Mick Hill (LEGS 1961 - 5th Year) died on the 19th November 2014 aged 70 years old. Mick a Derbyshire businessman was very successful in Club motorsport with nearly 100 wins and at least two championships, mostly in V8-engined cars. Mick had suffered serious health issues for many years. Information from John Spencer.
From 'Foxyracer' a username in a racing Forum:
I was fortunate to know Mick, not well - we weren't close friends or anything, but it came about because of his early career as a GPO engineer. As a civil servant he was a member of the Civil Service Motoring Association (CSMA). At the time my father was editor of the Nottingham Group's newsletter "Driving Mirror" and as a teenager I produced a column following the fortunes of Mick and fellow GPO engineer Terry McNally and his succession of Anglias. Mick was always very helpful to me - but then I wasn't a proper reporter!
It's a curious fact that when he had his heart transplant the donor lived on and for all I know might still be alive. This was because he (the donor) had serious lung problems but the heart was OK and apparently it's easier to do a heart and lung transplant than just a heart or just lungs - or at least it was at the time. So that was what happened and there was a good heart going spare that suited Mick. It is also true that he kept his own heart so ended up with two. Unique and pioneering stuff.
I've often thought someone should have written his biography; I'm not aware of anything having been published but it would have made fascinating reading. I guess it's a bit late now, or at least made more difficult by his sad passing.
From 'Foxyracer' a username in a racing Forum:
I was fortunate to know Mick, not well - we weren't close friends or anything, but it came about because of his early career as a GPO engineer. As a civil servant he was a member of the Civil Service Motoring Association (CSMA). At the time my father was editor of the Nottingham Group's newsletter "Driving Mirror" and as a teenager I produced a column following the fortunes of Mick and fellow GPO engineer Terry McNally and his succession of Anglias. Mick was always very helpful to me - but then I wasn't a proper reporter!
It's a curious fact that when he had his heart transplant the donor lived on and for all I know might still be alive. This was because he (the donor) had serious lung problems but the heart was OK and apparently it's easier to do a heart and lung transplant than just a heart or just lungs - or at least it was at the time. So that was what happened and there was a good heart going spare that suited Mick. It is also true that he kept his own heart so ended up with two. Unique and pioneering stuff.
I've often thought someone should have written his biography; I'm not aware of anything having been published but it would have made fascinating reading. I guess it's a bit late now, or at least made more difficult by his sad passing.