monty2 Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 (edited) MIKE is no more :morning: , the big armour collector from swindon in the 70-80's is no more. Very well know by the old MV collectors this charming man will be missed. After he sold his company and collection he had a very happy life in France. Luckily he was over to our place for the 70 years Arnhem celebrations. There is a remembrance service in Dion next Saturday at 14:00 Edited November 11, 2014 by monty2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I'm very sorry to hear that, Mike was very helpful & welcoming to me in my early days in the hobby (particularly when owning a post-war vehicle was frowned on in many quarters). He seemed to be the only source of paint of its various kinds for MVs in those days. I believe the first six Ferrets on the show scene here were as a result of Mike importing them from the Hong Kong Police. In those days you could not buy ex-MOD armour, even if it was of British construction the end user had to be a service other than the MOD. Of several bits of advice he gave me the follow sticks in my mind. I was discussing with Mike the in & outs of converting my Shorland into a Vigilant ATGW version as no such example of the that variant were known to exist. Mike was astonished that I would be prepared to "destroy the history" of the vehicle, which was unique & very real. Of course I ignored him & proceeded with a lot of effort to reproduce the vehicle of my dreams. Some years later I realised the advice I had been given was correct, so in the end I expended even more effort in putting it all back into its authentic configuration. I should have taken your advice Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Sorry to hear that Mike has passed away. I last saw him at the MVT camp in Normandy 5 years ago with his wife, who I believe passed away a few years ago. He always had time for a chat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty2 Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 Sorry to hear that Mike has passed away. I last saw him at the MVT camp in Normandy 5 years ago with his wife, who I believe passed away a few years ago. He always had time for a chat. That will be ten or more years ago. Because Carol passed away nearly 10 years ago time flies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulbrook Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Well RIP Mike. Fine chap and Mrs H was lovely too. I first met them in the late 70's when I was at Shrivenham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry New Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 (edited) I met Mike Hofmann (Hoffers) first in in 1967 at his Car & Boat Accessory Shop in Swindon. He quickly introduced me to his local car club - Club WEST - of which he was chairman and thus started the happiest years of my young life! Club WEST had amongst its members most of the local young "jet set" not wealthy people but fun, fun fun! The club had most of the local quick sports cars, mostly the best parties (Beach Boys was the music.) and lots and lots of very pretty girls. At that time Hoffers raced a Lotus 7 which he and Ray Brown prepared immaculately and many of the club members followed the car from racing circuit to circuit for a few idyllic Summers. The Lotus got changed for a "Twin Cam" and Mike's interest changed from circuits to rallies. but the parties and thankfully the pretty girls continued in abundance. Because of this I have to thank Mike Hofmann mostly and a few other members for the time of my life. I don't hope or expect he will rest in peace - this he would hate - Mikes restless energy and enthusiasm will have to find an outlet somewhere... Hoffers, thanks for all the fun. Barry Edited November 10, 2014 by Barry New Spelling again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 That will be ten or more years ago. Because Carol passed away nearly 10 years ago time flies In retrospect, I now realise it was not the last Normandy but 2004 ........ where does time go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David B. Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I was very close to Mike and Carrie for a number of years,he had his ways and wasn't everyone's cup of tea,Carrie was lovely. No matter what,he was one of a small group of enthusiasts who pulled together in a very interesting period of discovery and exploration,he and I were restoring a Dingo each at the same time thirty odd years ago and spent a lot of time together. One of the most amusing memories I have of him was of making a spoof telephone call to him inviting him to drive his Dingo past the Cenotaph for the retirement ceremony of a Polish General - hook,line and sinker. Another good memory was of acting as referee between his pedantic requests and the irascible Chris Wilkinson. Anyone who knew these two characters can imagine that. I lost touch with them following their move and was very sad to hear of Carrie's unfortunate death. So long Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattie Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I was only in the Tank Museum on Armistice Sunday looking at Mike's White Scout car with the tax and tour stickers still on the windscreen from the day he donated it to the museum. RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Ashby Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Another early Berks and Oxon member passed. Mike and Carrie were stalwart in their support for the area and it's activities when we started it in 1977. I think David has captured Mikes personality perfectly and the thought of him mediating between Mike and Chris made me laugh out loud. Mike's early life was interesting and I suspect influenced him in later life. Some found him difficult to deal with, as a very young area secretary I found both Mike and Carrie nothing but endlessly encouraging and supportive and his restorations inspirational. I'm