Douglas Willey

[Donald]

More sad news for all those that knew one of the great characters in boat racing. I have just been informed by his daughter, Kim, that Douglas died in his sleep over the weekend. He will be missed. He has invited me on many pheasant shoots over the years with his and Jane's hospitality at their 300+ year old manor house. I will never forget his many stories and trips to boat races when we had to stop every couple of hours to have a cop of tea.

[Donald]

Douglas, Jane never liked for him to be called Doug, Pip was OK, began racing in the early 60s in the 350H. Later went into the 500 & 700 classes. He had many English championships and speed records. He also competed on the continent and was on the podium many times, but I don't believe he was ever first. He quit in 1986 after stuffihg his 700 into the Danube and spending a week in the hospital in Vienna. There will be more info on him on his club website. www.lobmbc.co.uk

[jrome]

Ralph, I will always remember Pip Willey telling all the Americans at the World Championships or anywhere else that we saw him, he would always say, "I will never understand why you Colonials wasted all that tea in that harbor." We would always have a big laugh. He was a great guy to be around and an asset to boat racing.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Very sorry to hear of the passing of Pip Willey. There are too many funny stories to remember. I wish Chris Applebee would get on here and tell a few. I think it was traditional with him at many races to put a tablecloth on a small table and sit down to have a drink of tea when the five minute gun fired. He was well known as a "guide?" (I forget his name for it) for pheasant hunting. Do I remember correctly Ralph, that one of his famous hunters was Nikita Kruschev or was it Leonid Brezhnev?

[corin_huke]

It was with much sadness that I learned of Douglas' death.

As a fellow Brit, and someone who has been involved in hydro racing for many years, Douglas was a legend and a true inspiration for many up and coming drivers. The reports of his racing in Europe were the stuff of legends and eagerly awaited by all concerned. Plus of course there were the tales and anecdotes that always accompanied Douglas wherever he went

I'm sure that Ralph, Steve and others that ventured across this side of the pond have many stories to tell of Douglas - it would be great to hear them. There are no doubt many to tell, not only about his love of tea (or as he would put it "a bloody cuppa tea luv") but other 'scrapes' and 'adventures' he got himself into

One that springs to mind is an occassion when his horse was ill and Jane, upon returning home, found that Douglas had moved the horse from the stables into the front room of the house to nurse it back to health.....

He will be sadly missed, but never forgotten, by so many people

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I found it guys. I wish there was a way to transfer what you Steve and Ralph have already started regarding that trip, but anyway, I think this should be the repository for the Douglas Willey stories and pictures. Last time I saw him was at Lakeland in 1993.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

So if you will Steve and Ralph, continue on here so we can here ALL the stories. I have some more, but they are on different threads, so I will retell them here. Just refer back to Dale's thread if you want to start at the beginning, but I think you guys could add a little bit more if you started it over again here. I know Steve can, but Ralph doesn't type as much as he can tell.