Arthur Francis – the man, the myth, the legend
Arguably the greatest scooter sportsman of all time, Arthur Francis passed away in a local hospice at 16.45hrs UK time, on Sunday, January 31, 2021. For the past few years, he had suffered with a number of health problems including bone cancer and diabetes. It was Arthur's last request that he should be cremated as soon as possible with no fuss and his wishes were carried out shortly after his passing.
I first received the sad news in the early hours of a cold February morning – but out of respect to Arthur, it was decided that it would not be made public until Arthur's close friends and family (most of whom live abroad) had been informed.
To try and explain who Arthur was would be pointless; his history as a sportsman, innovative tuner and scooter dealer is already well documented and legendary. He is still remembered today for his various achievements and the many dealer specials that have been built in his name.
Personally I have known about the Arthur Francis legend for a lot longer than I knew the man himself. But from the moment our paths first crossed, we seemed to click instantly and it wasn't long after that before we started having some very close personal and confidential conversations (I'd like to think that we saw a mutual trust in each other).
In 2008, it was agreed that we could run Arthur's life story in Classic Scooterist. Despite his early fame, by the latter part of his life he'd moved on from the scooter scene and was very modest about his achievements; so being chosen as the only magazine to relay his life story was an incredible compliment from the man himself.
The research and background into the article were a joint effort between regular Classic Scooterist contributor, Dave Dry and myself (Dave got the short straw in compiling the text, because back then Arthur did everything by shorthand and the whole exercise took the best part of a year).
For my part I was granted special access to Arthur's personal photo albums and I liaised with him over the caption information.
Why am I telling you all of this? Well, because what better way to pay tribute to Arthur than to reprint that original article here, as it now forms the basis of our obituary to him.
Arthur, if you're looking down upon us now, I hope that you find this a fitting tribute to your memory.
Rest in peace my old friend.