
CheffinsAn automotive body finisher by profession, Alan, who passed away in 2020, was equipped with the skills and patience to rejuvenate items in a state of distress and spent a great deal of his spare time doing so. “It could be quite a long process, but he was a master of the art and was able to bring them back up to a really good standard, it gave him a huge buzz,” explains Alan’s partner, Karin Burleigh.
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Karin BurleighHis penchant for rescuing fuel canisters from ruin (originally known as “motor spirit” cans) extended to vessels produced by the Scottish Oil Agency, Mobiloil, Alexander Duckham & Co Ltd, and Anglos Taxibus Spirit. “If it wasn’t for him, some of those cans wouldn’t be in existence anymore, they would have just rusted into a little heap on the floor,” says Burleigh, who considers the “best” of the three sheds Mr. Pooley used to house his automotive memorabilia is the one in which he arranged his favorite pieces—on every available surface.

Karin Burleigh

Karin Burleigh