Poignant farewell to off-road legend
By John Dickinson on 13th Apr 16
THE funeral of the first ever World Trials Champion, Harold Martin Lampkin, took place last Monday.
Mart succumbed to cancer on Saturday, April 2, after a typically hard-fought battle and family and friends gathered to pay their final respects to a motorcycling legend.
St James' Church in the Yorkshire Dales town of Silsden – for so many years the Lampkin family stronghold – was, to no-one's surprise, overwhelmed with mourners and several hundred gathered in an ante-room or stood outside listening to the service via remote speakers.
Martin's coffin was carried by sons Dougie and Harry, James and John Lampkin and Dan and Ben Hemingway. There were several moving eulogies by close friends and a poignant song, ‘I Watch the Sunrise', sung beautifully by Susan Rathmell which really touched the congregation who listened in total silence.
People came to say their goodbyes to Martin from all over Britain and abroad with Amos Bilbao travelling from Barcelona while fellow World Trials Champion Thierry Michaud arrived from France.
"I rode my first world championship as Martin completed his last,” said Thierry, "and he gave me very good advice as we both rode SWM.”
Sammy Miller, Gordon Jackson, Yrjo Vesterinen, Gordon Blakeway, Tony Jefferies, James Whittam, Mick Grant, Rob Crawford, Steve Colley and his great friend and competitive rival for over 50 years, Malcolm Rathmell, were just a few of the many motorcycling names who turned out to honour their friend.
Guests were invited to the Coniston Hotel, Coniston Cold, afterwards where many a glass was raised and many stories told in memory of a great champion and a giant of a man in all respects.
