Just spotted this; John Haynes obituary.
I can't honestly say that I really knew anything about him but have used many of his manuals and without them I suspect I would have lost even more skin off my knuckles over the years.

As a regular visitor to Sparkford, this is sad news.

RIP John - I thank you for giving me the confidence to strip out and repair cars over the years with your manuals, 7 of which are still on my shelf and likely to remain so.
The museum and bookshop are a delight to visit you created something very special there.

Few of us of a certain age will not have relied on one of his manuals at some time. A sad passing and the end of an era.

A very special man indeed.

As indeed was the cafe
I have over 15 Haynes manuals (and a few history books too) still on the shelves here. Most of the cars are long gone. Very useful on some of the now "classics" owned by self and family members over the years
It's a shame though that the later generations of manuals plainly did not follow the original ethos of a total strip down and rebuild of a vehicle (despite claims to the contrary). I'm not referring to the electronics, but such simple things as all the fasteners holding a dash in place, or the access to simple things such as sidelamps on some models.

He did a great service......certainly me who always bought one of his manuals for nearly all the cars I bought. Not that I serviced or took apart everything but I was always intrigued to know how everything is put together. Gave up when the cars became more electronic and complex.

I loved our TM trip down to the museum. G.......you will probably think of him each time you bite into a sausage roll 🤓🤣

A great loss. I have kept every manual I have bought.
The younger I was the greater the grease & oil marks as the older the cars & bikes were.

Yes, every time I see a sausage roll, never mind bite into one!

My car change mantra used to be
1. swop car for one with less rust
2. call in at local car spares & buy appropriate Haynes manual