The house of Hughie
I really enjoyed reading “Memories of Tom and Hughie” in OBA 59, having dealt with Allparts and Motowreckers many times in my youth. A friend worked at Allparts prior to securing a plumbing apprenticeship, and got on particularly well with Hughie Hamer, not quite so with Tom Syer. I learned a valuable lesson on one of my early visits, feeling I knew Tom enough to say “but you know me, I come in here all the time”. He replied, “mate, I see hundreds of people every week, so I can’t remember everyone”. Of course, I still received good service from him. On another visit, I asked Hughie Hamer if he could help with valves, guides and springs for a 1948 Matchless 500 single, different from later models as 1948 had coil springs and 1949 on had hairpins. No, he couldn’t help me there, so I left empty-handed. Some time later, after being served by Tom, he asked if I needed anything else, and I repeated the request for the valves etc, adding “but Allparts don’t have them”. Taken aback, Tom said to come back in a few
days and he’d see what he could find. Next trip, there they were, and at a reasonable price. Across the road at “Motowreckers”, Hughie Dunlop also often asked for a few days for something unusual or rare, which was generally accepted. I recall one young lad responding with “but I have to have it today”, Hughie’s answer being “come to think of it mate, I got rid of the last of them last week”. During my time in the Veteran and Vintage Club, I asked about bits for a flat tank AJS, Hughie replying “don’t tell me you’ve caught that disease, too?” Good people and good times! Trevor Henderson Christie Downs, SA