Barry Sheene Remembered
By
national icon in England and whose
fame would span the world, the matter of a couple of miles was hardly
significant.
The Sheene family - Frank and Iris
- lived in rather genteel surroundings.
Franko (Barry's nickname, and
spelling) was resident engineer at the
Royal College of Surgeons, in Queens
Square in Bloomsbury, and an apartment on the premises came with the
MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOS BY GOLD
&
GOOSE AND
FROM THE CYCLE NEWS ARCHIVES
B
arry Sheene always claimed to be
a Cockney. Typically, he was
pushing it. He was born and raised
closer to Piccadilly Circus than the
Bow Bells, but the sharp and cheeky
East End stereotype suited him better. For a man who would become a
30
MARCH 26, 2003'
eye
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job. So did a workshop and (on
weekends) an empty parking lot.
Where American and Australian riders learn their skills chasing jack-rabbits across miles of open desert,
Barry Sheene learned to ride a motorcycle at five, in the RCS yard, on a
little two-speed Ducati that Frank
built up for him. He was only allowed
to use first gear.
Sheene was the second of two
children, born on September 11,
1950 at 8:55 p.m., five-and-a-half
years after his sister Maggie. They
fought, both remembered later, like
cat and dog ... or brother and sister.
Later Maggie would be a big help to
Barry's racing; later still she would
marry fierce opponent Paul Smart,
putting a new twist on the sibling
rivalry.
Rebellion was a family trait. Barry
