Arthur Stacey and the Boyers days

I enjoyed Fred Baker’s letter in OBM433, in particular the last paragraph referring to Boyers of Bromley and Arthur Stacey. At that time, in the late 1940s and 50s, I lived in Biggin Hill and was doing an apprenticeship at an electrical company in Bromley and had my first motorbike, a 1933 BSA B1.

Boyers’ showroom was a very posh set-up at the end of a row of quite ordinary local shops, but the one three or four shops along was a motorbike repair business, working on older bikes, with an oldish bike with a float sidecar parked outside. It was owned by two men – brothers I think – and Arthur was employed by them. I did have occasion to use their services; by then I had an old KTS Velo and they fixed a gearbox problem for me. But I also saw Arthur out on his trials outfit when I did a bit of trials observing and, at that time (1949?) it had a 500 ohv, four-speed, hand change Sunbeam. I know that the business was still there in 1952 and that Arthur was working there because he put a new big end in my 1949 Matchless, so it must have been after then that the business failed and Arthur went along the road to Boyers and the trials outfit got its Norton power. I assume it was the same chair.

A few odd thoughts. I think Arthur’s wife rode chair with him. Boyers was still going in 1960 because my son took his Tiger Cub there for its MoT. I don’t have any memories of Jack Surtees being anywhere there – I thought he was more Catford/Forest Hill area. Lastly, I think you’ll find that James Youngs Coachworks was on the same side of the road as Boyers, but it was all 70 years ago. I haven’t been to Bromley for more than 20 years and my memory ain’t what it used to be!