Des Evans, a stalwart and good friend to all sectors of the local motorcycle racing community, has died at the age of 88.

Originally from Dingle, Liverpool, Des moved across to the Isle of Man in 1970 after marrying his Manx-born wife Wyn.

His first race meeting here was the 1959 Southern 100, and he continued to ride a variety of solo machines on and off at Billown until 1967.

He made his Mountain Course debut on a Norvel (Norton-Velocette) in the 1964 Manx Grand Prix. It was then that he first met his wife-to-be as she was the daughter of Winnie and Frank Stevenson who ran the boarding house in Hutchinson Square, Douglas where he stayed.

The following year he finished 35th in the Lightweight on an early air-cooled Yamaha with a time of two hours and two tenths of a second.

Astride an updated 250cc Yamaha TD1C he was 30th in the 1967 Lightweight TT won by Mike Hailwood.

In 1969 he rode a BSA twin in the Sidecar TT with passenger Ian Gemmell on a frame built by Derek Rumble and powered by a BSA motor.

After retiring from racing he was a scrutineer for the 1970 TT, but was then recruited as a travelling marshal duties - a role he continued until retiring at the end of 2002. He was chief TM for his final three years.

He became a club steward at Billown, a position he occupied until the end of 2022, was also riders’ liaison and welfare officer between 1984 and 2000.

He was equally involved with the Manx Motor Cycle Club as a long-time committee member and Manx Grand Prix official, latterly a vice-president.

At the TT, after retiring as a TM, he was the pit lane stop-box official and parade lap co-ordinator for some years.

As a team, Des and Wyn looked after the welfare of competitors and officials at Billown, the Snaefell Mountain Course and Andreas Racing Association meetings at Jurby.

Des and Wyn ran a garage in West View Lane, Douglas where, in addition to selling fuel, they had a Honda Power Product dealership.

He’d battled with illness over the last 12 months and will be greatly missed by his many friends and all who knew him.

A private cremation is to take place, but there will be a celebration of Des’s life at a date to be confirmed in January.

JOHN WATTERSON