Shropshire motorbike ace's Isle of Man TT tales

With his trademark jutting chin and ready smile, Bill Doran was Shropshire's motorcycling ace who is immortalised at the Isle of Man TT with a bend named in his honour - Doran's Bend.

He came a cropper there in 1950, riding for the AJS works team. He escaped with a broken leg.

"He was so proud of it because he was the only living person at the time to have one named after him," says his widow Peggy.

It was by no means the last of his scrapes during an illustrious career which began at the age of 32 with the 1946 Junior Manx Grand Prix and ended at Rouen in 1953 when he slid on cobblestones and had a head injury.

Among the other spills (and there's a bit of a list) was a crash in the 1952 Dutch TT in which he suffered a damaged back which left him in plaster from his armpits to his thighs.

Amid the spills and tragedy - Les Graham, who had been his teammate at AJS, was killed at the 1953 Isle of Man TT - there was glory. Ten victories against top class fields, including wins in the Belgian GP in 1949 and at Silverstone in 1953. Fastest laps. Third place in the 1951 350cc world championship table. Seventeen world records in the AJS team. A whole cupboardful of silverware.

It's probable though that most Salopians who remember him will have known him from his post-racing years in business in Whitchurch Road, Wellington, firstly in partnership with Matt Wright - the AJS development engineer - from 1954 to 1967, and then as Bill Doran Garages Ltd after Matt retired.

After living fast on the edge during his racing career, Bill Doran was destined to die of a heart attack in September 1973 aged 58.

Mrs Doran, 85, (and, incidentally, the pronunciation she uses is an un-stressed "doorun") carried on with the business until closing it in 1987.

"Bill was lovely, a happy guy, always smiling," she said.

"I met Bill while he was racing. He said 'We shouldn't get married.' It was too dangerous. And in those days, it was. We had lost so many friends."

She met him at the annual dinner dance of Wolverhampton Motor Cycle Club, of which her father Herbert Ratcliffe was vice chairman, at Beatties in Wolverhampton just after Bill had won the Belgian Grand Prix.

"People think that when I met him that I didn't know anything about motorcycles. But I knew what motorcycling was all about."

Her father had ridden motorcycles - winning a cup in 1913 for riding from Birmingham to Carlisle and back. And she had a sadder reason to know all about motorcycling.

Independent

"My brother, Eric, was killed on a motorcycle. A post office van came out of a side road and he went straight over the top. There were no crash helmets in those days. That happened at Wollaston, near Stourbridge, in 1946."

Thereafter she was, understandably perhaps, "wrapped in cotton wool", and not encouraged to ride herself.

She and Bill married in October 1955.

"When Bill and I married, Bill said 'You are going to pass your test. I want you to become independent.' I thought that was a funny thing to say after about three months of marriage. I took my test and passed it, in an Austin pick up, I think it was an A90.

"The main reason he wanted me to pass my test was to go to Birmingham to pick up motorbikes. I used to go and pick up BSAs, Velocettes, Watsonians, side cars and all sorts of things."

In the business she would serve petrol, and help in the shop while Maud Wright, Matt's wife, did the office work.

"I used to go to Birmingham for the spares and bikes. We did a seven day week."

Soon they had another filling station further up Whitchurch Road, and another at the Red Lion on the Holyhead Road.

There was a sort of pattern to sales.

"People would start with a BSA Bantam and then go up to something larger. Then they would get married, and have a side car. Then we went into Messerschmitt and Isetta bubble cars. Bill and I used to go down to Gatwick airport and collect them and drive them back. Then the explosion happened. The Mini came in. That virtually put an end to them."

Motorcycling continues in the family blood. Daughter Jayne rides a Ducati Monster. Granddaughter Emilie Weaving is a mechanic at Ducati Wolverhampton Ltd and rides a Yamaha R6.

Mrs Doran is happy about it: "You can't wrap them in cotton wool."

Jayne still wears the watch (it still works) engraved for her father after his ride in the 1952 Swiss GP and when watchmakers Tissot found out they invited Bill's wife, daughter, and granddaughter as honoured guests to the grand prix at Silverstone a few weeks ago. The trio were presented with Tissot watches and given a framed photograph of Bill.

"We had a wonderful day. It brought back lots of lovely memories. I was so proud he is still remembered."