Pete Beeton was born in Louth, Lincolnshire, in 1945, to sidecar racing star Jackie Beeton and his wife Vera.
From an early age, Pete became part of the ‘sidecar racing kids club’ along with a young Micky Boddice, Norman, Peter, Roy and Beryl Hanks, and Dotty Beevers, to name but a few.
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As soon as the ‘chairs’ came out, the children were at the track fence, screaming at their respective fathers to go faster – there was serious rivalry between the siblings.
On leaving school at 15, Pete joined his granddad Beeton working at the family garage, while Jackie spent the ‘season’ racing and the winters preparing for the next year.
Pete grinned when he recalled asking his grandfather if he could have a motorbike.
“Of course you can, lad, I’ll buy you one,” promised granddad.
About a week later, Pete was told to report to the local auctioneers’ and collect his new ‘steed’ – a rigid prewar 250cc Velocette MOV in hundreds of bits, slung unceremoniously into an assortment of oily boxes, which had cost granddad all of £3!
Under granddad’s guidance, the Velo was carefully and meticulously assembled by Pete, teaching the youngster the rudiments of spannering.
Pete later sold the MOV to Geoff Monty, of Monty and Ward fame, for a decent profit, and replaced it with a ‘freebie’ BSA B31, gifted by sidecar racer Charlie Freeman.
Read more in the June edition of TCM
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