William (Billl)) Drake k

Bill Drake, until his death at the age of 78, was one of the most informed individuals on the subject of the Vespa motor scooter in the UK and will be a great loss to his family, his many friends and fellow scooter enthusiasts alike.

GENESIS

Bill came from illustrious stock and he was understandably proud to tell those who knew him well enough that he was a descendant of the Elizabethan seadog, global navigator and sometime pirate, Sir Francis Drake. His father, however, had the more down-to-earth profession of the traditional blacksmith and was known to be a man of prodigious strength to the extent that he was reputed to be strong enough to have the ability to lift a horse off the ground should he choose to do so. Bill’s father, as well as being physically strong, was a practical person and