very pleased to hear that Mike found peace in France after Carries untimely death, like David I lost touch with them and felt sad that I could not offer condolences to Mike, Carrie was a lovely lady and very kind at a time in my life when things were not very good. Some people you meet and pass by, some stay and some go but are not forgotten Mike and Carrie Hoffman are in the last category so long Mike Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty2 Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 SATURDAY 15th OF NOVEMBER If anyone would like to join us for the celebration of Mike's life, it is to be held this Saturday in the boating museum opposite the Marie in Saint Jean De Losne, 21170 at 14h00. We would appreciate an email to Satbentley@hotmail.com with numbers and names of those planning to attend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretfixer Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 I was very close to Mike and Carrie for a number of years,he had his ways and wasn't everyone's cup of tea,Carrie was lovely. No matter what,he was one of a small group of enthusiasts who pulled together in a very interesting period of discovery and exploration,he and I were restoring a Dingo each at the same time thirty odd years ago and spent a lot of time together. One of the most amusing memories I have of him was of making a spoof telephone call to him inviting him to drive his Dingo past the Cenotaph for the retirement ceremony of a Polish General - hook,line and sinker. Another good memory was of acting as referee between his pedantic requests and the irascible Chris Wilkinson. Anyone who knew these two characters can imagine that. I lost touch with them following their move and was very sad to hear of Carrie's unfortunate death. So long Mike. David, you have mentioned them BOTH to a tee! Carrie & Mike were extremely influential to Me in my early years. Of getting into the MV scene. I was a young L/Cpl stationed at Warminster at that time. & I used to await eagerly, the Monthly MVCG Area meetings at Devises & Bournmouth. Always fascinating technical information from Mike. & this inistial experience of being involved in the early MV Scene. Evolved into Mike & Carrie becoming close personal friends of Myself, & My Wife at that time. In later years, I heard of Carrie's untimely Death. & the manner of it's Happening. Shocked & Saddened me greatly. I didn't see Mike for many years after his retirement to France. But he surfaced again many years later at a show. It was good to see & talk with him again. I sincerely hope he is at Peace in MV Heaven! Thank you Mike & Carrie, for Enrichening My Life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 I never knew Mike well enough to gauge his sense of humour, but I think the following is an example. He insisted his Shorland was stencilled underneath "IN THE EVENT OF FINDING THIS VEHICLE UPSIDE DOWN TELEPHONE xxxx". I never did find any evidence that any Shorlands were ever marked this way....but Mike was very convincing, so much so that I still always look underneath any I see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remevmb Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 I have good memories of Mike and Carrie in the 70s, during my early days in the hobby. He was always happy to give advice. Unfortunately, my career in REME, prevented me from attending as many shows as I would have liked and I lost contact. Dave Whitehouse MVT (MVCG) number 322 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel mustard Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Just picked this up, I remember Mike from the 1980's when we had the MVT meetings at Devizes, my GPW is still wearing Mike's paint. I remember passing a small armoured first aid kit to him on the inside was a typed label all in Polish. Mike B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryH57 Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 I remember Mike at MVCG shows in the 1980's and had a good chat with him I think at a show in Knebworth. I seem to remember one of his vehicles was a Humber Snipe FFW pick up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panzerjaeger Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 RIP Mike, one of the earliest MV restorers and a good and generous friend. I spent many a happy hour down at Highbury with Mike and Carrie and could only marvel at the quality of restoration achieved by Mike and his team. As others have commented, he could be very difficult at times and he and I had some ding dong arguments (which observers thought would end in fisticuffs) but he and I never fell out. I will never forget loading his recently deceased goat onto a trailer and taking down to the knacker’s yard with a funeral cortège of about 50 cars that couldn’t pass us on the narrow roads in the area. Mike thought it a fitting farewell to the family pet! He was lucky to live so near to Shrivenham and Bovington and was known as Colonel Hoffman to the range wardens on Salisbury Plain. In the company of Major John Gillman (who passed away last week) he was once of the first to scour the ranges looking for Daimler A/Cs to salvage, especially 2 pdr breech mechanisms and parts. For the record, Mike did not donate his White Scout Car to the Tank Museum. He needed the funds for the purchase of his new boat and sold it to Tony Budge who in turn donated it to the TM. This donation has never been acknowledged although the TM did mount a board correctly attributing its restoration to Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty2 Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 (edited) Thanks everybody for the nice words and memories. One last thing; he said one day to me that he was dating the Daughter of David Brown for a while, he just was a special person. Edited November 26, 2014 by monty2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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