David McKinney

I am sorry to have to report that David died this morning.  He had been ill for some time but the end came unexpectedly.

He was a good friend.

Oh Blimey, that's awful. I only met him once, but he left an impression

Very sad to hear this not entirely unexpected news. David was to some degree my Nemesis here on TNF, but I retained the uttermost respect for him.

Sorry to hear this news. I was only asking how he was the other day as he's not been posting much recently.

An interesting character and a fountain of TNF knowledge who will be much missed.

RIP David

Oh no!  What terrible news.

I 'knew' him through the forum and was lucky enough to meet him three or four times. 

One of the stalwarts of the forum who was prepared to dig freely into his memory and his files to answer any queries he could. 

All I can say is my condolences to his family and friends.

How terrible! I'm lost for words...

I can only echo Tim's comments. Sad, sad news.

I've started a thread about him over at Roaring Season, the NZ-based forum where David was also a member, with a link to this one.

David will be much missed, I am sure. His contributions to this forum, including period observations of chassis numbers, were invaluable and his knowledge of Maserati 250Fs, including writing the definitive work on the type, was unsurpassed. Like many others, I knew he had health problems, but no idea of how serious they were.

RIP David

Yes, how sad. My sympathy to family and close friends of course.

I really only knew him as a useful and knowledgable man at the other end of an email or forum, although I probably did meet him at a filmshow or two.

It's losing people like him that make people like me feel rather exposed - leaning on other people's expertise is quite natural when there are people like that around.

Edited by Allan Lupton, 25 February 2014 - 16:51.

I will miss him greatly.

My condolences to his family and close friends.

Really sad news. I had the pleasure of driving David up to a TNF film show early last year in the Frogeye (he quite sensibly made alternative arrangements for the return journey). Very nice to have had the pleasure of his company and to have known him for a couple of years.

RIP David

That is terrible terrible news. I only ever met him at Goodwood but it was always like meeting an old friend - I always learned something new and came away feeling better for having chatted to him. He will be greatly missed here and I send my deepest sympathy to his family.

Paul M

So very sorry to hear that.  He was one of the best - I feel privileged to have met him at various events in recent years.  It was always a pleasure..

Sincere condolences to his family and friends

.

I am terribly sorry to hear this sad news. I met him for the first time, in the company of Alan Cox, John Whiteman and Eric Sawyer on my way to Spa for the Trophee des Ardennes historic meeting in 1993. He always had a good story to tell, and on this Forum, one of the very few who had seen race-cars on the track in the period down under and could remember what had happened to many of them. Came in handy when any number of smooth looking re-creations turned up claiming to be a long lost NZ chassis.

Good company and will be missed by very many.

Nick

I am very sorry to hear this sad news, he will be missed

My condolences to David's family and friends

This is terrible.  I was asking after him on Friday and was told his health wasn't good but I had no idea things were this bad. 

He was a very good bloke and an absolute expert on his subjects.  He has been a lot of help to me over many years and I will miss him enormously.

Upset to see this.  He didn't attend the last Herts Filmshow which made me wonder, but he had been ill before and I thought no more of it.  I had been looking forward to seeing him, but hoped he had just missed one as I and others have done on occasions for all the usual reasons.

I can remember a conversation a year or so ago when he was saying that now we were all getting older how important it was that we should be capturing people's memories and experiences so that we could continue to document the history of motor racing accurately. His emphasis was on the last word!

I shall seek out a book of his this evening and thank God I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to him.

Oh dear. When I first came to this forum in 2002, I very quickly found him to be one of the most significant people here. He soon became my favourite "phone a friend", one who was so tolerant and helpful in my lightweight researches. I'm proud to have met him and to have his books on my shelf.

Seen here in his element, with one of his many friends:

Edited by David Beard, 25 February 2014 - 20:19.

So sorry to hear this news. He had been unwell for some time, as Roger said, but I didn't think he would be taken from us so soon. My wife, Pat, and I had the privilege of calling him a very good friend whose company we enjoyed greatly and to lose him, along with another great pal, David Winstanley, within a week is hard to take in. I will miss him very much.

More bad news ……..rather difficult to take it all in at present

Mr McKinney was a mind of information which he combined with a wicked sense of humour.

This Forum and his many friends have lost a real character and a genuine contributor to the sport we love.

PAR

I wonder how many mysteries David now knows the answers to..

It was a privilege.

Thank you David

RIP

Edited by Supersox, 25 February 2014 - 18:52.

