A SHOW OF HANS
I really enjoyed the Hans Edwards article in the June edition. I was born in 1961 in a house about half a mile up the road from the old Vincent factory and in the ’70s I was a pupil at Alleynes Boys School, which then (and now) occupies the building, although it has long since become co-ed. I also well remember Hans Edwards and his photographic business in the Old Town where I would gaze at the Leicaflex, Pentax and Praktica cameras in the window.
Another window of interest was almost opposite the Vincent factory – that of George Brown’s Motorcycles, where Super Nero was on display with some photos of the exploits at Bonneville. I bought my first bike there, a lowly Honda CG125. A near neighbour at the old house was Cliif Brown, brother and mechanic to George who I knew and who would often talk of their exploits in pursuit of speed. Thanks for a great mag. Andy Snowden
It was wonderful to read Hans Edwards’ memories of working at Stevenage in the June issue. A real insight to how the bikes were produced. Just a slight correction: he’s not quite one of the last two still with us who worked at Vincent. There are three gents in and around Stevenage, plus Dave Bowen in Australia and John Griffiths in Las Vegas. Also, two women: Alma Papworth, who ran the front desk, and Christine Howard who, unusually for the time, worked in the drawing office.
We’ve interviewed all of these, plus factory apprentice John Surtees and Hans himself, for our documentary on Philip Vincent and his motorcycles, Speedisexpensive. Readers can follow our progress on Facebook by searching the film name and on Instagram by looking out for @speed_is_expensive. The film should be out later this year.