Funeral service for museum founder

Mourners were due to attend the funeral of the founder of Birmingham's National Motorcycle Museum today.

Roy Richards, 77, who founded the museum at Bickenhill near Birmingham in 1984, died after a long battle with cancer.

A funeral cortege was due to set off from the museum at 1pm this afternoon before travelling to a ceremony at Robin Hood Cemetery, in Hall Green, Birmingham.

Recognised by experts as the finest and largest motorcycle museum in the world, some 250,000 visitors view Mr Richards' collection of more than 800 machines each year.

Despite a huge fire in 2003 which destroyed many unique exhibits, Mr Richards rebuilt the museum, which reopened a year later.

He leaves wife Christine, a son and daughter and three stepchildren.Mr Richards' stepson Nicholas Hartland today paid tribute to his determination in the face of adversity.

"Upon establishing the museum, he gave his own considerable collection of machines, great financial commitment and, most tellingly, his huge enthusiasm and single-minded determination to see the project succeed," he said.

"The tragedy of the big fire in 2003 would have marked the end of many similar enterprises - but Roy Richards would not let that happen. He was very determined.

"With a team of dedicated supporters, he worked around the clock for 15 months to rebuild the museum and restore many of the machines.

"In his own words, the museum is now bigger and better than ever."

Featuring the the largest collection of British motorcycles in the world, the museum hosts exhibits from the earlier days of development up to what is considered the golden years of British motorcycles, between the 1930s and the 1960s.

Carrying a theme, where 'Legends Live On' the museum pays tribute to a time when British motorcycle manufacturers dominated world markets for some sixty years.

The museum was among a series of successful businesses established by Mr Richards, the most well-known of which was the British Crane Hire Corporation.

A funeral cortege was due to set off from the museum at 1pm this afternoon before travelling to a ceremony at Robin Hood Cemetery, in Hall Green, Birmingham.