Mystery rider at L Stevens shop

[John Wakefield]

Remember this pic taken outside L Stevens shop (sorry cant find original thread)

Well the mystery has been solved via OBM. It is actor Richard Wyler, identified by several readers including auto jumbler John Harding. Richard Wylers
real name was Richard Stapley,

[Brian Thompson]

Mystery rider indentified......

Hi John,

Am I right in thinking that you correctly identified the rider as Richard Wyler on the original thread then, when it was first posted on here?

Brian.

[John Wakefield]

Yes I did, obviously in his younger days, we have still not established what the bike was.

[Brian Thompson]

I thought so John....well spotted indeed!

Brian.

[dave higgins]

Thats right brian, i remember colin clearly saying that is was not rw, but as the thread was started by a certain member who seems to have deleted most of his threads...its gone.......so well spotted john.........

[John Wakefield]

There is obviously more info to come out, why was Wyler posing with the bike? it was obviously some time before his ride accross Europe with Joe Dunphy.
Why did the bike a 25DB or 32DB have deep valanced mudguards & a substantial pannier rack. Sad that this info was not recorded on the back of photo or in Greeves archives.
According to OBM Richard Wyler, (real name Richard Stapley), opened a coffee bar in Steatham London, & also had his own despatch rider company (so that may be the connection with the pic maybe taking delivery of the bike for his DR company). He went on to become The Man From Interpol in the 1960's & did some amateur racing. He was born in 1923 in Essex & died in Palm Springs, California in 2010.
If pic was taken in 1960 (the last year of the DB twins) he would have been 37.

[Colin Sparrow]

Thats right brian, i remember colin clearly saying that is was not rw, but as the thread was started by a certain member who seems to have deleted most of his threads...its gone.......so well spotted john.........

I'm still not convinced...

[trialrider17]

I thought this may be of interest , Richard Wyler riding at Thruxton ,may of been seen before. http://www.britishpathe.com/video/racing-film-star
Simon

[John Wakefield]

I thought this may be of interest , Richard Wyler riding at Thruxton ,may of been seen before. http://www.britishpathe.com/video/racing-film-star
Simon

You can definitely see a likeness in that film to the one outside L Stevens shop, & he was a prolific smoker. It would have been taken in Wyler's younger days, maybe before he became famous as an actor, when he was running a courier company. That bike definitely has mods to suit that purpose.

[Brian Thompson]

British Pathe Archive Films.

I thought this may be of interest , Richard Wyler riding at Thruxton ,may of been seen before. http://www.britishpathe.com/video/racing-film-star
Simon

It has Simon...see seventh film in listing, here; http://www.greeves-riders.org.uk/for...hread.php?t=32

It took three and a half months of research, on and off, and I waded through over 900 pages of the Britsh Pathe archive to find those films....

I posted that thread back in 2010 just after we launched the forum, as I wanted people to have something special to see when they visited for the first time. There wasn't much on it back then, nothing like what there is now....

Brian.

[Dogsbody]

A friend of mine bought a E-type from the States that had been fitted with a big American V8 and was built and owned by Richard Wyler. Subsequently sold to be re-united with a 4.2 Jag engine. So he was still involved with motors after his film career seems to have ended in the 70s. Dogsbody

[trialrider17]

Brian you come up with the goods every time. Its the first time I have seen that thread loads of great little films.All the best for Wednesday
Simon

[John Wakefield]

The 25DB

Getting back to the pic I wonder if its possible to identify the bike from the 25DB dispatch records, to see if one went to L Stevens between 1959 & 1961. Maybe there would be a comment against the entry ie valanced mudguards & pannier frames fitted.