Both Willem Oosthoek and myself repected David's knowledge, as they say: He knew his Stuff.

He will be missed.

RIP

I'd known David well for 20-odd years, although our paths probably first crossed during the 1980s. He was every bit as passionate as he was knowledgeable, but above all he was great company.

That's the bit I'll most miss.

Damn, really sad news.  Always loved chatting to him at TNF Goodwood.  Wore his considerable knowledge lightly - sorting out the 250F minefield is a crowning achievement.

RIP.

I was so very sorry to read Roger's opening post,  and I endorse  the sentiments expressed by others above. One of the true joys of this place, for crusty old enthusiasts of our sport's history like me, more especially in the early days of TNF,  is the pleasure of encountering the likes of DMcK and various other contributors who brought vast knowledge from other regions of the motor racing world, as well as from these shores. Like many of you, I suspect, a whole new world of knowledgeable facts and detail about cars, drivers and  races "over there" or "down there", as well as just round the corner here,  has been laid before us, and in this respect David was supreme in his field, and his loss on many levels will be huge; go on , think about who else you would ask for certain questions....especially about cars without a roof, as he would always say.

A couple of years back when he was planning to move home, he rang to say he was getting rid of some 500/600 books via a respected dealer, just keeping the important ones. Knowing my  regard for NZ and NZ racing history, as well as unusual vehicles, - we had spoken many times about the various  NZ specials, David talking, me listening and learning -, he said he was sending a duplicated  book which I would enjoy. Thus arrived "Ralph Watson, Special Engineer" a wonderful tome which says much about David's affection for NZ racing heroes and his understanding of my quirks.  It was the same when he urged me to buy a copy of Rosalie Stuart's DVD of The History of NZ's South Island Motor Racing from 1961" . Discussing it with him after I had watched it,  he  then sent me a detailed sheet of the people involved and their cars, who did what, with what, where and or with or to whom....

In many ways, and some of you will think me soft for saying this as, and probably because, our world has moved on a lot since 1996,  for me he assumed to a large extent the role which Jenks had held. I am sure a lot of you will understand what I mean.

Many thanks, DMcK,

RIP

Roger Lund

Such sad news. A most knowledgeable gentleman. 

My sincerest condolences to David's family and friends

Sorry to hear the man who knew "many things" is no longer with us.

It was a privilege to meet David on a couple of occasions.

By coincidence I have been enjoying his Maserati 250F history over the last couple of days.

I am sure many will agree TNF will be poorer in his absence.

Sincerest condolences to David's family and many friends.

Who is there to pull me up when I make a silly mistake now?

'Missed' is simply not emphatic enough.

Very, very sad to hear this but not entirely unexpected.

I've known David for nigh on 20 years and he has been a great help over time with unravelling and explaining the arcane, unusual and assorted Maserati chassis number issues.

Good, honest bloke and my sincerest condolence to family and friends.

God rest David.

I've been thinking a lot about Mr. McK since Friday when we were talking about him and enquiring how he was doing. So to read this is, well, just terrible, really.

I have so much to thank David for - he was hugely encouraging to welcoming me here, then to help WATN grow, nurturing it by support and well-meaning, but forceful corrections, which I did listen to - (Herbert Mackay Fraser being one of his pet peeves of how he appears under M and not F, or at least did!). When WATN added pictures to the profiles, who was one of the first to provide what he had? David.

Who suggested, quite technically rightly, to add the 1960 F2 season in my F2 section? David. Who kept unearthing little nuggets for me every now and then? David.

What I liked most about David was how welcoming he was to me  and to those he liked - every TNF meet he always wanted me to be on his team. Goodness knows why as I've only a limited repetoire that I can be of help to someone like him, but I found it touching. He always came and sought me out and when I met him at Goodwood or Race Retro, he was always genuinely delighted to see me.. no false pretensions.

The memories tumble on as I recollect more about him - how his interviews with Ian Burgess for the book about his life descending into a laugh & wineathon. hence the picture of Ian on WATN was, in his own words, somewhat fuzzy after being taken after a bottle or two, is just one that comes to mind. I'm sure there's more I'll think about later.

I last saw him last May. He looked a little frailer but as he said, he was over the illness and getting back on top. I haven't been able to go to the last two meetings but I had hoped to see him at Race Retro.

A genuine, loyal, encouraging, helpful, bullshit-free, knowledgeable, all-round top bloke. As Ray says, saying he will be missed is not really emphatic enough, but by heck, I, and so many others, will dearly miss him. I feel glad to have known him, liked him and shared a drink with him.

