Jeremy Kemble

Jeremy came into our lives towards the end of 1990 when, following agreement with Toyota, we had decided to start up a car club for drivers of the Toyota MR2 sports car. Interested parties were invited to get in touch, one being Jeremy who took the trouble to include a letter with his membership application. At that time we were reading all communications to identify people who could form the first committee. Jeremy’s personality and business-sense came across loud and clear in his letter and we just knew he would be a good person to have “on board” – and he subsequently became the first Chairman of the MR2 Driver’s Club which went on to become a national and international club. From the outset Jeremy proved to be an even better Chairman than we had dared to hope. He was totally committed to developing the club and growing its membership, he brought wisdom and rational thinking to decision-making, and always with his wonderful quiet humour. He was a participant in everything the club did from monthly local meets, to weekend events, and international trips such as Le Mans and Eagle Runs. He and Ken organised dinner in London one evening when the designer of the Mk 1 MR2 was over from Japan, taking him to a small recommended restaurant not realising it was Le Gavroche (a Michelin-starred restaurant run by the Roux brothers) – fortunately Toyota Japan was picking up the bill! Another time – and this really demonstrates the man that Jeremy was – the designers of all three MR2s came over to attend an event and at the evening gala dinner it was arranged that Jeremy as Chairman would deliver a welcome speech – but none of us foresaw that he would address them in Japanese having had it translated and learned how to pronounce all the words!
Committee meetings became overnight events with partners doing something while we worked, staying in one of the committee members’ home and with everyone contributing part of the evening meal, drinks or snacks. We particularly enjoyed it when the meeting was held at Wroughton. The bonus was that there was plenty of space to park – but then we had to run the gauntlet of the geese to get into the house! We never watched anything on TV because by the time the picture appeared we would all have been long gone, we counted the various scabs on Jeremy’s head resulting from his many practical activities, and heard about Rita hatching goose eggs down her cleavage. One such visit will never be forgotten though. After our usual evening meal and plenty of wine we all settled down the sleep in various corners around the house, including Catherine who had to sleep in the back of the van as we had taken all the usable space. All was quiet into the early hours until we were awoken by blue flashing lights to find police car on the lawn! Someone had tried to steal the van not knowing that Catherine was asleep in the back – and fortunately someone further down the lane had seen the thieves trying to steal a different van and had notified the Police who arrived just at the right time to stop them getting away. Jeremy appeared slightly belatedly and asked Rita what was going on – she told him the shocking news that someone had tried to steal the van with Catherine in the back and the Police had arrived and caught them, to which Jeremy replied “oh that’s all right then” and disappeared straight back to bed!!
Those days formed the basis of great friendships and were very special times. Jeremy helped us over the years on a personal basis as well as through the Club. He was always willing to share his expert professional knowledge which we appreciated with regard to a fire-damaged family cottage in Wiltshire and particularly with our two self-builds. We have always enjoyed time spent with Jeremy and Rita whether at home, out for lunch, or further field. Jeremy was simply one of the best, and we feel privileged to have been able to call him our friend.