DAVID BECKETT 1936-2019

OBITUARY

With his spectacular handlebar moustache, David Beckett, who died of leukaemia last week, was a delightful old-school character who competed with distinction on two and four wheels and lived in a time warp.

Dairy engineering took Beckett to

Kenya for four years, during which he raced a Cooper MKII 500 and won the

1961 East African Safari Rally – a 3400mile slog over three and a half days – with fellow Britons John Manussis and

Bill Coleridge in a Mercedes-benz 220SE.

Back in the UK, Beckett raced the ex-ray Brightman Lister Costin BHL 125 through the 1960s with a Jaguar engine, surviving a fiery accident on Ireland’s fearsome Dunboyne road circuit. Later he owned BHL 121, the ex-john Ewer prototype Lister-chevrolet, then Costin-nathan GT and Nerus Silhouette sportscars in the 1980s and 1990s. Again his luck deserted him, the Nerus being badly damaged in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.

Beckett restored a magnificent collection of motorcycles, including Manx Nortons, and enjoyed off-road riding, habitually on Christmas days in Surrey’s hills.

Fondly remembered by all who knew him, David is survived by Sylvia, his devoted wife of 50 years, and daughter Annette.