John Sawer

It is with great regret that I bear the news that John passed away very peacefully during the night of 4th July, at the early age of 64 yrs.

(He was suffering from Motor Neurone Disease)

The funeral service is at 1pm on thursday 14th July, at Kenton Village Church, near Exeter.

I got to see him a month ago, and he was still able to raise a pint glass (just). We had a good time in the pub and talked about the old days. Colin Hall & Elaine Gillingham got to see him a few weeks ago, and Jim Hardy has been a few times, so John did get to see some of his old mates before he went.

John told me of the first time we had met. He was on his way to the last Bantam meeting of the season at Lydden in his Thames 400E in Oct 1971. He saw a motorcyclist pulled up by the side of the road and stopped to assist. The motorcyclist didnt want any help with taking the cylinder head off the 750 Norton Atlas*, but just asked if John would relay a message to Pete Tibbitts to say he would be late. The motorcyclist was of course Tim Partington!

* it would regularly drop a valve seat, so Tim would have been converting it to a 375cc single....

John started Bantam racing with the Brunel University crowd (Jim Hardy etc), became Treasurer of the Bantam Racing Club from about 1971 to 1975?, Bassy gave him the nickname "Scrooge". He raced right up to about 1993? He will always be remembered for his "never give up" riding style, absolute determination etc. Very useful in the Inter Centre Team races we used to have.

Personally I will always be grateful to John for assisting me to get a Development Engineer position at Petters Ltd, which springboarded me to the Ford job.

Rest in peace John

Peter Tibbitts


No 4 Is John Sawyer
No 8 I George Faranden
Who are the others?

Another of the Bantam great's lost to time. He will be remembered in the programs to come on the main website, a fitting epitaph.
Regards,
Alan

I remember John well, very sad, R.I.P.

As an 80's starter I'm not aware of John's earlier exploits but I do remember have some hard close rides with him in about '84 at Lydden

I heard this news from Pete today with great sadness but also great fondness for a person who possessed a fine, dry sense of humour.

It is true that I first met John at the side of the A2 while "adjusting" the specification of my Norton.

This began a friendship which has lasted 'til now and has encompassed many amusing moments.....I can't go into those now but I am smiling as I write this post.

John was a respected scribe for the S.E. Centre newsletter ( SudoNim ) if I recall correctly who established a certain style which Pete and myself were happy to continue.

He was a determined and succesful rider, an excellent companion in the paddock and I will miss him.

I have a vision of a man in slightly shabby leathers, climbing off an orange tanked Bantam, uttering various expletives. Then throwing a leg over an aging, smoking Zundapp and riding up to the pearly gates and demanding entry !

John.....if it be pearly gates or the other place, you will not go unnoticed !

Goodbye my friend.......go in peace.

Sad news indeed. I always enjoyed Johns satirical wit in his magazine articles.
A genuine sportsman on the track. RIP John.

Pete and Co

Please pass on my condolences to Johns family.
I well remember John as one of the great Bantam racers I met during my time in UK in 1985, his open friendliness and willlingness to share the craft were outstanding.
I will be proud to add the modified primary chaincase cover and Smiths Rev counter I got from him to my 1960s museum bike I am building.

Both myself and Diane new John well, in and around the paddock, we feel sad to hear this news.

I can only talk of John sawyer as I new him, as a fellow competitor, I remember he formed part of the east -southern brigade as we called them.

We both feel he was a true gentlman, he helped many a bantam racer in the paddock, he was always keen to chat technical while having a cup of tea, Often as I worked on the bike, John would just come over and help me finish off what I was doing.

Just after our daughter was born, he help Diane get home from a meeting, as I had to go to hospital.

In the paddock he was always open about any tuning or development work, and was a great competitor, but in the later years a great rival, I remember we had some great duel’s together, one of the best was the 50 miler, i have countless memories in the mid to late 80’s, I fondly remember him teaching me about slip streaming at Snetterton, “ then following it up in the race just after,! he was a tenacious rider, but always safe, I can only ever remember him falling off once.
it always sad when somone passes on to other plain's Both Diane and I will always remember John for being a very genuine person, always ready to help, "one of the really nice bloke’s in the paddock".

Our depest condolences to his family.

I have inserted a picture into Pete's first post on John, well worth looking at!
Regards to all
Alan

I was once sat upon by John Sawer. He was on top, lying across my stomach...
It was at Llandow. We collided, rather forcibly on Bottom Bend (I think its called that -- very apt name!). Our bikes were locked together and he was on top of me. I called him a revolting name which he topped with something really evil ... Then we laughed as the marshalls rushed over to help. Were we alright?? they were asking.
"I will be when you get this .... ..... off me." I said and then we were all laughing.

The marshalls sometimes see a nasty -- like Niffy´s foot facing backwards the time he crashed there -- and the relief to them, with John Sawer & I being OK was obvious.

That´s a point. I remember it was a subject Scrooge and I discussed at length -- whether, if we -- the BRC -- started paying marshalls we´d effect a precedent other clubs would object to...
Do marshalls get paid at Club events, these days?
Timekeepers too...??

There was that deadly serious side to John Sawer -- "Scrooge" as I rightly called him at our committee meetings -- he was always jumping on us other committee members for having overspent on what he´d approved -- and, of course, he proved to be right in the end, the club folded because of everr-increasing-overburdening costs.

I wonder how many racers really have the slightest idea how much a race meeting costs to run?

Peter had just given me John´s e-Mail address and I was too late ....

Some of us Old Uns don´t know how lucky we are!

Just to finish -- we -- The Bantam Racing Club -- ran 14 race meeting per year during the late-60s-early-70s .
We catered for the crowd the VMMCC & Historic Racing look after now.
You can imagine how many riders and the amount of money that meant.
John Sawer, as treasurer, had the least-wanted job on our committee...
I wish I could have spoken to him before he left....

Sad news indeed... I'll always remember his 'never give up' method of racing, you could never assume you had John beat - if you you did he would past you before the chequered flag! RIP John

Note the extra picture added on behalf of Pete Tibbitts in the first post.
Alan

Last picture posted looks to me from ’84 with John on his half fairing bantam as I always remember him.

Looking back through my old notes it would be Snetterton 14th April ’84, George F no. 8, John no. 4 and myself no. 73

My records tell me that in the championship race John passed me around Corum on lap 3, I out braked him into Sear only for him to passed again at Corum on the next lap and that was the last I saw of him !!

Many thanks for the communication recently specifically Colin,Elain, and Peter.T

Great to see some old faces, some older than others !, anyway look forward to the reunion, just let me know.

Best regards

Derek Betts