Horace Dunkley in Hospital.

[YYS4BOB]

As Horace was a Yesteryear man through and through, and as far as I'm aware someone who never joined a forum, I'm sure Hugh's decision is the correct one.

[Idris]

...I'm sure Hugh's decision is the correct one.

If you'll excuse the correction, it wasn't meant to be interpreted as a decision (it's not my forum), it was merely a statement of an alternative point of view.

[YYS4BOB]

In that case, I agree completely with your alternative point of view.

[kwakers]

I have an alternative opinion, seeing that Nick's Forum is my first and only one I have ever joined or participated in. I believe it is proper to honor those who have been the key figures in our Lesney hobby who have influenced both young and old to join, enjoy, and participate. The term you have used "In our Circle" I believe Hugh to be too exclusive of a group. Wolfie was not in my circle, nor in many other member's circle, but he was influential to many in our hobby. For that reason, Horace might be a Great candidate to consider for recognition, how many YY collectors like Kay may agree? I don't know, I had never heard of the man before today, but I recognize the friendship Kay, George, and many other collectors had with him. I am saddened by the loss of one of our fellow Lesney collectors, but his work in our hobby will live on in those white books as well as with those he has touched. Kwakers

[matchboxmarcel]

I have an alternative opinion, seeing that Nick's Forum is my first and only one I have ever joined or participated in. I believe it is proper to honor those who have been the key figures in our Lesney hobby who have influenced both young and old to join, enjoy, and participate. The term you have used "In our Circle" I believe Hugh to be too exclusive of a group. Wolfie was not in my circle, nor in many other member's circle, but he was influential to many in our hobby. For that reason, Horace might be a Great candidate to consider for recognition, how many YY collectors like Kay may agree? I don't know, I had never heard of the man before today, but I recognize the friendship Kay, George, and many other collectors had with him. I am saddened by the loss of one of our fellow Lesney collectors, but his work in our hobby will live on in those white books as well as with those he has touched. Kwakers

Futher to this I would like to comment that Horace indeed was not member of a forum as he was one of the old school collectors. When there were magazines, books and other printed material.
We all can still read what he wrote. If a forum stops (like the MCCH) all information is lost. A forum is not for ever. (allthough we would like it to be for ever) while printed books, magazines are.
Horace have written a lot about MOY, not only for the MICA magazine from 1985 on but also a huge and very in depth series of articles about MOY for the Diecast Collector magazine.
You may want to look from that view.

Jack Odell and Leslie Smith however have even done more to get us here and we haven't named a tread to them. Also there is no tread named to Ray Bush who has done even more to get collectors informed, even before the area of Internet and email. He introduced his MATCHBOX UK monthly magazine in 1977, way before MICA and all did do the writing and correspondence at home.
Today it is quite easy to start a forum and even more easy to read or post there but in a time without internet, without email, without a printer at home you had to sent letters (with photos printed at a proffesional shop and made with a proffesional camera) to friends thoughout the world which could take weeks before you got a reply back in the mailbox. You had expensive telephone calls abroad and books and magazines were printed with traditional platets and setting etc at proffesional print companies. I hope we can still think about ALL the great collectors who helped with getting the information around the globe in those days allthough some of us now may not know those collectors personally.

marcel

[numi]

I understand where Ghosty is coming from and i do understand what Idris & others are saying.My opinion is that Kwakers & Marcel could not have said it better!

I would make this lay & short without any intentions of bringing upon any upsets.
Horace,unknown to me except via this forum is a stranger whom inadvertently is a friend to all yet whom many did not know personally & may not have known but in time certainly will.People become more recognized after death than whilst alive.The mere fact that he was affiliated with Matchbox and had made significant contributions should rightfully find him a place on our forum for posterity,respect & the future generation of collectors.Being an author & active collector in hindsight has had his works/contributions traversed globally to the concerned fraternity,affiliates and like minded people.Think about the love he has had with keeping collectors abreast & MOY's alive and all the sacrifices he he had made for this hobby.How else do we show gratitude? Wouldnt his family feel proud esp his kids knowing that their Fathers sacrifices,contributions & recognition had not died when he did.Not that we all now wish to idolize Horace but to grant his family,fellow members & visitors their wishes to see him alive on this forum.

