Milton Keynes Museum is the new custodian of a very special bicycle that will be familiar to many people.
In a Total MK feature, Sammy Jones celebrates the man who built it, and whose creative mind brought so much to his hometown and beyond...
Roy Pink's mother had been moved to Newport Pagnell, from Lambeth, while his dad was at war.
This war baby was born in 1943, at Tyringham House, which had been reinvented as a military hospital.
A fondness for transport was ignited as a youngster: “He often talked about visiting family in London, but spending most of the time as a kid running back and forth on the Underground,” his son Ryan told me, “His love of bikes came after smashing his hip while racing cars. The surgeon said to him, 'If you don't get that moving, you will be stuck with the damage,' so he got on a bike. That was the 1960s, he rode 20 miles on his bike every morning from that day.”
Roy's career had been colourful – in the 1960s he had been a chief service engineer with Aston Martin, which famously had its HQ in Roy's home town.
Roy was well-known and well-regarded for his enthusiasm and generosity
His stories are many and some of them fruity – in every sense: “He took Mick Jagger's Aston Martin back to him, and on returning his car, said '"It's all serviced, but we can't work out the holes in the ceiling trim", and Mick cooly replied, "stilettos!"
Another time he was asked to deliver a car to the then Prince Charles.
“He was caught speeding in that car,” Ryan told me, “Prince Charles paid the fine, and when he dropped the car off, he gave dad an apple from the estate.
“When he got home all the neighbours came over to see the 'Royal Apple,' he laughed.
Aston Martin was the gift that kept giving, and he also used to look after James Bond's DB5.
He didn't speed in that one as far as we know!
That job also took Roy stateside in the 1960s, which must have been an absolute buzz: “One summer he lived in The Plaza, overlooking Central Park, to service Aston Martin cars and fondly talked about seeing a sea of people with flowers in their hair for the Summer of Love, in 1967.”
He followed up time spent at Aston Martin's by getting behind another wheel in the 1970s - operating as a continental lorry driver.
In the 1980s, he turned digger driver, and in 1989 he launched Newport's much-loved cycle shop, Roy Pink Cycles, which he ran for three decades.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, he was always tinkering with one thing or another.
The bike-canoe combo
“He was always in the garage with something going on, whether it was building us a bike out of scraps, or fixing trainers to skate plates so they could go to the Agora skate-rink in Wolverton, where he helped out on the weekends. There were the crazy projects like putting a lawnmower engine on skates to power them with a throttle in his hand, they were lethal!” Ryan recalled.
“There tended to always be a classic car or motorcycle kicking around. He had an 1940s Austin 7 he drove around right up until he was too unwell to drive it. Like many mechanics of his generation, he would often stand at the engine of our cars or neighbours' cars listening to the engine and diagnosing what was wrong. I think that was the success of the shop - your bike never left unfixed.”
Roy's sons all inherited their father's love of motoring.
“Throughout his 20s, eldest son Jay had a different classic car every few months, Ty got into classic motorbikes and still rides a Triumph or BSA when he can in New Zealand. Alex ran the cycle shop with dad for 20 years and now works at a race track in Bedford and I have always loved transport in any way and visit all the car museums and shows that I can. One of the main things I miss about dad is his endless knowledge of every car in a show.”
When he wasn't selling more conventional bike models from behind the counter of his shop, he was visible in the town, utilising some cool, clever creations; It wasn't unusual to see Roy riding his own ordinary bicycle, either.
In truth though, there was little ordinary about this bike, a replica Penny Farthing which Roy had made in the 1990s, with Chaz Knight – Roy took care of the wheel and Chaz, an Aerospace engineer at Cranfield University, oversaw the frame, making it by hand.
Roy could be seen in the saddle around town, but also peddled along the route at local carnivals, and classic car runs.
He even partook in the London to Brighton rides on his terrific two-wheeler.
For Roy, hopping in the saddle was muscle memory – like making a couple of tea.
He put his best foot forward every morning, no matter the weather – something he did for decades. He was incredibly generous with his time for charity, too. Using his skills to make a difference to others was hardly unusual where Roy was concerned.
“Roy was always creative – when we were at school as a youngster he tried to make a guitar in woodwork,” remembered Nick Jones, “As far back as I can remember he'd had a love of cars, and he was one of the first from our part of town to actually get one, which was a big deal!
“We would go to the dances and live bands at Wilton Hall, and The Palace in Wolverton, and it would be Roy who would drive us home.
“He was always enthusiastic, and more than that, he was a genuinely nice person,” he said.
“Dad always said he wasn't academically clever, but he was street-wise and knew that you need to master something with your hands,” Ryan explained, remembering his father's can-do attitude, “He would throw himself into even the smallest tasks to help people, whether that was fixing a puncture for the local nurse or riding a bike on canoes on the river to the sea to raise funds for Brooklands Day Care Centre.
“He used to say to me, treat everyone like a friend, talk to them as if you already know them, and it definitely works.
He was an enabler, and someone who didn't believe that something couldn't be done...”
Roy was a familiar face at the Museum too, regularly attending motoring events in his Austin Seven.
Sadly, Roy lost his battle with cancer in late 2024, and his family contacted the history hub to ask whether they would like to take ownership of the aforementioned replica Penny Farthing.
“Dad always said he would like it to go with the bikes at the Museum so he can be part of the history,” said Ryan.
The Museum didn't need to be asked twice – it was important to take the bike and to preserve Roy's legacy too, he was a true character of Newport Pagnell; a man who spread joy, raised money to help others and was a total gentleman.
Taking part in Newport Pagnell Carnival
“We did have an 'ordinary bicycle' – a Penny Farthing – replica, and to be honest, it wasn't a particularly good one,” Museum director Bill Griffiths said, “I've always hoped to have one with local significance, and this new addition most certainly has that!
“I don't know of another with the same provenance. It has everything! We are enormously grateful to Roy for his support of the Museum over many years, and to his family for giving us this piece of history that will continue to be enjoyed by many people now and in the future,” he smiles.
“Now we need to, dare I say, get into gear and prepare it ready for display. I can't wait for people to see it.”
Images: Pink family archive
