John Temple - A Tribute to a Friend

 

I was introduced to John having met his flatmate whilst rummaging around in a scrap yard at Brent Cross in 1968.

It was Dellow ownership that brought us together, but it has been a close bond of friendship that has maintained our regular contact for the past 34 years.

To drive a Dellow I suppose you have to be certain character, but John and I got on from the word go. From setting up the Register in 1969, we worked enthusiastically to bring it all together and supported one another equally. When John went round the world with Rowan, he left his current girlfriend Jill for me to look after – of course, as a friend, I did.

Since those single days marriages, children and more cars and bikes have entered our lives. We did business together, kept the Register together and holidayed together. I have lost the most long-term, solid and reliable friend. The second of our group, Neville Heath, suffering a heart attack a few years ago.

My heart goes out to Rowan, David and Georgie plus his father Doug, a super octogenarian who rides a Harley, who has to bury his son. We will miss him but will never forget him. A more steadfast example of friendship one could never find.

Mark Hayward.