Rick Dickinson

[PaulAA]

Chaps

Being on the fringe on the known world and an unreliable correspondent, I have only just discovered that my old friend Rick Dickinson passed away at the end of April.

Rick was a gifted industrial designer, who worked initially for Clive Sinclair and was responsible for the look and feel of the ZX80, ZX81 and ZX Spectrum computers.  He then designed Sony Ericsson's early mobile phones and, more recently, groundbreaking and inexpensive diagnostic microscope attachments for cameras and smart phones, to be used in the field.

I met Rick nearly thirty years ago, when we were neighbours in Cambridge and he introduced me to his magnificent triple-Weber dark green TR6, which he had owned since the '70s and which stayed with him for the rest of his life (Google 'Rick Dickinson TR6' and his Flickr album will pop up).  I had an MGB GT at the time and we swapped cars for the day.  I've never forgotten the experience of stopping the '6 in the narrow confines of Silver Street, slipping it into first and flooring the throttle.  I think my ears are still ringing from the experience.

Rick was a charming and magnanimous chap and a complete petrolhead to boot (pre-Gatso, he did 176mph on the A14 north of Cambridge, in a Beemer M6 he'd taken a shine to, only to discover that he'd burst several seams in the bespoke stainless steel exhaust system).  For twenty-odd years, he had been restoring another BMW, a rare and beautiful 3.0CSL, which he had only just got back on the road.

Being a long-standing TR man, there may be some in the Other Place who knew him, if somebody would be kind enough to relay the news.

Cheers

Paul

[Nick Jones]

Didn't know him....... but seems to have been a very interesting man with good taste in cars and a fine photographer....... RIP

Nick