LUDLOW has said farewell to a familiar figure Simon Lissauer who lived for a decade in a garage in the town.

His funeral service was at St Laurence Church and Floyd Moody has written a tribute to the life of his friend.

Mr Lissauer was the second of two children born to Frank and Jean Lissauer and entered the world on February 12, 1959.

‘I met Simon in 1970 as a fellow pupil at Forest School in Snaresbrook.

‘We were drawn together from the pool of academia at the school as two likeminded souls with an interest in motorcycles – much to our parents’ disdain – the motorbike bit I mean!

‘The Lissauer family home in Buckhurst Hill was spectacularly bohemian.

‘Simon’s interest in vehicles made him impatient to get out on the road…

‘So, the long gravel drive in front of the family home became the place where Simon taught himself to drive.

‘When he reached 16, he got a moped and at last had the freedom of the highway.

‘At 17 the moped was sold and he bought a ‘50s BSA A10 with a massive sidecar – it couldn’t be just a normal bike. The sidecar, as quirky as it was, didn’t last long and the BSA became his steed of choice for years to come.

‘Simon’s interest in vehicles was always for the peculiar, He had a phase of buying Izetta’s, known as bubble cars.

‘Looking back, nearly every vehicle Simon had then is now priceless, he was simply ahead of everyone else at the time.

‘Simon’s first job after leaving school was as an apprentice toolmaker and he loved it – both the practical and the college work. He did that until ambition led him to leave and strike out with another biking enthusiast to open a shop repairing motorbikes. This went well until Simon’s partner ended up in hospital bringing the project to an end.

‘In 1978 I went to work in Hamburg in Germany. I’d only been there a month when my old school mate surprised me by being in my hotel when I got home from work one evening.’

Later Mr Lissauer then moved to live in Canada.

’It was around this time that he met the woman who was to become his wife,” added Mr Moody.

‘Simon’s now widowed mother had retired and moved to Ludlow.’

Mr Lissauer came to the county with his young family but they fell victim to be financial crash of the early 1990’s and it was this that resulted in his living the final years of his life in a garage in Ludlow.

He made many friends in the town he called home.