Grease Lightning

Photos from Sandra Davis

Friends Terry Arms, Jeff Hawke and Terry Davis and their bikes on Canvey in 1960.

Below more pictures of the trio plus Sandra who later married Terry Davis. Sandra and Terry made frequent visits to Canvey before moving here. The friends all meeting up at the weekends at the Commodore opposite the Admiral Jellicoe.

Jeff Hawke lived in the High Street on Canvey. He had a chalet in someone’s garden where he also kept his motorbike. Jeff was known locally as ‘Jeff Duke’ after the motorbike champion.

Leaders of the pack………….Terry Arms, Jeff Hawke and Terry Davis

To see enlargements of the pictures below click on the pictures.

Comments about this page

  • Terry “Arms” is, I believe,Terry Harmes, known as “Tookers” to his friends, although I have no idea how he came by this name. Jeff Hawke is also a nickname although I never knew Jeff’s real name. I recall only that he was named after the hero of a pupular newspaper cartoon strip of the time. They were both great lads. We were all members of a local motorcycle club known as the Canvey Island Eagles MCC.

    By Peter Maguire (08/07/2009)
  • Jeff Hawke died a few months ago Peter

    By Janet Penn (08/07/2009)
  • Sad to hear of Jeff’s passing. I recently heard that Tookers great pal Terry “Dilly” Dowler, who was another important member of the Canvey motorcycle scene in those days, may still be living on the Island although perhaps in poor health. Any news?

    By Peter Maguire (16/07/2009)
  • terry ‘dilly’ dowler, is my husbands uncle, yes he still lives on canvey …….

    By karen dowler (19/08/2011)
  • Pleased to hear that Dilly is still around. I also remember his other half Fay and hope that she is well. By chance I was on the Island last weekend at the 90th Birthday bash for my aunty Peggy Ullman. Her daughter, my cousin, Phyllis was there. She married Roy Dowler, alas no longer with us, and I believe that he is related to Dilly.

    By Peter Maguire (08/02/2012)
  • Seems that I was wrong about the spelling of Tookers’ surname. My wife Janet was going through some old papers of her late father Bill Ralph and came across something concerning the sale of a motorcycle combination, an Aerial Square Four, I think, to Tookers. In these papers, Tookers surname is recorded as Armes.

    By peter maguire (09/02/2012)
  • Hi Peter, sadly we lost aunt fay a few years ago, but uncle dilly is still going strong, along with his daughter Suzanne.

    By karen dowler (26/11/2012)
  • Hi just found pictures of the lads. Terry was my late husband, this photo I have never seen before plenty of memories. He got his name tooka from when he worked at a company based at manor trading estate. He was then nicknamed tooka the bear, if you were to see him without a shirt he was covered in body hair and also his strength, which sadly he lost shortly before he sadly passed.Hope this helps solve your question.

    By Doreen Oneill (07/01/2018)

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.