Early important diary entry

[Steve kay]

4th April 2025 marks the centenary of the last of the Hereford Speed Trials, and therefore demands a celebration. The previous weekend saw an accident at the Kop hillclimb, and the agreement between the ACU and the RAC that all speed competition on public roads was now banned. Hereford’s Lord Mayor W.G. Britten, on receiving this news on the Tuesday of that week summoned the Chief Constables of the County and the City to a meeting with the Watch Committee. It was decided that whatever London might think, Hereford was going to proceed with the long planned and well organised event. So on Friday 4th April 2025, a centenary tour will visit the two venues for the speed trials in the city, and then venture out into the countryside to climb Dinmore and Fromes Hills.  It might come as no surprise to learn that the journey home will include Stoke Lacy church to inspect a memorial in the churchyard and see some stained glass.

In 1925 FTD went to Riddoch on his Zenith with 24 secs, George Goodall’s Morgan making 24 4/10th secs. The only Austin recorded a time of  32 1/5th  secs, driven by C.F. Townley. Of Townley, this writer can find no other mentions, certainly no photographs. Do any of the historians who might read this have any info that can be included in the historical booklet that will accompany the Centenary Tour?

Nicholson in reporting the 1924 Hereford Speed Trial on 31st May does not mention Dudley Beck, Canning Brown does not mention the event at all. At Angel Bank, a little further North close to Ludlow, Beck had come 2nd in class to Raymond Mays, who was for once driving a Seven. Subsequently in July, Beck won his class at Madresfield, then coming 2nd to Louis Kings at Shelsley. Many thanks to Austin Harris and his cabinet of historical gems for the image of Beck in MB 5088 at Shelsley, listed as a3457. For some reason my computer and the forum fail to cooperate with attaching this image, can a computer wizard manage this? Was this “Works Special” Beck’s own car or allocated to him for individual events?


For further information about the event; stevekaytwo@btinternet.com

[Colin Morgan]

   

[Steve Jones]

Although not an Austin, in another connection I've recently had some involvement with MB 4444 which was first registered on 10 February 1924. Becks car, above, is 644 cars further on so it's reasonable that it was all but new at Shelsley on 19 July 1924. Canning Brown notes that Beck's, together with King's car and that of Ince, were works cars.

Steve

[Colin Morgan]

You may have seen this - a photo on Facebook of I P Riddoch at the March 2021 Kop Hill Climb?  

   

The text with the photo on Facebook says:

"Kop Hill Climb
  ·
This is IP Riddoch about to run The Hill at an Essex Club meeting at Kop Hill in March 1922. He had this Zenith-Blackburn specially made for racing at the end of 1921 and this is his maiden outing on his powerful 994cc V twin. In addition he had an identical bike built for racing at the same time, though fitted with a sidecar.

An undergraduate at nearby Exeter College, Oxford he had achieved much success as a racer at Brooklands and various hill climbs and sprints in the early ‘20’s, even racing his tutor, LO Openshaw’s Zenith-Gradua in competitions before acquiring his own 500cc V twin Zenith-JAP.

In 1922 he became the first motorcyclist to exceed 100 mph on a public road, when he reached 101.12 mph at the Clipstone Speed Trials over the flying start half mile.

By 1926, Riddoch had seen the end of road racing on UK roads and retired from racing."

The is more about him here:

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archi...ipriddoch/

including the statement "Like many well known racing men Riddoch has little use for a motorcycle apart from sport ; as a means of transport he favours an Austin 7 and an Essex Coach..."

[Steve kay]

Colin, thanks for further info. I have been far more involved with the history of three and four wheel competitors, still a lot to learn about motor cycles. I say that as I have just answered a query about Cotton machines at the Hereford Speed Trials. This included discovering that in 1924, T.Nayler on his 348cc Cotton won the County Cup, for "the best performance by any member of the Wye Valley club permanently resident in Herefordshire, on a machine bona fide his own property."