JOHN BRAMLEY AYREY, 1933-2021

IT is with great sadness that we received the news of the death of the much respected founder of John Ayrey Die-Casts, John Ayrey himself. John was taken ill during the middle of June and was admitted to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. He was suffering with breathing and heart problems and died peacefully in hospital during the night of 20th/21st June 2021. He leaves a wife Jennifer, and a son, John Trevor.

John was born in December 1933, in Saltaire, not far from the company’s head office in West Yorkshire. Then, after doing his National Service in the Army Dental Corps, he and his father opened a market stall in Bradford Market selling dentures, etc. But then, in January 1950, he and his father bought a model shop at Frizinghall, Bradford which became the Bradford Model Railway Centre. In the early sixties they bought a second shop in Huddersfield, which John managed, leaving his father to run the Bradford shop. It was in the mid-sixties that two of the current owners of John Ayrey Die-Casts, Norman Hinchliffe and Andrew Feather, became friends with John. Norman worked at the Huddersfield shop and Andrew at the Bradford shop, but the three were drawn together by a mutual interest in trolleybuses and railways.

John and his father went on to open shops in Leeds and Manchester, but, following his father’s death in 1976, John gradually sold all four shops, the Bradford one becoming Frizinghall Models & Railways, which came back into the company’s group in April 2017. Because of his interest in models and travelling around Europe, John started the current wholesale business working from his garage in Baildon. But John was always at the forefront of innovation and the business grew rapidly. He was the first to produce promotional models by several companies, including Corgi and Lledo. He also gained many exclusive European agencies.

In the mid-nineties, John wanted to step back a little and asked Norman to help him run the business, but, after suffering a heart attack, he decided to retire to Bournemouth, one of his favourite holiday haunts. So with help from Norman’s wife, Judith, and her family, plus Andrew Feather, the wholesale business was purchased from John. But he had models in his blood and, despite his retirement, he suggested the company open its Dorset branch, where he helped out and did local deliveries right up to early June – he was dedicated to the model trade and loved talking to customers.

The editor had the great pleasure of meeting and chatting with John during Oxford Diecast open days that were held at the Dorset branch over recent years, and can echo the sentiments that he was a real gentleman, a great character, a true Yorkshireman and will be a great loss to us all. ■