David Tigwell, formerly of Stroud, died suddenly last month, aged 70.
Born in Tetbury, David lived in Ebley and attended Selsley C of E School and later Stroud Boys Technical School and Marling School. He did his apprenticeship and trained as a blacksmith at Redler Conveyors in Dudbridge.
David was a member of 143 Motor Club and was a sponsored rally driver winning a number of trophies. He built his own microlight and was the first person in the Stroud area to use one.
He specialised in the Arts and Crafts metalwork of architect and designer Ernest Gimson and undertook many commissions for collectors.
David was well known in the cycling community and built a range of bikes, from mountains bikes, road bikes and even the Dursley-Pedersen design, riding them for pleasure as well as in competitions.
Brian Donnan, a long-time friend of David’s, said: “Dave was a huge help to me while refining my Pedersens for club racing in the 1990s. He was a brilliant blacksmith and engineer, and Pedersen enthusiast… and also a would-be aviator (his home-built small plane was almost ready for take-off, and only required a longer field, I think!).
“Dave won the Stinchcombe Hill hillclimb during the first big Pedersen reunion in Dursley. I came second but beat him in a 12-hour time trial a year later! Both on Pedersens, of course.
“During dinner at the Bell Hotel in Dursley he formed an instant bond with the Boardman, Olympic bike designer, Mike Burrows, who also died this year.”
David and his partner Diane moved to Cornwall in 1999 where he continued his blacksmith business and was a member of the Cornwall Crafts Association, producing contemporary furniture. He also designed a system of wind power to produce electricity to feed into the National Grid.
His last project was to build a Scout aeroplane which was due to be flown shortly before his death.
