Bryan, delighted that someone got some good out of that little tidbit
already. Yes, I saw "Motorcycle Engineering" (P.E.Irving) in the lists.
I still have my own original copy from 1961, obtaining one as soon as
it was available then. I also recall, on a visit to the Mechanical
Engineering Department Library at the U. of Minnesota, in '61, seeing a
copy of the same book up on their shelves. One small indication of his
standing in the engineering world of the day.
Many Vincent people, including myself, had the privilege of getting
acquainted personally with this extraordinary man, the only one I ever
met who fully fitted the dictionary definition of "genius". In 1979 and
again in about '85, he came to America with his wife Edith to be Guest
of Honor at rallies of the Vincent Owners Club.
He was completely sociable and approachable, and any soul in the world
could write him a letter, and he would send a personal response, from
Australia (his home) or England, or wherever he was.
He collaborated with P.C. Vincent on the layout of the immortal Vincent
motorcycles, and is credited with the entire detail design, putting
every line down on paper, and seeing the work through to practical and
successful production. If you look carefully at a Vincent motorcycle
today, it will boggle your mind to imagine one man being able to design
all that.
He started out with a good Technical College education in Melbourne, and
was blessed with not only a brilliant mind, but also boundless energy
and determination. He was a constant contributor to the technical and
enthusiast press for nearly 60 years, and lived almost to 90. His last
contribution was to leave a weighty book of his Autobiography,
fascinating reading, a labor of love by one of his devotees, an
Australian Vincent man with a publishing company.
Cheers from Ardun Bill
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