Surbey, William

OT 419 - North

Date of Death: 27/11/2009

From The Gazette 51.

Tony died unexpectedly of a heart attack on 27th November 2009.

Few men have the charisma to become an icon in their chosen field. Tony Surbey though had that special quality in abundance and acquired almost mythical status within the AMC community. Tony was born in 1942. He was a bright lad, gaining a pilot’s licence in the Air Cadets. While at boarding school he once rode over a hundred miles home on a Corgi folding motorcycle to surprise his family. Strapped on the back of the Corgi was a ukulele, his latest interest. Luckily for us, his passion for motorcycles came before his love of music.

Tony attended the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst but eventually decided the military was not for him. Before long he was working in the plastics industry where he rose to become managing director of a large firm. During this time Tony met and married Linda and within six years had a full family with a son, Steven, and daughter, Suzanne.

He passed his love of AJS & Matchless motorcycles on to Steven and they became well known for their expertise in AMC bikes. Tony’s motorcycle involvement expanded, so the Surbey family moved into a terrace of three ancient cottages. His bikes and parts completely filled one of them! Extricating restored bikes from the cottage proved difficult so he rebuilt a derelict barn and relocated his workshop there, much to Linda’s relief. Around then Tony underwent heart surgery at Harefield Hospital. His new heart valve had an audible ‘click’ to it and he often joked that it came with a ‘lifetime guarantee’. He was fun to be around.

Tony took early retirement and, buying and selling parts at autojumbles, he and Steven soon became familiar faces. In 2002 he cashed in his pension to buy a massive job lot of parts and started ‘AMC Classic Spares’. Tony’s original aim was only to dabble in selling parts. He intended the occasional spares sales to help with the cost of rebuilds from the stockpile. It was a shock on the first day of trading to hear from thirty prospective customers! Soon Linda and Steven joined Tony in the business and in ‘retirement’ he was working harder than ever. It has become a major supplier of AMC parts.

Tony was not a tall man but he had a massive presence. He tried to give the impression of being a ‘GOM’ but his good humour always shone through. His bluntness was legendary. If he thought you had been an idiot he would tell you but in such a way that it was impossible not to like him. Equally legendary was his keenness to help AMC novices, giving time to them which far outweighed any financial benefit to him. A unique character who stood out in the classic motorcycle crowd, Tony will be greatly missed by many. Fortunately for devotees, Linda and Steven continue to run AMC Classic Spares. It is ‘business as usual’ to carry Tony’s legacy forward.

From AJS & Matchless Owners Club Limited’s 10 ‘Jampot’ magazine (February issue)