[CR] Bruce Reynolds, DeLaune, Spanner & Hetchins

(Example: Framebuilding:Tubing)

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 20:43:13 +0000 (GMT)
From: "Michael Butler" <pariscycles@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: [CR] Bruce Reynolds, DeLaune, Spanner & Hetchins
To: CR Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>


I have just sent this to an old cycling mate. thought it might be of interest. Bruce Reynolds I was reminded the other day worked for Harry Rensch. He got sacked by Harry for cutting a load of frame tubes wrongly. Bruce and his father were both members of the famous South London cycling club the De Laune. The Father road in the Bath Road events and the son Bruce road a Bates with Diadrant forks. An American chap told me about the Bruce Reynolds book so I got it out of the library, its a wonderful read. Jack Denny I was told was building in a cycling shop that either later became George Stratton's or was very close to it. The Vibrant stay frame he built was on display in the window and was a real cycling curiosity, everyone use to go and gape when cycling in the vicinity, this is the 30's before he went to Hetchin's. The story is that Hyman Hetchins saw the frame in the window and gave Jack a job. This has been written about in the FCOT several times and also this was the tale told at all the cycling tea stops in the 60's. When Hetchin's moved from Seven Sisters it was said that he had to vacate the shop due to the fact that the premises were going to be demolished because of a road widening scheme. I don't know why they chose Southend probably the obvious thing is that this was always popular with East Enders and it had a large Jewish population. Perhaps he had relatives there. I honestly don't know. I always thought that Jake Riviera took over Hetchin's this was the cycling gossip at the time and that he got Bob Jacksons to build the frames. He was something to do with the music business, Elvis Costello, Island & Stiff records. His real name was Andrew Jakeman and this is a coincidence the family I lived next door to in North Kensington were Jakeman's. The Dad's name was Ernie who was the poor guy who was the petrol attendant when Jonathan Routh (Candid Camera) rolled the engine-less car into the garage to fill it up. Remember the attendant filled it up and then Routh couldn't get it started poor old Ernie tried everything to help he finally lifted up the bonnet and the car was engine-less! A candid Camera classic. Well both Ernie and the son Brian who I knocked about with as a kid rode with the Actonia and they were always going on about a relation who was or had been a top London amateur boxer with I think the Repton. This may have been Jake as he was a pretty handy boxer they say. Best wishes Mick.

Thats all for now. Keep those wheels spinning, in your memories if not still on the road. Be lucky Mick Butler Huntingdon UK.