The owners of a popular TT campsite in Marown have paid tribute to one of their most devoted and beloved visitors by honouring his memory in the place he called his second home.

Graeme Crate, from Cheam in Sutton, passed away in January following a courageous battle with acute myeloid leukaemia. He was 88.

For more than four decades, Graeme made the pilgrimage to the Isle of Man TT, spending 44 consecutive years at Glen Lough Campsite.

Since 1981, he had pitched his tent in the very same spot, where he formed lifelong friendships and became part of the extended TT family.

Now, in his honour, the campsite owners have set up his usual pitch once more, complete with his beloved BMW R69 sidecar outfit – a 1961 STEIB 501 – and a bench beside it for fellow racegoers to sit, reflect and remember.

The bike had carried Graeme from Surrey to Liverpool, and on to Douglas by ferry, for 34 years.

In later years, friends helped transport it so that he could continue to be part of the event he adored.

Peter and Sheila Quayle, who run Glenlough farm and campsite, said it was only right to pay tribute to a man who meant so much to so many.

‘He was brilliant, always full of stories and good humour, a proper character who lifted everyone’s spirits,’ said Peter.

‘We were always excited to see him arrive.

‘We have so many great memories of him here, and we knew we had to do something special to remember him.

‘He loved the racing and he loved the campsite, it just made sense to set up his pitch like always.’

Graeme had no immediate family, having tragically lost his wife and two sons, but he found his family in the people he met at the TT.

He first came to the island with a group of friends who shared his love of road racing.

Over the years, he became the last surviving member of that group, determined to keep their tradition going.

He was known for wearing a TT t-shirt every single day, a habit he never broke.

When he took his final journey earlier this year, the sound of a Senior TT race was played at his funeral.

In June 2022, Isle of Man Today featured Graeme in an article about his remarkable run of visits.

That year, he nearly didn’t make the trip, until a television interview with racer and now presenter Lee Johnston reignited the spark.

‘I turned the telly on and Lee Johnston was on talking about the TT,’ he said at the time. ‘It showed him riding and some great views, and I thought, that’s it, I’m coming!

‘I went straight out and spent six hours cleaning the bike up, getting it ready to go.’

He added with pride that he’d been using the same tent peg holes for decades, and that Glen Lough was the only campsite worth going to.

Now, that little area of the small field remains his, a quiet tribute to a man who never let the TT spirit fade.