I worked with Allan for the Ford Motor Company at Basildon, Essex for a number of years in the 1960s.
It was during this time that he told me that he could trade in his Vauxhall Victor for an Austin-Healey Sprite but the trade could only be performed at a dealership in Buckie, Banff.
He needed a co-driver and so I volunteered. The journey one-way was 625 miles and all before the A1 was a major highway.
We left Basildon in March of 1966 and had a pretty much uneventful drive up. We stayed with Allan’s mother in a cold stone house in Findochty (pronounced Finechty as Allan pointed out). I believe that sadly Allan’s father had died in a car crash some time before. Allan’s mother was lovely; I can remember her liking Sha La La La Lee by the Small Faces.
The return drive was uneventful apart from trying to take a short cut over Carter Bar to save some mileage. We got caught in a blizzard of such power that when we turned around our wheel tracks had disappeared.
Regaining the A1 we arrived home safely.
Very sad to hear of the loss of Allan. He was good company. He used to mention a sister Nettie whom I never met.