Untimely death of biker with a promising future in Grantham
Tributes have been paid to a 25-year-old biker killed on the A52 last week, who was forging a promising career and was poised to propose to his girlfriend and settle down in Grantham.
Chris Williams had moved to the area from Wolverhampton to live with his girlfriend, Megan Dunlop, while she finished her nursing degree in Derby.
“Chris and Megan were having a house built in Grantham where they were to live come September,” said Sally Dunlop, Megan’s mother. “They had started to plan their wedding and he was plucking up the courage to ask my husband, Peter Dunlop, if they could get engaged. He was our daughter’s rock.”
Mrs Dunlop added that Chris was also proving himself to be a valuable employee at her Sedgebrook accountancy firm. She said: “He was training to be an accountant and due to become a junior partner in my business. He was due to start his final run of exams on Friday.
“He was a very intelligent young man, with a promising career in front of him. He was well respected by our clients who had got to know him.”
Outside of work, Chris had quickly become well-known at The Meres Leisure Centre, where he went rock-climbing on a regular basis. He also loved canoeing.
Paying his respects, John Chamberlin, president of Midland Canoe Club (MCC), said: “Chris became an active individual member of MCC, and as part of that started working with the ‘PaddlePower’ coaching team who bring on our 10-14-year-olds, both at the pool and at the river, on Wednesday evenings.”
One example of the esteem with which Chris was held is in the comments from Ben Seal, who leads the PaddlePower coaching team. He said: “This is terrible. Chris was such a lovely guy. I’m in shock.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so enthusiastic to get involved as Chris. He used to turn up in the early days to help at PaddlePower, just so he could learn some skills himself.
“Totally great guy.”
Chris was killed in a crash on the A52 at Bottesford on the morning of last Wednesday.
His death followed that of another motorcyclist, 27-year-old James Weston from Grantham, who died at Balderton on May 16.
Sadly, a third biker, Kiefer Davies, 25, from Bingham, was killed in another crash on the A52 on Friday.
This succession of tragedies has led Mrs Dunlop to join the call in asking for motorists to be mindful of motorcyclists on the road.
She said: “Chris knew the dangers of being a biker – he has been riding motorbikes since he was 16 years old. He always wore full leathers and with a reflective yellow jacket.
“Within the biking community in Wolverhampton he was known as the safe biker – he never took chances. He was on his way to work – he never rushed. Our motto is to arrive late and safe.
“This has left both his family and ours in tatters – he has two brothers and a sister along with his mum and step-dad.”