RIP Mr McKinney and thanks

Edited by Richard Jenkins, 25 February 2014 - 21:46.

To wake to this news three hours ago Down Under was appalling.

I strongly support the descriptions of David in previous posts above, particularly DCN and Richard Jenkins-- even though David and I never met. There is much about David that I didnt know, and I would like to know more. I thank those who have provided some of that information.

My direct contact with David came about in 2010 when I asked him if he would like to be the London end of sales of my book on John Snow -- so we formed "Medley and McKinney Motor Books", which in its way came to resemble Graham Howard's long lost Courier Service which Graham called "Hari Kari" so financially suicidal was it. In MMMB David was a marvel of earnest endeavour, honesty, propriety, communication skills, and decency-- emerging as others say as a Good Bloke. We emailed one another often, spoke on Skype occasionally, shared the proceeds, arranged to meet( at a fellow Antipodean's Sydney house where we both had a standing invitation to stay), and our last shared emails were a fortnight ago. Extremely knowledgeable, he was a real pleasure to be associated with. I realized long ago that he, still in New Zealand then, was the first person to send compliments on the new "Cars and Drivers Australia" magazine that Barry Lake produced around 1977. I arranged for him and another expatriate NZer to combine forces in the writing of a NZ motor racing history(what will become of that now, I wonder?)

Still shocked now, I will miss him enormously.

My condolences to his family and friends-- about whom I know nothing

Charm and a great wit, oh dear, oh dear, he told me he wasn't too good but this comes as a terrible shock. 

RIP.

oh dear, I hadn't realised David was so ill. I think the first time I met him was at one of our (sadly now discontinued) meetings at the pub in Weybridge........I then dropped him off at Shepperton British Rail station only to receive a phone call 5 minutes later to hear that the last train had already gone. I then gave him a further lift to a nearby tube station.  I also met him at a few Goodwoods over the years. Goodness, he'll be missed on here, let alone a few other places.  RIP David.

Oh Dear ,

David and I had numerous email conversations over the years and he was a wealth of information .

Really very sad , my condolences to family and friends.

Bryan Miller.

Edited by BT 35-8, 25 February 2014 - 23:59.

Terrible news.

Sad, incredible news. Rest in peace.

Bugga!  I only met David once-the same time I met a number of TNFers-at Goodwood.  He struck me as pleasant, informative, enthusiastic and genuine--just as he did here on the forum.  I only recently acquired a copy of his opus on the 250F and my missus wondered about this book that was hanging around the dining table for week after week.. 

He will be greatly missed here on TNF and elsewhere I am sure-my condolences to his family.

Like most others here I enjoyed reading David's posts and he shone through the computer as a friend. Then, when I was seeking information on NZ cars and particularly Ron Roycroft an exchange of emails commenced which I really appreciated. David will be sadly missed on TNF and everywhere where there are  old racing cars

As soon as I saw the topic title... 

So sad. My sympathy to all who knew and cared for him. RIP.

A good guy. Always good for the straight story from days "downunder"

Yes, and delivered in his customary firm but fair, precise and direct manner, but never with any hint of exasperation that he'd had to explain something to one of us lesser-read fans. Here and elsewhere I referred to David as The Fountain, a title I like to think he may have tolerated with a wry smirk.

We're certainly without one of our rock-solid sources of confirmation for long-lost fancies from the golden years, and even though we never met, I felt David established more than a rapport, because the warm sharing of a common love of motorsport history confirmed what an upright and decent bloke he was.

RIP David,his knowledge and the fine book he wrote on Maserati 250f's will be very much missed by all.

We often exchanged emails on the ex Australian 250fs and there previous owners.

I thought his last email was someone short,very sad and will be much missed.

We have lost an extraordinarily knowledgeable, good-humoured stickler for historical truth.

David, Doug and I worked together many times in the Goodwood Revival TV commentary box, him lap-charting with unflappable efficiency, Doug passing me pungent notes and, as soon as the race was over and my mike was switched off, the three of us laughing and commenting in unexpurgated terms about what we'd just seen.

And at any hour of the day or night, it seemed, an e-mail to David asking a historical question would always receive a prompt, no-nonsense and brilliantly well-informed, scholarly reply. The cliche "he will be sadly missed" is entirely true in this case: he will no longer be there at the other end of my computer for me to use as an apparently bottomless well of knowledge. All the people on TNF who benefited from his knowledge and his sometimes crusty wit, whether they knew him personally or  not, will feel the same.