Two readers have personal memories of cartoonist Alan Course.

Neil Harris, a speedway fan, received a special cartoon to mark his interest in the sport, while Terry Smith was featured after competing in a cross-country race.

Alan’s cartoons appeared regularly in the Oxford Mail in the 1940s and 1950s.

Mr Harris, of Westlands Avenue, Weston-on-the-Green, writes: “My mother and father, although older than Alan, knew him well as they lived near each other in Bedford for many years until they all came to Oxford within a few weeks of each other.

“Alan came to join Oxford City Police in 1934 and by coincidence, my father was transferred to work for Shell Mex & BP in Oxford in 1934 when the Bedford office closed.

“They still kept in touch in Oxford, and I recall Alan and my parents meeting several times over the years.

“Knowing that I was a keen Oxford Cheetahs’ speedway fan in the late 1940s, he presented me with my own personally addressed cartoon of a speedway rider adorned with the Oxford colours, which I still have.”

Mr Smith, who lives in Norwich, featured in an Alan Course cartoon after competing in the Oxfordshire Amateur Athletic Association cross-country championships in 1957.

He finished third behind Mike Dunnill and Phil Porter.

Alan Course took the easy route and met them at the finish to complete his cartoon for the Oxford Mail, a copy of which Mr Smith has sent in.

As we recalled (Memory Lane, May 14), Alan was a man of many parts, working at various times as a police constable, entertainer, landlord of three pubs, fire extinguisher salesman, author of guide books and telephone operator as well as a skilled cartoonist.