Peter Gerrish

[Chris Hopkins]

It is with great sadness that I have to let you know that Peter Gerrish has passed away.  He has suffered recently with various issues including strokes, and the passing of his very dear friend and landlady Barbara Longlands also affected him a great deal. Although his nephew had accommodated him in a self-contained flat in his house in the West Country, he did not have much time there. When I last saw him in February he was looking forward to the move.
Peter was a generous man, willing to help any Fulvia owners particularly, with technical advice and friendly anecdotes, always with a smile and a joke or two. He will be sadly missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.
I do not know the date of his funeral yet, but I will publicise it when I do.

[Sliding Pillar]

Very sad news. Peter did a lot for the LMC, serving on the committee and latterly as a Vice President.
He was one of the first people to specialise in selling parts for Fulvias through his company Design & Manufacturing consultants. He raced his Fulvia 1600 Sport in many events and was always interesting to talk to.
It is worth reading the chapter about Peter in Terry Sanger's book 'And you'll love this one...!'
Ade.
A couple of photos of Peter, the first from an AGM in 1987 and (sorry about the quality) Peter in his Kappa Coupe with Barbara at a Sliding Pillar Rally.

[lancialulu]

Sad news indeed.

I remember his great contribution as organiser of the Fulvia 50 event. He always had a story to tell.

[brian]

He was a great ally when the Flavia and 2000 Consortium was started and came to the early AGMs which were held in Birmingham at the home of Rob Taylor who was the founder. When we had the Flavia 25 at Charlcote near Stratford  we organised the Parts Identification Quiz to which he added a bit of BSA or similar motorbike to ensure nobody got 100%. Helpful, amusing and a thoroughly nice person.

[ColinMarr]

I am saddened to hear of the death of Peter Gerrish. I knew of Peter early in my Lancia involvement, but only got to know him properly when I started to sort out problems with my Fulvia Sport. Peter was the man to go to, and in about 2002 I visited him to replace the 1600 engine timing chain and investigate the chain tensioner. It was a masterclass experience and such a pleasure to work with an expert and learn so much at the same time, and with good humour. Peter was a highly qualified and hands-on engineer, mostly at home getting the best out of Fulvias and Vincent motorcycles. But he also took on more formal roles - this is a photo from 2009 of Peter in Presidential mode at a lofty meeting to do with the Lancia centenary.

[Jai Sharma]

That is sad news, Peter contributed a lot to the Club and the Fulvia in particular

[Zetaman]

I am sorry to hear of Peter Gerrish's death and that he had not been well for a while.
I knew him from the early 1980s I think, when he was in Moseley, Birmingham and fast becoming an expert in Fulvia engines and Fulvias generally. 
I was a few years into being Club Librarian and trying to accumulate technical material on all models.  Peter was always helpful in this respect and indeed started to publish his own notes in the LMC NewsSheet.  He was the only person I knew, certainly in the UK, who had the Italian version of the 2nd Series Fulvia Repair Shop Manual - a book like those for the Beta , Delta etc and much better than what we had here in English.
As others have said, he was jolly and good company.  He certainly has a notable place in UK Lancia expertise and enthusiasm. May he rest in peace.

Paul Mayo

[Chris Hopkins]

Colin, would you please send your photo to Jack, hopefully for the cover of the next VL.

[sllim1946]

Very sad news indeed.

I first become aware of Peter some time in the 1960's whilst marshalling at an 8 Clubs event at Brands Hatch. He was towards the back of the grid for the Formula 5000 race but seemed to be  enjoying himself greatly with a group of mates amongst whom I spotted Tony Lanfranchi - another driver who was also always up for a laugh!

In addition to racing the Fulvia he also raced at the Isle of Man TT on a sidecar outfit. In response to the inevitable question "Did you ride in the sidecar?" Peter would reply "I might be a little crazy but I'm not completely mad!"

I also found Peter's notes on Fulvia maintenance very helpful and he was always very generous with his time and loan of special tools.

I had the great pleasure of working with Peter on the Committee when he was President and he helped me enormously.

Peter will be greatly missed by so many of us.

Brian Mills

[Richard Fridd]

Was the F5000 a converted BRM H16? If so, imagine buying one of those nowadays as a redundant project.

  Richard

[Chris Hopkins]

Peter's Funeral will be at 11am this coming Friday 7th June at the (very Cornish sounding) Treswithian Downs Crematorium. It's a long to go but why not make a weekend of it as we are. Let's give him a good send off.

[sllim1946]

Richard,

The chassis Peter used was an old unloved ex works BRM. Not certain if it was an H16 but that would allow a V8 to be fitted so quite possibly.

The story was that Peter hitched a lift from a race at Croft I think, in the back of the BRM transporter  and asked the mechanics about an old chassis they had hanging about as he was interested. The reply was - Peter you have no money. Peter answered what do you mean I have £250 quid. The single word reply was a mechanics chorus of “Precisely!

Peter persisted and eventually the chassis was his. I think he already had an engine and gearbox and a sponsorship deal enabled wheels and tyres to be purchased and suspension to be made up. Spare parts were just a dream!

Brian Mills

[ColinMarr]

It wasn't realistic for me to be at Peter's funeral, but I am please to hear from Chris Hopkins that those attending included friends from both the Lancia and Vincent communities. Chris sent me the attached photo and agreed for me to post it on his behalf. (Sorry if the image is upside down, but it seems difficult to right it!)