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Alf with his beloved wife, Molly, in 2007. They were heroes of the motorcycling fraternity in the pre-war and post-war years

Alf and Molly Briggs were the heroes of the pre-war and post-war motorcycling fraternity. They fell in love and married in the 1930s and shared a passion for biking which lasted for more than 70 years. Molly passed away in April 2007 and Alf followed a year later. Pat Parkin looks back at their interwoven lives and careers and the contribution Alf made to the world of motorcycling.

Almost a year to the day after Derby motorcycle pioneer Molly Briggs died, her husband, Alf, who was also one of the leading British motorcyclists of his day, passed away at the age of 95.

They were legendary in the motorcycle world for decades. They met and fell in love in the 1930s when Molly joined the well-known Derby Pathfinders Club, where Alf was a founder member and star rider.

Such was their shared devotion to the sport that when they discovered the club’s annual motorcycle scramble, on Boxing Day 1937, coincided with the day they had planned to marry, they postponed the ceremony for 24 hours so they could both compete.

Alf began riding at the age of 13 at a grass track meeting, made his road racing debut at Donington Park in 1931 and spent all his life in the motor and motorcycle industry, working until he was 84 years old.

He was a popular rider with the crowds, winning numerous events around the country, and raced before and after the war.

He competed at local tracks, including Cadwell, Donington and Alton Towers. In 1947, at a grass track meeting in Worcestershire, he was in the lead when he was thrown from his machine and hit by another motorcycle, suffering a broken pelvis in four places.

Weeks in hospital and nine months out of the saddle did not deter his spirit and he returned to a grass meeting as soon as he could. Even with two friends having to help him get on and off his bike, he still won the race. A couple of years later, he severed two nerves in his arm, causing paralysis, in a second accident but still went on to achieve his dream of competing in the Manx Grand Prix.

A Derby Pathfinders Motorcycle Club event in 1932. Alf Briggs is front, far left

His third serious injury, this time to his other arm, came at the Alton Towers track in 1953, when he came off at Petrol Pump Corner and hit a tree.

His injuries were so bad he was not expected to live but, fortunately, he had landed in rhododendron bushes which partly cushioned his fall. But the accident finally persuaded him that, after 25 years’ racing, the time had come to quit.

Six times British motorcycle champion John Cooper, 69, of Allestree, was a close friend of the Briggs family. He said: “Alf was a lovely man. When I was starting out on my riding career, he helped and advised me. I remember, in 1959, he took me to Scotland to race my 200cc Triumph Cub bike. He and Molly were a wonderful couple and both great competitors.

“Molly travelled all over Europe competing while Alf mainly did grass track racing. I remember him telling me that his greatest wish had been to become a speedway rider but his dad wouldn’t let him do it.

“He still went on to become a great rider – the ‘king’ wherever he went.”

Alf became even better known to many more people in later life when he ran his own motorcycle business in Wolfa Street, Derby, and then spent 32 years employed by Honda when Japanese cars and motorcycles were in their infancy in this country.

He became technical manager for the company, as well as being co-ordinator for their Formula One team, travelling the world and making many friends. Colleagues and managers alike presented him with mementoes, including parts from some of their Formula One cars.

Said John Cooper: “He was the first man in England to work for Honda, starting with them quite late in life and working until he was over 80. He was highly respected by the company and a personal friend of Mr Honda who used to send for him to go over to Japan quite regularly.”

In his last years, Alf spent much of his time in his study with books, trophies and his memories. Molly, who was one of the best women riders of the last century, also died, aged 95. Their daughter, Rosemary, said: “They were a wonderful couple and great parents. They loved motor cycling and so did I – not surprising when you think Mum took me to my first trial when I was one week old!”

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