Funeral of local man saw coffin transported in motorcycle sidecar

THE FUNERAL of Melksham man, John Boyd, saw his coffin travel to the crematorium in a motorcycle sidecar, followed by an entourage of friends on motorbikes, to reflect his love of biking.

John was diagnosed with aggressive terminal cancer on 2nd February this year, he died within 19 days of being diagnosed, at age 65 years old.

He was an HGV driver and a keen biker, who particularly loved Triumph bikes. To reflect his love of bikes, his coffin was transported to the crematorium in a motorcycle sidecar. His partner, Carole Knight said, “About 21 friends on bikes followed to the crematorium. It was beautiful. John was actively involved in biking and it’s something he really loved and I do too. We had been together 41 years, but we knew each other for 50 years because we were both involved in biking and we would go to rallies and bike shows.

Speaking about the choice of a motorcycle sidecar to transport John’s coffin, Carole said, “We had a conversation before John died about this and he said it was something he really wanted to do. We had been to other funerals of friends who had the same thing and he said that’s what he wanted, so that’s what we did.

“The crematorium was packed out. We then had a wake at the Foresters Arms.”