49 replies to this topic

[David Lightman]

Maurice Hamilton just tweeted that author and journalist Alan Henry has died

[jjcale]

RIP 

 

He was one of the few I enjoyed reading....

[Gilles4Ever]

An institution. Can't be many motorsport enthusiasts who don't have one of his books or one where he did the foreword. 

His passing will leave a gap. 

RIP 

[LeClerc]

Oh crap! 

[Marklar]

I hate 2016

[Mandzipop]

Oh no. RIP

[Sheldon835]

Very sad, one of the greats of journalism who provided wonderful insight to the sport.

[Henri Greuter]

This is sad news.

 

Rest in piece Alan Henry, thanks for the legacy you left that still will entertain many for years to come.

 

 

Henri

[PayasYouRace]

Very sad to hear that. I'm sure it was one of his books that introduced me to the sport. 

[Boing 2]

Sad to hear, always enjoyed reading his stuff.

[Imperial]

A good read.

Goodbye

[David Lightman]

Ron Dennis on AH: "He was knowledgeable, accurate, intrepid yet fair-minded, and as a man he was warm, kind, loyal and always funny."

[Gilles4Ever]

Adam Cooper's F1 Blog - Alan Henry 1947-2016

[maverick69]

Oh, for goodness sake. 2016?! What is going on?

 

RIP Mr Henry.

 

Your work was some of the very best in the genre.

[midgrid]

A shelving unit full of motorsport books is a good legacy.

[SophieB]

Alain Prost:

"Sad to hear that Alan Henry one of the best F1 journalists has passes away Top man"

https://twitter.com/...069911739699200

[jonpollak]

Jp will miss AH

[Bloggsworth]

Death is both random and cruel, it takes away the good guys at an alarming rate. I felt I knew him through the page, nothing anodyne about his writing, he got to the heart of the matter.

[Gilles4Ever]

McLaren @McLarenF1

Ron Dennis pays tribute to Alan Henry: "He will be mourned by #F1 insiders, fans and of course fellow journalists." mclrn.co/AlanHenry

[Mc_Silver]

RIP AH. You'll always be remembered as a great journalist and a personality. I was following your blog in McLaren website they were amazing to read. I'm really devastated with this news.             

Edited by Mc_Silver, 05 March 2016 - 13:19.

[Spillage]

Very sad to hear this. I've been a fan of his work for many years. It's some written legacy he leaves behind.

[OO7]

Such a shame and a sad loss.

 

I don't buy many motorsport books, but I did buy one written by Alan Henry many years ago called 'Grand Prix Circuits - ...', which was a great introduction to circuits.

[JacnGille]

Sad news

[DampMongoose]

Very sad news.

[Lemans]

This comes as a shock. I'm sure a lot of people here, like me, have enjoyed some of his work at some point without even knowing it was his at first.

I'll miss you, Alan. Thank you for inspiring and motivating a young kid with a love for race cars.

[wookles]

Thank you Alan.

[Incast]

One of the very best motorsport journalists. His books helped cement my interest in the sport in the mid 90s.

 

Thank you Alan, rest in peace.

[DS27]

Sad news indeed, but he leaves a legacy behind him which is more than most of us will ever achieve.

[jondon]

Sad, sad news. I don't read much about Motorsport these days but in the late 90s and early 00s I read some of his books.
A great loss to the motorsports world.

RIP.

[RottenAli]

Very sad news. R.I.P. Alan Henry. One of the very best motor racing writers. I count myself lucky to have many copies of his work. I know we all have to go sometime, but when we lose the likes of AH then we are all the worse off for no longer having him with us. Extending my sympathies to his family and many friends.

Edited by RottenAli, 05 March 2016 - 23:00.

[Cobra]

Oh no! Thank you Alan Henry for feeding my curiousity for motorsports with your excellent writing. You and your talents will be sorely  missed.

Edited by Cobra, 05 March 2016 - 23:51.

[Eff One 2002]

Sad news indeed. I have a lot of his books.

[John B]

Echo the above, he was a prolific author and enjoyed his work.

[PassWind]

RIP mate, leaves an eternal legacy forever grateful.

[TheManAlive]

RIP

[LORDBYRON]

I must say in all my years as  F1 fan never heard of the guy.

 

Sad news indeed.

[BullHead]

His books are just the best. An example of how motorsports journalism should be, and his legacy should stand for others to aspire to.

[ensign14]

The passing of Alan Henry has brought into sharp focus the decline of Grand Prix journalism.  Even leaving aside Jenks and Bolster, you had Roebuck and Lyons starting in the seventies and Mark Hughes more recently.  The trouble is that as motor racing got more popular the journos were gradually more co-opted into the mainstream periodicals - where their work would be pared down to a few column inches rather than the open expanses of magazine space.

 

Given the free media estate available online, you would think that that would help - but that is a double-edged sword.  It is not easy to monetize it, so why bother?  Even more so, good work can easily be swamped out by the legions of blogs, tweets, forum posts and youtubes that can at least get the basic information across, if not with incisive insight or penetrating investigation.  And why would a paper pay a fortune to build up a new name when people will not spend the extra on reading them?

