A lifetime of loyalty
Between the two of them, husband and wife pair Cedric and Janet Lockley have 100 years’ worth of RACT membership.
This year, Cedric celebrates his 60th anniversary, and Janet her 40th.
With so much ground to cover, it’s almost hard to know where to start, but Cedric’s introduction to RACT looked a little bit different back in 1960.
A keen snooker player, Cedric had just turned 21 and joined RACT as a social member – he didn’t even own a car. The social club boasted, in Cedric’s words, ‘three absolutely wonderful billiard tables’.
A few nights a week Cedric and ‘a real oddball collection’ of gentlemen both young and old would gather at the building on Macquarie Street to enjoy a game and meet new people. Cedric still has his first snooker cue. Given to him by his father, it’s made of laminated English ash and is still in excellent condition.
It wasn’t until Cedric bought a beautiful 2.5L Riley in canary yellow with a black top that he joined as a roadside member. For Cedric and Janet roadside has always been essential.
Owning 22 cars between them over the years, they’ve definitely relied on roadside many times.
‘I think it’s wonderful,’ Janet said.
‘I had a Morris 1100 that used to break down so often, and this wonderful man used to always help me.
‘I’d get stuck because it would just stop in the middle of the road!
‘That car used to get me into a lot of trouble and the man used to get me out of it.
‘I’m really grateful.’
Over the years, Cedric and Janet have been on many adventures. They’ve explored and camped around most of Tasmania, they’ve gone whitewater rafting on the Picton River, and spent four years in Townsville in a campervan. Cedric even built his own boat in their yard, sailed in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race seven times, and spent nine days at sea sailing to Vanuatu with an Australian Navy crew.
They’ve both played important roles in the Tasmanian community. Janet was a nurse for 45 years, and Cedric a school teacher for 32. Cedric loved his time as a teacher and recounts stories of helping two students in particular who went on to their dream jobs – one as a pilot and the other as a ship’s captain. Cedric’s impact as a teacher was even highlighted just before the interview for this story, with our Southern Retail Manager Carol Cragg quickly recognising Cedric as Mr Lockley from her time at Geilston Bay High School.
We’ve loved getting to know Cedric and Janet and hearing their stories. They’re an important part of our history and we thank them for their continued loyalty.