A Kentish legacy

Disparate machines

In the years before he died in 2000, Tom had wound down his racing activities. The stable of race bikes had been sold at auction, but a few new but mainly used spares, as well as a detritus of unidentifiable parts for disparate machines, remained. Tom knew Richard would occasionally take a stall at a local jumble and so the clear-out should have been mutually beneficial.

Except – Tom would not conclude the deal! It was uncharacteristic, it was frustrating. A date had still not been fixed when Tom passed away. It was only at his funeral, that his son, known either as Tommy or Tom Junior, agreed to honour his father’s promise and allow Richard to clear the shop.

Before the war, the Arter brothers, Tom, Stan, Edge (named Clifford Egerton Arter, but always known as ‘Edge’) and Donald were all employed in the family agricultural business. This had been started by their grandfather in the 19th century and was based at Barham, a village in the Downs near Canterbury,