( UGP) with what I'm sure is NZer Rod Coleman's factory three valve 7R3 AJS.
The photos in this blog are mostly from the Scarborough circuit in Northern England, with some from UGP.
This next shot is Johnnie Locket on a 348cc Norton, but the date I'm unsure if Sept. 1951 or 1957.
This shot is M.P.O'Rourke, 348 AJS 7R, Scarborough, Sept. 1953.
Geoff Duke, works Gilera, Scarborough, year unsure but likely same year as the following photo which is of Reg Armstrong, also on a works Gilera at Scarborough in Sept. 1954.
Off now to the UGP... Geoff Duke again,works Gilera, 1956.
Francis Beart the renowned Norton tuner, fettling a 499cc Manx Norton for Terry Shepherd, UGP 1960.
Another works Gilera rider at the 1952 UGP...Enrico Colnago, seeming stopped with a spot of bother....
3 comments:
Hi there
I'm writing an account on Velocettes as its 40 years since they closed their doors. I was searching the www for a 250MOV machine here in South Africa with the nickname of 'bogspot' and came across the name Barry Sewell. I met him in the early 90s at a dynamite factory in Johannesburg called Modderfontein. I had just found a Venom 'Special' (the blue one) and wanted to pick his brains. He was, I recall, a real gent. Hope he's still alive back in Ireland. - Dave Fall
Hi there, my dad is alive and well and is living in Northern Ireland.-Mike Sewell (Port Elizabeth, South Africa)
Hello Mike...your brother Geoffery came across my concern over Barry being still alive a little while back and also contacted me. Since then I have been in contact with Barry by post, albeit not that regular which is my fault. I'll write to him today!
Dennis Quinlan.
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