Chris Denham

It is with great sadness that we announce that Chris Denham passed away peacefully on the morning of Saturday June 27^th. Chris was 72 and had bravely fought Parkinson’s Disease for several years.

Many of you will have known and remembered Chris very fondly, from the early days of Classic Clubmans. Initially Chris and son, Anttt shared the Doris F1300 car and then they bought the Wells, which was a left hand drive F1300 car, so that they both could race.

But Chris’s history goes back much further than that. Chris was a Superstox superstar back in his youth and then in the mid 1970’s, he and his father started up CK Motor Engineers in High Wycombe, specialising in machining engine components and building engines dating right back to the 1900’s up to the present day. CK still thrives to this day, in the capable hands of Anttt, ably supported by Chris’s old sparring partner, Chris Cooper. CK are one of the very few companies left in the UK, capable of casting bespoke white metal bearings for very early cars.

My association with Chris went back to 1998 and the very start of Classic Clubmans. He helped me with machining services on my engines right from the start and was happy to pass on the benefit of his many years of experience. He was quite introverted and had a dry sense of humour, but I liked Chris a lot and had huge respect for his work ethic.  No task seemed impossible, he always managed to source the right bits and if he gave you a date when he would complete a task, I cannot think of a single occasion when he failed to meet that date.

I last saw Chris, when Antony brought him to an HSCC meeting at Brands a couple of years back. He looked very frail, but the same spirit was there.

Our deepest sympathies go out to Antony and his two sisters for the loss of a great dad.

Chris R.I.P.

Dave Facer