[ Harry's eldest son, Russell Medcraft, wrote to us today that
 [ Sylvia passed away last year.  I invited memories from some of
 [ our UK subscribers.  -- Robbie

I lost contact with the Medcrafts years ago but will never forget
the many fascinating hours I spent at their house where Harry would
demonstrate all the ingenious devices he had designed and constructed
-- every now and then relighting his pipe with a blowtorch which he
carried around for the purpose!  It was Harry who cut my very first
piano roll on his perforator.

The rooms upstairs contained a variety of heavy duty machinery.  In
one of the bedrooms, I remember seeing a large lathe and an injection
moulder which made roll flanges.  Goodness knows why the floors did
not collapse under the weight.  Sylvia could operate it all.

At the end of each visit Sylvia would serve us a huge chicken dinner
-- it was always chicken.  They were both delightfully eccentric,
generous people.  Harry was a particularly impressive man who displayed
his intimate understanding of invention, mechanical design and problem
solving without any hint of boastfulness.  To this day I remain
convinced that he was a genius.

I was saddened to learn of Sylvia's passing and know that I shall never
meet their like again.

John Farrell
http://homepages.tesco.net/~stridepiano/midifiles.htm