11 replies to this topic

[Bill Wagenblatt]

I just read at the site grandprix.com that Alec Stokes has passed. Another link to the history of our sport has left.

www.grandprix.com/ns/ns15914.html

Bill

[Dennis Hockenbury]

I just read of this as well Bill. Certainly Alec Stokes was one of the longest serving members of the BRM team.

Knowing him only through Doug's BRM saga, his contribution to transmission design was highly noteworthy.

RIP Mr. Stokes

[Rob Ryder]

Sad news indeed.
I had the pleasure of meeting Alec a few times from 1971-1974 and he was a pleasure to talk with, and a great guy.

RIP Alec

[AAA-Eagle]

Originally posted by Dennis Hockenbury
Certainly Alec Stokes was one of the longest serving members of the BRM team

Yes, and two years ago he compiled a list of all BRM personnel (since 1946 and up to 1977 - his last year with the team). You can find it here: http://homepages.whi...ymond Mays4.htm


RIP Alec

[petefenelon]

RIP - one of the men who kept BRM going through thick and thin.

Alec's list is amazing -- strange to think that although BRM through its entire history employed 200-odd people, these days that's about a quarter of the size of the top F1 teams at any one point....

[MCS]

Originally posted by petefenelon
Alec's list is amazing -- strange to think that although BRM through its entire history employed 200-odd people, these days that's about a quarter of the size of the top F1 teams at any one point....

Yes, indeed. Probably enough said really.

Interested in employee number 207 Mick Coyt though. TNF's "BRM MICK" ?

Unusual surname though - would like to know more if possible.

RIP Mr Alec Stokes.

[David Beard]

Does anyone know more about his book on gearboxes, mentioned in the link in the first post?

[ian senior]

Originally posted by MCS




Interested in employee number 207 Mick Coyt though. TNF's "BRM MICK" ?

Unusual surname though - would like to know more if possible.

Isn't it "Coyte" i.e. with an "e" at the end. Got a feeling I've heard of this guy before - was he Jo Siffert's mechanic in the early days of March? A big Siffert fan, if he's the man I'm thinking of.

[MCS]

Originally posted by ian senior


Isn't it "Coyte" i.e. with an "e" at the end. Got a feeling I've heard of this guy before - was he Jo Siffert's mechanic in the early days of March? A big Siffert fan, if he's the man I'm thinking of.

Yes, the spelling is normally Coyte (with an "e").

My wife's maiden name was Coyte and tracking her relatives is a sort of part-time hobby every once in a way, hence at least some of my interest, along of course with trying to decipher just who BRM MICK is!

Coyt is a relatively well known name in the USA (and sometimes as a christian name), but quite unusual here in the UK and, for what it's worth, my wife's ancestry is French.

[gmw]

David,

Alec Stokes actually wrote three gear and gearbox books:

High Performance Gear Design
The Machinery Publishing Co, Ltd 1970
ISBN 0 212 85333 6

Gear Handbook: design and calculations
Buterworth-Heinemann Ltd, 1992
Also sold by SAE
ISBM 0 7506 1149 9

Manual Gearbox Design
Buterworth-Heinemann Ltd, 1992
Also sold by SAE
ISBM 0 7506 0417 4

A great gearbox man. he will be missed.

GMW

[David Beard]

Originally posted by gmw
David,

Alec Stokes actually wrote three gear and gearbox books:
..........
GMW

Thanks GMW
(sounds like this is a field that interests you?)

[HDonaldCapps]

160. Larry Gerrish, BRM Apprentice-Engine Shop

I assume that he meant Laurie Gerrish who also worked for Shadow and I believe Penske as well. I had a nice long chat with Gerrish a few years ago at Indianapolis thanks to Dave Kane. It was interesting to hear his comments as to how the team did things and some of the personalities involved. How they kept patching up the blocks and the carnage in the engine test shed was worth the whole trip out there by itself....