‘You could smell someone’ who worked at Raleigh

Helen Crowder’s family is linked with Raleigh in a slightly different way.

“We lived in Grantham in the 50s and I was promised a Raleigh bicycle if I passed my 11+ [the exam to get into grammar school],” she said.

“Luckily I did that and my parents said, ‘right, we’ll have to go to Nottingham’ which was quite an adventure because we had to get the train.

“But I had that bike for a long, long time.

“I was tall, so I got a full-sized bike and I used it through school and my teens and used it when I started work.

“I moved away when I married and I left it with my mother, but when we came back I got it again and rode with each of my three children in turn on the back.

“It was a super-strong, well-made bike, really excellent and I only had to give it up when it was really worn out.

“I must have ridden it for the best part of 50 years.”