Sad loss of Paul Britton
I am sorry to report that Paul Britton passed away on the 19th October. Like me, he joined SEAMS in 1991 at the inaugural meeting. Back then, our engine mates were people like Gus Jewsbury and Jim Silsbury, all local and sadly gone now. Working for the same company as myself, we naturally formed an alliance as engine enthusiasts were a bit thin on the ground at that time.
We both exhibited engines at the Crawley Down Village Fete on the green just across the road from Paul’s house. That was always followed by a splendid supper provided by Pat, his wife. Paul’s engine restorations were always meticulous, he was a bit of a perfectionist and as a skilled fitter, wanted to do all the work himself. We did many shows together including Ed Boltons ‘Power of the Past’ open days and I learnt a lot from him.
In more recent times due to ill health, he struggled to move his engines around so they were sold last year and he invested in a pre-war Singer Junior car because determined as he was, he said “I can still drive !”. He was intent on driving the Singer to Ardingly 2014 which he did. He was also intent on coming to Kingsfold this year, wheelchair bound but still getting around and talking to several enthusiasts on the day, sadly that was to be the last time I saw him.
Richard Amos