On the 1st December 2024 Keith (Matt's Dad) lost his battle with brain cancer. Keith was a HUGE part of the Autowerx team and a key player in the early days of the business. Matt set up the business in April 2011 whilst Keith was still working as a head teacher in Dunstable. Keith had an amazing, long career in teaching. He started off as a wood work teacher and worked his way up to being a headmaster. He loved his job in teaching, he loved the children and enjoyed seeing them progress and grow. After Keiths passing many ex pupils have come out with beautiful memories of Keith and how fond they were of him. Lots of ex colleagues of Keith also came out with some amazing stories of how supportive and caring Keith was of them in their early careers. Keith was known for giving people chances and he employed 'the person' and not the qualification that the person might have. He gave many young teachers the opportunity when many others wouldn't have and those now very experienced teachers speak very fondly of Keith and have said they might not be where they are today without Keith.

After retiring Keith joined Matt and helped build the business from a single ramp workshop with no staff to where it is today. He was hugely important in those early challenging years and helped guide Matt and support him where needed. Keith will always be remembered at Autowerx and he will live on through our future success.

'Notes from Matt'

We really don't want the last year of Dad's life to define who he was and how successful he has been in everything he's done. But it's important to talk about this cancer and raise awareness and funds to help fight this going forward. Dad bravely fought this aggressive cancer for 13 months. When first diagnosed they gave him 9-12 months to live and he survived 13 months. Although this time felt so short i loved the 'Middle finger' to cancer to survive it an extra month over his diagnosis. Keith was a fighter and battled this disease bravely, he NEVER once complained and he threw absolutely everything at it.. we all did. Dad Always said he would have loved to be part of any trials available, even if he got the placebo drug or if it didn't work. He wanted to be part of a break through to help future survivors of this brutal and aggressive disease. Isn't that just the bravest and most selfless of things? He just wanted to help out future generations even if he ended up loosing the fight. I find this so courageous and i want to keep fighting Dads corner even though he's no longer here. SO here we are, and here are our plans....

On April 27th, Keith's birthday and our first year without Dad we want to keep fighting with him. He loved a car show and always said to me about doing one. So this year in his honor AND on his birthday we're going to go for it. Hopefully we can all make this the best birthday gift possible. I know Dad will be with us on the day, looking down and shining some positivity on the day as he always would!

We're planning on holding a car show at the garage from 10am to 2pm. We'd love everyone to get involved if possible. Even if you can't make it on the day, any donations are hugely appreciated. We'll be covering the cost of everything on the day to do with set up and running of the event. This way every single penny you donate will go straight to helping this great cause.

Car show entry will be £10 per car and this will include a coffee from the coffee van that will be with us on the day. We'll be running raffles and games on the day and there will also be a Scalextric track for people to to try their hand at with prizes for the top 3 fastest times!

Please contact us by phone or email ( 01908 310960 / info@autowerxbmw.co.uk) for tickets. We can take payments over the phone or you can donate directly on this page and we'll send over tickets. Please do this before the event date so we can gauge numbers beforehand! If you can't make the date or would rather just donate than come along, that's perfectly fine. All donations will be hugely appreciated and anything you can give will go along way in helping.

***Please note that Gift Aid cannot be claimed on ticket purchases, so if you’re buying a ticket, please do not select the Gift Aid option but if you're unable to attend but would like to just donate please select Gift Aid - thank you for your support! ***

Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this and we can't wait to see you on the day.

Matt and the team x

(a bit about brain tumour research)

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer… yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. This is unacceptable!

I am fundraising for Brain Tumour Research as they are the only national charity dedicated to funding long-term, sustainable research in the UK. Please help me fund the fight. Together we will find a cure.