1925-2022
Well-known and respected Leeds motorcycle dealer Danny Cork (Senior) died on 11 December aged 97 after 61 years in the two and three-wheel trade, where he worked until he was 91.
Born in Folkestone, Kent, Danny joined the army in 1940 as a boy soldier aged 14, later seeing active service in Burma running a workshop to keep despatch bikes in top fettle.
In 1952 he left the army a fully skilled REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) engineer. A brother in Leeds suggested he move to the Yorkshire city where there was plentiful engineering work.
In 1955 he joined locomotive manufacturers the Hunslet Engine Company which introduced the Villiers 197 engined three-wheel Scootacar in 1957. The Scootacar owners register believes Danny was development engineer and service manager.
He was asked to test drive a Scootacar to John o’ Groats laden with sandbags to replicate passenger weight. Instead, he took his father-in-law on the marathon. After the Scootacar’s launch he became a tech adviser to dealers.
In 1959 he took over Motor Cycle Spares in East Street, Leeds, specialising in British spares and repairs, later moving to York Street.
Looking to buy premises rather than rent, in 1968 he bought Kidsons Motor Cycle Spares (est 1927) including all stock.
Taking up the story son Phil says: “This was a fantastic business, a busy shop in the middle of Leeds opposite Tetley’s Brewery. When Tetley’s wanted to expand, they made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Fortunately, two years before he had bought Jack Hart & Sons in Birstall, south-west of Leeds, to store some of his stock, so he operated from there.
“In the early 1980s he was thinking of retiring, but instead came to work for us. My brother Danny and I had opened Woosters Motorcycle Spares in Leeds in 1983.
“As well as dealing in bikes and spares we were manufacturing parts including alloy tanks for off-road bikes. We made thousands. It was a business in itself. They were branded Wooster, our mother’s maiden name, and sold all over the world by us and the trade including WE Wassell and Sammy Miller. Dad was the brains behind it.
“Dad should have retired, but he lived for his work – reboring, tuning, crank regrinds, and making parts, you name it… He never took a holiday. He relished a challenge and loved problem solving. He was so well known that everyone referred to his shops as Danny’s. He was friendly and fair. Everybody spoke highly of him.
“In 2016 we took the opportunity to move out of running a bike business full time, and so dad retired. By this time, he was 91 years old. We were proud of him.”