I happened to be in London on the day Prince Charles unveiled the ‘Monument to the Few’ and was so moved I have returned several times to stand before it and reflect on what they did for us.

At that time I had no idea about the bike. As a motorcycle rider and bike show fan for years, I had seen the flames, dragons and rock star tributes painted on tanks many times before. I then realised that I could customise my bike as a tribute to those who fought for our country. I chose the ‘Battle of Britain’ because this was the turning point towards the fall of Nazi Germany.

I wanted to feature a ‘real’ person on the artwork, someone to serve as a representative of all those who fought for us, for those that survived and those who lost their lives. My girlfriend, Jo, contacted Mr Ian Hartas of The Few-Org website who suggested we contact Gerald ‘Stapme’ Stapleton’s Biographer, Mr David Ross. David thought Gerald would be delighted with the idea and gave permission for his image to be used. He looked like a real character and would work well on the bike!

So now I had the ideas, I had the image but no one to undertake such a mammoth task! I was put in contact with Ken Rothery who has an excellent reputation within the bike community for spray painting and customising Harley’s and travelled to Brighton for a bike event to ask if he would be interested. After explaining my feelings and thoughts on the idea, he agreed to undertake the challenge! Pictures, books, magazines and even the original Times newspaper containing Churchill’s famous speech, was gathered for inspiration. We travelled to various events, shows and plane museums until sufficient data was gathered.

The bike choice was easy, the Harley Davidson ‘V’ Rod, the ‘V’ being synonymous with Winston Churchill – it was a great start! The tank and rear fender were too small for such a large undertaking so new items were bought, cut in half, widened, strengthened and enlarged! The work had begun! Various new ‘shiny bits’ were added, new forks, wheels etc. but the main focus was on the pictures. The tank was sprayed a deep blue, rubbed down and re-sprayed. We originally went for the image of a Spitfire flying over the White Cliffs of Dover. Numerous ‘memory’ images were added and genuine photographs were used to represent ‘loved ones’ and painted in sepia with cracked effects added.

The bike was coming together so I arranged a grand unveiling Party! With just weeks to go there was a meeting late one night in Ken’s workshop. As I walked in there was silence, I thought the bike had been stolen! A good friend of mine, Dennis Denmead, had brought in a new picture, a Spitfire flying over Tower Bridge and down the Thames in London. We offered it up to the finished tank, all looked at each other and nodded – this image had to go on the bike! With four weeks to go, Ken rubbed off hours of work to start again, time was against us but after many many late nights the tank was finished and I was over the moon with the result!

The White Cliffs of Dover were painted on the side panel as this image defines the Battle of Britain in my eyes. The last picture was painted of my late grandmother on the front mudguard, I new nothing of this until the day of the unveiling, Ken and Dennis kept it as a surprise for me – it was a very emotional moment!

The bike was ready for the unveiling, I prepared a large display, books, posters and information on the Few and the Battle of Britain. The bike was wheeled into the hall and displayed just as the first guests arrived. Ian Much, a freelance photojournalist and author stopped by on his way back from Southampton to take some pictures which have been sent off to various custom bike magazines for review and possible publication.

There is a chance that the heroism of these men will just be added to the history books, pretty much forgotten. I wanted to try in some small way to bring them to the attention of other generations, perhaps a different group of people who would otherwise not really have given it much thought. The interest in the bike has been astounding and I feel privileged to have been able to put these brave pilots into the spotlight once again, where they deserve to be.

Big thank you to Ken Rothery for his commitment, patience and skill, Dennis Denmead for his unwavering enthusiasm and contribution and Jo for her investigative skills!

And last but by no means least, the men and women who gave us our freedom, I hope my tribute will help to keep the memory alive.

We took the completed Harley to Legends Aviation Gallery yesterday and were truly honoured to show it off to their esteemed guests of honour! Picture of the chaps behind the bike, including Colin Sims to right of Terry Clarke and Ken Rothery (responsible for the artwork!) to the left of Tom Neil. Stapme loved the image of himself on the back! Ken removed the varnish from the tank and they all signed the artwork - it will be re-varnished this week.

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