How would one have reacted if Horace happened to be family to one of our members? How many forum members have captured their knowledge incl a single descriptive phrase from Horace and can bear testimony to this Guru? Should he have been well known to us all to acquire recognition & thanks? With due respect we have time to discuss dogs,cats,jokes,Rolls Royce sightings,home affairs etc on this forum yet keen to tender a deaf ear to someone like Horace!? If he has touched just a single persons heart then he has certainly touched this world! Just look at his pics and u will see a humble man who like all of us would take nothing with when we depart this cruel world.
Just saying.
numi

[YYS4BOB]

Typical "social media" type post. You never knew the man or met the man. If you had, you wouldn't have written this.

[matchboxmarcel]

When Horace decided to sell his superb Matchbox Models of Yesteryear collection back in 2010 at 65 years of age the Vectis autionhouse published this, a good read for whom who did not know Horace:

http://www.vectis.co.uk/Page/NewsArticl ... icleId=180

marcel

[Tinman]

I'm an saddened to learn of Horace passing. He was a strong positive influence on the YY hobby. Before the computer information age, he was often the only reliable source of YY information.

The topic of honoring a person with the renaming of a specific forum would be better served by a closed discussion with moderators and members of that forum. I think it's very disrespectful to Horace, his family and friends to have a public discussion about this. A little sensitivity to those dealing with a big loss is not too much to ask.

I'm coming in late to this discussion, regardless (and as usual), I feel compelled to offer an opinion. Modern forums (such as this one), are a collective of members who all share one general interest. The forum moves forward and shapes it's own direction and content as a result of the participation of the members. It can only exist and thrive because of enthusiastic participation concerning that common interest.

Decisions made within such forums are not always majority rule and a really good forum also caters to the minority collector as well as the masses. If the collectors of a specific maker, series or era wish to go in a certain direction, they should be allowed to do so.

[Idris]

As Marcel has already pointed out, if we honour the late Mr. Dunkley, where does it stop? As mentioned, there's Ray Bush, Lesley and Rodney Smith, Jack Odell, Maurice A. Hammond (author of what was, as far as I know, the first attempt at a comprehensive 1-75 listing in the UK), Harold Colpitts, Frank Hornby, Geoffrey Leake, Marcel van Cleemput - the list goes on and on.
If I understand correctly, Mr. Dunkley has left us with a significant number of written works which already carry his name. He was not a member of this Forum and did not contribute to it. It seems to me perverse to single him out for special treatment when there are so many other great diecast personalities who have gone off to the Great Swapmeet in the Sky. At the end of the day, we do not even know whether he liked Internet fora such as this (being "old school" he may have detested them), and who is to say that he had ever even heard of VBD?
To the best of my knowledge, Wolfie did not write any books. He may not have written any articles - I don't know, but i suspect not. His memorial to his lifelong hobby is therefore the Major Pack, Accessory Pack, and King Size section of this site - something he was actively involved in and, I like to think, a gesture which his family appreciate, knowing and understanding Wolfie's involvement here.
I therefore think that naming a section of the Forum after a non-Member, a non-contributor would set an unfortunate precedent. It could even be interpreted by third parties as being pretentious on VBD's part, as an attempt to appropriate Mr. Dunkley's good name and reputation solely for the purposes of self-promotion and aggrandisement.

P.S. I have just seen Joe's post (directly above this one), and find myself in agreement with him concerning insensitivity. Looking at matters in that light, it is indeed unfortunate that the discussion has developed in the way it has. Could I suggest that we leave matters here until such time as Nick is able to turn his attention to this question and liaise with whoever he sees fit regarding the way forward?