Mick, proprietor of Fiskerton (Lincoln) based Alloy Polishing Service, was a regular at the Stafford Shows and autojumbles and also well known within the national sidecar racing fraternity during the 1960s, being a dab hand at hurling his Vincent outfits to countless victories.
He worked his way up to become plating shop chief at Vauxhall Motors before being promoted to a desk job which he didn’t like. His request to return to the shop floor was refused so he left to start his own business, originally within a disused barracks on the outskirts of Lincoln.
His workmanship was soon seized upon by the classic fraternity, for metal polishing, plating preparation work and a comprehensive range of stainless steel nuts, bolts and other such fittings. On the demolition of the barracks he moved his huge lathes and his powerful polishing machines to a shanty unit, part of the remains of RAF Fiskerton, which he soon knocked into shape.
Mick worked alone, maintaining he could not trust anyone else to work to his own exacting standards, and that was why customers were prepared to wait often a long time for his work. The classic and restoration world has lost a very useful, valuable and respected asset. His funeral was at Lincoln crematorium on Wednesday, July 4.