 

The same is happening across journalism as a whole.  Hugh McIlvenny, a samurai of the pen, has retired from his full-time column aged 82.  Brian Glanville is still going, but otherwise the only ones who are coming up on the rails are Davids Walsh and Conn, eviscerating cheating in sport and making genuine history.  Them apart, are there any proper journalist writers left? 

[Risil]

A great racing writer. Like Payas I had one of his books on my shelf when I was little, probably read it cover-to-cover several times. Rest in peace.

[Sheepmachine]

Superb writer, loved his work in F1 racing and the books he wrote. He will be sorely missed.

[PayasYouRace]

It was indeed this book that introduced me to the sport.

 

 

My own copy is in what I can generously describe as a "well used" state.

[Greatest]

When introduced to Formula One as a kid in the 1970s, I very soon became acquainted with Alan Henry's writings. Today when I saw the news of his passing, it was one of those times which really made my heart sink... My warmest condolences to his family and to his closest ones. Mr Henry: thank you for all the memories related to your writings and interviews, you will be missed.   

[Knowlesy]

The passing of Alan Henry has brought into sharp focus the decline of Grand Prix journalism.  Even leaving aside Jenks and Bolster, you had Roebuck and Lyons starting in the seventies and Mark Hughes more recently.  The trouble is that as motor racing got more popular the journos were gradually more co-opted into the mainstream periodicals - where their work would be pared down to a few column inches rather than the open expanses of magazine space.

 

Given the free media estate available online, you would think that that would help - but that is a double-edged sword.  It is not easy to monetize it, so why bother?  Even more so, good work can easily be swamped out by the legions of blogs, tweets, forum posts and youtubes that can at least get the basic information across, if not with incisive insight or penetrating investigation.  And why would a paper pay a fortune to build up a new name when people will not spend the extra on reading them?

 

The same is happening across journalism as a whole.  Hugh McIlvenny, a samurai of the pen, has retired from his full-time column aged 82.  Brian Glanville is still going, but otherwise the only ones who are coming up on the rails are Davids Walsh and Conn, eviscerating cheating in sport and making genuine history.  Them apart, are there any proper journalist writers left? 

 

Reading Autosport is harrowing these days when you think what writers we had.

 

They all seem to congregate in Motorsport Magazine at least, but they will slowly die off. Roebuck fell ill recently as well worryingly, though he is on the mend.

 

Nowadays the best sports writers are considered to be the likes of Henry Winter, which is a hideous thought.

[Vitesse2]

The passing of Alan Henry has brought into sharp focus the decline of Grand Prix journalism.  Even leaving aside Jenks and Bolster, you had Roebuck and Lyons starting in the seventies and Mark Hughes more recently.  The trouble is that as motor racing got more popular the journos were gradually more co-opted into the mainstream periodicals - where their work would be pared down to a few column inches rather than the open expanses of magazine space.

 

Given the free media estate available online, you would think that that would help - but that is a double-edged sword.  It is not easy to monetize it, so why bother?  Even more so, good work can easily be swamped out by the legions of blogs, tweets, forum posts and youtubes that can at least get the basic information across, if not with incisive insight or penetrating investigation.  And why would a paper pay a fortune to build up a new name when people will not spend the extra on reading them?

 

The same is happening across journalism as a whole.  Hugh McIlvenny, a samurai of the pen, has retired from his full-time column aged 82.  Brian Glanville is still going, but otherwise the only ones who are coming up on the rails are Davids Walsh and Conn, eviscerating cheating in sport and making genuine history.  Them apart, are there any proper journalist writers left? 

Apart from Richard Williams and David Tremayne I really can't think of anyone else who has the expertise.

[PlayboyRacer]

I certainly enjoyed reading his work in a variety of publications. For myself his work with Autocourse was always a highlight every year. Couldn't have thought of a better editor and it was brilliant copy back in the glory days of Formula 1....in particular always enjoyed his yearly top ten 

 

Will be sorely missed. RIP Alan Henry.

[David Lightman]

Yes we need writers that live and breathe the sport, not writers who are assigned to a sport by a newspaper for a few years and then move on to something else. We also don't need writers that are inside the sport who have personal agendas and chips on their shoulders.

[SophieB]

Richard Williams ‏@rwilliams1947  7m7 minutes ago

A lovely farewell to the great Alan Henry in Burnham on Crouch today. Church echoed with racing engines.

 

[Craven Morehead]

Rest in peace Alan Henry. Thanks for the years of F1 insight. I truly enjoyed your work.

[SophieB]

Alan Baldwin ‏@alanbaldwinf1  42m42 minutes ago

Raising a glass in memory of Alan Henry this evening

[Marklar]

F1 Racing ‏@F1Racing_mag  36m36 minutes ago

The #F1 paddock paid its respects to the dear departed Alan Henry earlier...