Everyone should know about this man:

[BaZa®]

Fred Hill Run 2008



All over the country near YOU!

A Question of Choice


The example set by Fred Hill in defying the compulsory helmet law throughout the nineteen seventies and eighties was extraordinary.
Nowhere in the world has anyone made such exceptional sacrifices in the name of bikers' freedoms.
A former army dispatch rider fighting for freedom in WW2, Fred was incensed by the compulsory helmet law.
He rode everywhere in an old beret, collecting hundreds of tickets.
Fred's refusal to pay the fines for helmet-less riding led to 31 jail sentences.
Once in the dock of a magistrate's court where a lady magistrate berated his lawlessness, Fred took the opportunity to remind her that if it hadn't been for women breaking the law some years ago, she wouldn't be sitting where she was.
Fred was seventy four years old when, in 1984, half way through a barbaric 60 day sentence, he died from a heart attack in London's gruesome Pentonville Prison.
Whether the helmet issue is important to you or not, we all owe it, not only to Fred but to ourselves, to sustain a ceaseless call for the reform of this outrageous legislation MAG is not and never has been anti-helmet.
We just think it is wrong to criminalise peope who wish to exercise choice over what they ride and what they wear.
The helmet law made naff all difference to fatality rates, it's a complete red herring.
In a country where violent yobs walk free from courts, laughing at the law, is it right or proportionate to criminalise and imprison those who just want to have choice over what they wear?
Be it dayglo, be it body armour, be it a helmet. It's all about the same thing - choice.
Is that really too much to expect?
Details of Fred Hill Runs Click Here

[Phil]

Quite right Baz. Wearing a helmet may or may not make you safer, thats not the point. Its the freedom of choice.

[panheadpete]

Went to several Fred Hill/MAG demo's in the seventies; Trafalgar Square, Winston Green Prison - net result; zilch. Although the twenty or so coppers present decided not to book 3000 or so bikers for not wearing helmets on the run; no harm done. Seems though that a small protest by the Sikhs (about whom I have nothing but praise) got them exempted from the ruling. Sadly none of the politicians involved in the original ruling (35 years ago) are around today; all that you'll get from today's bunch is 'well, it saved lives, didn't it'. Hard to argue with that. Cheers, Pete.

[the_monster]

If there is one thing that has put me off MAG, this is it. The shameless emotive use of the death a 74 year man under the guise of freedom of choice. I'll be exercising the freedom of choice my grandfathers fought for by not going.

PS Fred Hill's jailing wasn't 'barbaric', it was draconian.

[BaZa®]

Originally Posted by the_monster

If there is one thing that has put me off MAG, this is it. The shameless emotive use of the death a 74 year man under the guise of freedom of choice. I'll be exercising the freedom of choice my grandfathers fought for by not going.

PS Fred Hill's jailing wasn't 'barbaric', it was draconian.

Fair enough, (freedom of choice) but I did like this bit when he referred to the suffragettes..to the female beak...

Once in the dock of a magistrate's court where a lady magistrate berated his lawlessness, Fred took the opportunity to remind her that if it hadn't been for women breaking the law some years ago, she wouldn't be sitting where she was.

[Mike Benis]

Originally Posted by the_monster

The shameless emotive use of the death a 74 year man under the guise of freedom of choice.

Sorry but that's nonsense. Fred chose to protest about what he described as freedom of choice. He fought ceaselessly, with determination and humour - and without caring whether he would be belittled....

MAG chooses to honour and commemorate him.

There is no "shameless" emotive use, though there is plenty of depth of feeling, and no "guise" of freedom of choice. He was not free to choose as he willed, that's transparently obvious.

MAG has helped legislators to reconsider and change their minds about all sorts of daft laws (such as compulsory crash bars) and Fred was one of the people who helped provide the impetus that got MAG off the ground and moving forward.

I am proud to honour him.

Mike

as pete said above the runs and demos
in the 70,s and early 80,s when fred was there

was good and he was a gentleman
they where good weekends doing the medway towns
on the sat staying at maidstone sat night
then the ride up to trafalgar square on the sun morning

it was brill and ive photos some where of fred in his prison
type clothing with the arrows all over it

rip fred hill

[kevscrivener]

Despite the fact that I've recently joined MAG myself, I wish they'd put this one to bed.

OK when we rode on Boss's last journey I took my lid off out of respect, and unwritten police "guidelines" tend to turn a blind eye to what is after all a blatant breach of the law. However I would no sooner campaign to repeal the helmet law than I would the seatbelt law, and for the same reason; they not only save lives but they reduce damage.

Fact; I am here to talk about it. My old Army friend has been dead for 28 years.

Fact; there is as much chance or repealing the helmet law as re-introducing the death penalty. Time we moved on.

[BaZa®]

10.02.08 1000 MAG – Fred Hill Ride-Out

It's a Memorial Run, we are gonna lay a wreath at Pentonville Prison where he died.

Like Emmeline Pankhurst a suffragette believing in what was their right.

NOT a DEMO to try and get us not to wear helmets.

That's why he should not be forgotten. Jeeeez.

Did you know that one of our very own committee members spent time inside for not wearing a helmet with another couple of mates!

[kevscrivener]

Originally Posted by BaZa ®

Fred Hill Run 2008



All over the country near YOU!

A Question of Choice


Whether the helmet issue is important to you or not, we all owe it, not only to Fred but to ourselves, to sustain a ceaseless call for the reform of this outrageous legislation MAG is not and never has been anti-helmet.
We just think it is wrong to criminalise peope who wish to exercise choice over what they ride and what they wear.
The helmet law made naff all difference to fatality rates, it's a complete red herring.
Click Here[/url]

Quote from Baza;

NOT a demo to try to get us not to wear helmets?


Really?



Look mate I'm all for freedom of choice. I'm free to ride my Harley where I want to when I want to and with whom I want to and that's more than some people get.

It's an old saying that you should be careful what you wish for. Motorcycling is under constant pressure from government, police and safety lobbies; you-tube hosts videos of idiots using public roads as racetracks, in mid-Wales there's a biker killed every weekend (one died near Cardigan tonight) in high-speed crashes, there are more cars than ever on the roads driven by people who've never ridden a bike and have no idea of bike-awareness...........




..... and the most effective and influential pressure group we have is seen to be supporting the abolition of the only piece of biking legislation apart from CBT that ever made sense to the public????

Own goal, and a big one at that.