Helen Crowder’s family is linked with Raleigh in a slightly different way.
“We lived in Grantham in the 50s and I was promised a Raleigh bicycle if I passed my 11+ [the exam to get in to grammar school],” she said.
“Luckily I did that and my parents said, ‘right, we’ll have to go to Nottingham’ which was quite an adventure because we had to get the train.
“But I had that bike for a long, long time.
“I was tall, so I got a full-sized bike and I used it through school and my teens and used it when I started work.
“I moved away when I married and I left it with my mother but when we came back I got it again and rode with each of my three children in turn on the back.
“It was a super-strong, well made bike, really excellent and I only had to give it up when it was really worn out.
“I must have ridden it for the best part of 50 years.”
