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Update - YP&M have learnt
of the very sad news that John Henry passed away on Thursday
5th January 2006. We interviewed John back in 2004 about his
passion for motor bikes and the famous NW200 races in particular
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If you ask John Henry his age he'll reply"
I'm in my 85th year ". Ever conscious of his
long time on this earth and the memories he has,
the Ballymoney man talks in a soft County Antrim
accent with passion and love about the Nor' West.
Having attended every single race since it all began,
he is probably unique.
20th April, 1929, the year Audrey Hepburn
was born and the first Oscars ceremony higlighted
the might of the showbiz world. This side of the
Atlantic, a nine year-old boy called John Henry
went with his father in a sidecar to watch the dawning
of a new era of motorcycle racing... the "North
West 200". From the 31 entrants, only eight
bikes passed the checkered flag. Such was the casualty
rate from a 200 mile endurance race 75 years ago.
From that day on John began to form his opinions
on which riders had star quality. His judgement
was good too because many of his chosen few went
on to be world class 'aces' (the word that preceded
Superstar).
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CLICK
HERE to watch video as
John reflects on 75 years of NW200 |
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John Toal went to Ballymoney where John Henry
was to be found viewing a special exhibition in
the Joey Dunlop centre, to commemorate 75 years
of the event. With razor sharp memory, he spoke
fondly of past events and names, many likely to
be forgotten or unknown by today's race fans.
Names like Jimmy Guthrie, Freddie Frith, Stanley
Woods and many more trot off his tongue like
it all happened just yesterday. He even still
has a shifting-spanner that fell out of a rider's
boot on a corner 70 years ago, which he picked
up off the track as a memento.
We have found some unique 1950s archive footage
of the North West and you can see it here and
listen to John Henry reflect on his memories.
More NW200 stories
Click here for
more information on the "Race Day
" exhibition.
Click here for
sickening news of vandalism to Joey Dunlop`s
memorial garden in Ballymoney.
Click here
for a guide to what the North
West 200 is all about
"your place and mine" reporter Davy Apsley went
to the races in 2003 and produced a "picture page".
Read his account
of it here...
Is it an event you'd never miss? What is the
atmosphere like and has it changed over the years?
Have you any good photos? (You can e-mail copies
to us - see the address in the final paragraph
below) Do you meet up with the same people year
after year?
Do you live abroad and can no longer attend? Have
you ever helped in running the event? What's it
like to take part? Would it matter if the 'North
West 200' came to an end?
Some of you have been sending your own comments
and pictures. Click
here to see them...
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Robert Dunlop |
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Bring the 'North West 200' to life for the uninitiated
and connect up with other enthusiasts, by sharing
your memories of this Northern Ireland sporting
spectacular.
If you'd just like to add a quick comment, you
can post it directly into the site or e-mail us
at ypam-online@bbc.co.uk. |
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