Cyril transferred from his reserved occupation at  English Electric Aircraft at Preston to HMS Illustrious on which he worked as an aircraft engineer.

After the war Cyril joined the world-famous Vincent Motorcycles in Stevenage working with Phil Irving and John Surtees, and assisting with the fearsome supercharged record breaking machines, aided by his wartime experience with Seafires and his close association with Shorrock’s from his days in Preston.

Sadly Cyril passed away at Bedford Hospital on 4th March 2005