It is with more sadness that I can bring the news that the long standing service guru at Hornby especially for live steam John Humphreys has passed away over the weekend.
I’m sure those than knew him like Charles and many other on the committee will have good memories and stories to tell.
Paul Barnard informed me and sent the following tribute run to him, dialogue is hard to hear but just.
i had the privilege of getting to know John rather well. From the very earliest days following the launch of OOLIVE Steam and purchasing my very first Mallard set during December 2003, I was invited to pay frequent visits to Johns test layout, located in a modest room within the vast empty cavern of a place that once housed the mighty industrial machinery that produced Triang and later, Hornby Triang Model Railways. He welcomed my twins Hugh and Isabelle then toddlers aged around 6 yrs and my lovely old chum Richard Hodding (now aged 96) who had an encyclopedic memory for anything remotely connected with trains especially B17s.
John always ensured that I left the premises with a good stock of spares. Some several years later. When Adrian and myself held our very first joint show at the Ally Pally, John came down with several of the directors.(I'm not sure if it included Simon Choler) and watched for a good couple of hours as we entertained the sometimes considerable crowd, to a fabulous show of how to run Hornby Live Steam.
The rest is history. It was the birth of the OOLSC. Believe me when I tell you that I will protect that wonderful legacy of our club together with the memory book of a remarkable and lovely guy, John Humphreys. RIP ole chum.