South East Northumberland M.A.G

Not a racing hero - but a true biking hero nevertheless.

Fred Hill defied the compulsory helmet law throughout the nineteen seventies and eighties. Nowhere in the world has anyone made such exceptional sacrifices in the name of biker's freedoms....

A former army dispatch rider during WW2, Fred worked for many years as a mathematics teacher before leaving to enjoy what he doubtless expected would be a quiet retirement. Incensed by the compulsory helmet law, Fred rode everywhere in an old beret, collecting literally hundreds of tickets which he stored in a large suitcase. Fred's refusal to pay the fines for helmet-less riding constituted Contempt of Court for which he was given custodial sentences thirty one times.

Fred was imprisoned 31 times, his final sentence of 60 days, proving too much to take, was half completed. The prison governor had warned Fred that the harsh prison environment could be the death of him, to which Fred replied that, 'it didn't matter 'where a man died but how.' An enquiry into Fred's death resulted in a coroner's report which concluded that Fred's prison experience had not contributed toward his death !

Demonstrations of support by MAG members were frequently staged outside prisons in which Fred was held; a commemoration of his efforts being made annually at the gates of Pentonville Prison on the anniversary of his death. Fred Hill was seventy four years old when in 1984 he died from a heart attack, suffered whilst in custody in London's Pentonville Prison . Despite the tremendous news angle of one man against the state, the national media, with the exception of two columnists, Mathew Paris and Auberaugn Waugh, suspiciousIy blanked the tragedy.

Whether the helmet issue is important to you or not, we all owe it, not only to Fred but to ourselves, to sustain a ceaseless call for the reform of this outrageous legislation for, as Fred wrote - 'what is a man deprived of his freedom ? ' Motorcycling is about freedom. Fred understood that. We must never forget Fred's example lest we forget why we ride motorcycles.