JOHN HAYNES OBE 1938-2019
John Haynes, creator of the Haynes manual and founder of the Haynes Publishing Group and the Haynes International Motor Museum, passed away on 8 February following a short illness. He was 80 years old.
Cars were a lifelong passion for John Harold Haynes, and at boarding school he persuaded his house master to let him skip rugby so he could instead convert an Austin Seven into a lightweight Seven Special.
When he later sold the car, the interest generated by its advertisement prompted him to produce an illustrated booklet called Building A ‘750’ Special. In a sign of things to come, its 250 copies sold out in 10 days.
The first Haynes manual, which documented working on a Austin-healey Sprite, was published in 1966 after Haynes helped an RAF colleague rebuild a ‘Frogeye’ while in Yemen undertaking National Service. Finding the factory manual lacking, he bought a camera and created a step-by-step guide explaining how to dismantle and reassemble the engine. Within three months, all 3000 of its initial print run had been bought.
More than 200 million Haynes manuals have since been sold, with the publishing company also producing historical records of racing cars – many retaining the familiar and distinctive Haynes Manual design. His life’s work in publishing was recognised in 1995 when he was awarded an OBE.
He established the award-winnning Haynes International Motor Museum in Sparkford, Somerset, in 1985 as an Educational Charitable Trust, which now has more than 400 exhibits and 125,000 visitors each year. It was reportedly opened as means for Haynes to keep track of his own vast and ever-growing vehicle collection.
Haynes is survived by his wife Annette, his brother David and sister Mary, his sons J and Chris, and five grandchildren.