A LEGEND in the world of motorsport and motorcycle sales has passed away at the age of 92.

William Edward ‘Eddie’ Dow, of Sulgrave near Banbury, was nationally renowned for motorbike sales throughout the second half of the 20th century.

He opened his first dealership on Banbury’s Southam Road in 1951 selling British motorcycles, mainly BSA.

As a young man, he was also a successful motorcycle racer in his own right, leading the British Army’s racing team during his service and famously triumphing in the 1955 senior clubman’s TT on the Isle of Man.

Mr Dow was born in Sunderland on June 26, 1924, to parents Albert and Hannah. His father was an engineer who worked on, among other things, the construction of the railway network in Argentina before and after the First World War.

After school and following the start of the Second World War, Mr Dow took up an apprenticeship with Rolls Royce.

In 1940, he was transferred to a factory training unit at Derby Technical College, where he received a national certificate in engineering. He was then moved to a workshop which tested all the ancillary units fitted to the Merlin engine, the power source for the Spitfire aircraft.

After further experience working on jet engines, he was called up for military service in July, 1945, just after his 21st birthday.

He became the leader of the British Army motorcycle team in the period following the end of the war, making a name for himself initially as a trials rider, winning a number of medals individually and for the squad in international and national trials events.

His victory in the 1955 senior clubman’s TT on the Isle of Man came just two years after a near-fatal crash that saw him break almost every bone in his body and spend six months in a Liverpool hospital.

In 1956, Mr Dow opened up a motorcycle shop in Banbury with Arthur Taylor, initially known as Taylor Dow Ltd. In 1962 the shop would be relaunched under his own name as Eddie Dow Ltd.

Mr Dow’s Banbury business flourished and he became one of the best known BSA Gold Star specialists in the country.

He met his first wife, Rita just after the war ended in 1946. Rita died in 2008. In his later life Mr Dow married Diane, with whom he saw out the rest of his days.

Mr Dow sold his business in 1991. Aged 67, he lived out a busy and fulfilling retirement in Sulgrave, pursuing interests as diverse as skiing (a hobby he maintained until the age of 88) and gardening. He always remained an irrepressible motorsport enthusiast.

He died on Friday, March 17, and is survived by his wife, Diane, daughter Franca, and grandchildren Justin, Kate and Joshua.

The funeral will take place on Monday, April 3, at 12pm at Banbury Crematorium.

Mr Dow's family has requested no flowers, although donations to the Church of St James the Less, Sulgrave, will be welcome.