Plaque reinstated at pub in memory of bike fanatic

A PLAQUE to commemorate the life of a bike enthusiast has been reinstated at a pub in Checkendon after being lost for more than a decade.

Family and friends of Neil Edwards gathered at the Highwayman Inn on Wednesday last week for the unveiling of a new silver plate in a wall of the car park.

Mr Edwards, who grew up in Tokers Green, died on November 5, 1979, aged 19. He had hyperlipidaemia, a condition that causes abnormally high cholesterol levels.

He had a pacemaker fitted aged 14 to help regulate his heart and five years later he had been set for surgery to put a valve in his heart to reduce the risk of suffering a heart attack.

But he tragically died on the operating table when doctors discovered his heart had mended itself into the chest wall, causing it to tear into two.

Family and friends asked former landlords Richard and Jill Davies if they could bury Mr Edwards’s ashes and have a plaque at the pub because they used to meet there.

The couple agreed and the plaque said: “1960 — 1979, Neil Edwards, the guy everybody loved” but the wall deteriorated over the years and had to be rebuilt about 20 years ago.

The family were contacted and the plaque retrieved to be reinstalled later once the works were completed.

Mr Edwards’s brother Paul visited the pub and spoke with current landlady Lou Jackson about the plaque and she readily agreed for it to be reinstated.

But it took lifelong family friend Titus Drummond and Neil’s brother Paul, who live in Australia, to rally Mr Edwards’s family, including his 93-year-old mother, Pat, and friends for the unveiling.

Four of them turned up on their Triumph and BMW bikes, while the others drove in from neighbouring villages to gather in the car park.

They raised a glass to Mr Edwards and his brother poured a pint of beer on to a grassy area above the plaque on the wall.

Mr Drummond, 66, who lives near Reading, met Neil when they were 16 years old and they bonded over their joint love of motorcycles. He raised a toast and gave a speech.

He said: “I went to an old boys’ reunion at my school recently. The headmaster ended it by saying ‘We’re all here for friendship’. Here we’re all friends with each other, we’re friends of the pub and we’re friends with Neil. If you think about and analyse life, friendship is one of the most important things we have. And that’s what we’re here for, so cheers to Neil. Very tragically, he showed us how to build friendships and enjoy life.”

Mr Drummond said they had a shared enjoyment of fast speeds and beer. He said: “I always had motorbikes and I lived very close to him, about 300 yards away. The Highwayman Inn was a meeting point.

“In 1977, I was in the fire brigade when there was the first-ever national strike. It was a really big event at the time but I was a trainee, so I wasn’t allowed to strike. I wasn’t allowed to work either, so I went to the Highwayman Inn to work. That’s where I met him.

“He was one of those people who was interested and wanted to be involved in everything. Neil, skinny as a rake, rode as a dispatch rider and was trying to become a stuntman. He used to play the drums.

“He was anonymously on the local television news once for stealing people’s garden ornaments – gnomes mostly – because he would take them home, paint them up and return them a few weeks later. No one ever knew it was him. He and I went on a test ride on a 1,200 Mirage, a motorcycle that in those days had almost mythical status and a price to go with it. The idea was that he would take the bike for a sedate 15-minute jaunt around the local area and then return to the shops to put down a deposit.

“When Neil finally returned, some two and a half hours later, the bike was wheezing with steam from every pore. He started bouncing around the showroom, extolling the wonders of the machine, the speeds he’d achieved, and the numerous tales of near misses and police cars, while the salesman sat alternating between chain smoking and crying.”

Mr Edwards, 61, who lives in Sydney with his daughter Evie, was back in England to see his family. He was wearing his brother’s ring on his right ring finger.

He said: “At the age of 14 he wrote in his diary ‘I’m not here for a long time, I’m here for a good time’. He honestly didn’t care, he just wanted to do what he wanted to do, and he just had fun. That’s the guy that everybody loved.”

Ms Jackson said she had first heard about Mr Edwards about two years ago. She said: “There were lots of rumours. I heard he was buried under the fire, buried in the wall, but then Paul came in and introduced himself and explained the whole story to me.

“He said that they’d like the plaque reinstalled and of course I said that wasn’t a problem and because they always talked about motorbikes and sausages, we put sausage and mash on the menu just for them today.

“It’s so nice to have the full story. For me it’s complete now. The plaque’s up, I’ve met the family and it’s a full circle moment. It’s really lovely.”