London Ladies' Motor Club

Last updated

Eight of the club members dining at the Connaught Rooms in 1930 London Ladies' Motor Club 1930.jpg
Eight of the club members dining at the Connaught Rooms in 1930

The London Ladies' Motor Club (sometimes referred to as the London Ladies Motor Cycle Club) was a motorcycle club for women based in London, England, founded in 1926 (or 1927), and affiliated with the Auto-Cycle Union. [1] [2]

The club was founded by well-known racer and stunt rider Jessie Hole (later Jessie Ennis). [1] The club president was Kathleen Pelham Burn (Countess of Drogheda), [3] and Betty Debenham acted as the press secretary. [2] Other notable members included Nancy Debenham, Marjorie Cottle, [4] Mrs Victor Bruce and Violette Cordery. [2]

In 1927, the club's team was victorious at the Archery Sports motorcycle trial, beating several teams of men. [5] In 1928, another team of club members won the first motorcycle race organised exclusively for women, held at the Brooklands track and organised by the Essex Motor Club. [6] The club went on to organize their own events, including trials and races, for both men and women. In 1931 they planned a forty-mile race in Surrey and Kent in which men competed and the club members officiated. [7] In 1935 they announced the first women-only team trials event. [3] The club also organised recreational events for its members. [8]

Starting in 1930, the club published a magazine for its members. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sammy Davis (racing driver)</span> Racecar driver

Sydney Charles Houghton "Sammy" Davis was a British racing motorist, journalist, graphic artist and clubman.

Cycling Time Trials is the bicycle racing organisation which supervises individual and team time trials in England and Wales. It was formed out of predecessor body the Road Time Trials Council (RTTC) in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Thomas Bidlake</span>

Frederick Thomas Bidlake was an English racing cyclist of the late 19th century, who became one of the most notable administrators of British road bicycle racing during the early 20th century. The annual Bidlake Memorial Prize, was instituted in his memory. He was a timekeeper in cycling, motorcycling and for seaplane races in the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phelon & Moore</span>

Phelon & Moore manufactured motorcycles in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire, England from 1904 to 1967, particularly those under the Panther marque. They became identified with a design of motorcycle which had a large sloping 40-degree single-cylinder engine as a stressed member of the frame. This design spanned the entire history of the company, starting with a 500 cc model and ending with a 645 cc model.

The Middlesex County Automobile Club is a motor club based in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmie Guthrie</span> Scottish motorcycle racer

James Guthrie was a Scottish motorcycle racer.

William Frank Southall was an English racing cyclist who won silver medals for Great Britain in the individual road race at the 1928 Summer Olympics and a track cycling medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He also represented Britain in world championships from 1926 to 1933.

The St John's Short Course was a road-racing street circuit used for the Isle of Man TT held between 1907 and 1910.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Guernsey</span>

Guernsey participates in its own right in the Commonwealth Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Walker (motorcyclist)</span> Motorcycle racer

Graham William Walker was an English motorcycle racer, broadcaster and journalist. He also contributed greatly to the motorcycle section of the National Motor Museum.

The Thruxton 500 was a motorcycle endurance race for production based road machines, covering 500 miles and ridden by a team of two riders per machine. The first event was a 9-hour race which took place in 1955, organized by the Southampton and District Motorcycle Club (SDMCC) at the Thruxton Circuit near Andover in Hampshire. Two more 9-hour races followed in 1956 and 1957.

The Scottish Six Days Trial is an internationally recognised Motorcycle trials competition, which has been running since 1909 making it the oldest motorcycle trials event in the world. Motorcycle riders from all over the world compete in this extreme sport, covering as much as 100 miles a day on road and off-road routes around Lochaber on each of the six days. The event is a trial of the skill, consistency and endurance of the riders, as well as a test of the specialised motorcycles used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vintage Motor Cycle Club</span>

The Vintage Motor Cycle Club (VMCC) is a UK-based vintage motorcycle club with over 14,000 members, which aims to promote and preserve all makes of motorcycles over 25 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marjorie Cottle</span> British motorcycle racer

Marjorie Cottle was an English works supported motorcycle trials rider. She was one of Britain's best-known motorcyclists in the 1920s and 1930s. She competed regularly in reliability trials and was considered to be one of the best riders in the country – male or female. Her greatest success was the International Six Days Trial of 1927, in which the British Ladies' Team won the International Silver Vase. That year the trial was held in the Lake District, and attracted a large number of competitors. She was described as the "most famous girl rider in the world".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AAA Championships</span> Annual track and field competition

The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the official UK Athletics Championships organised by the then governing body for British athletics, the British Athletics Federation between 1977 and 1993, and again in 1997. It was succeeded by the British Athletics Championships, organised by the BEF's replacement/successor, UK Athletics under its brand name British Athletics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Lamb</span> Australian cyclist

Richard William "Fatty" Lamb was an Australian racing cyclist who competed on both road and track, as was typical of Australian cyclists of the era such as Hubert Opperman. Throughout his career, Lamb was associated with Malvern Star Bicycles and Bruce Small.

Eva Askquith (1905–1985), at times misspelt as Ashquith or Asquith, was a pioneering British female speedway motorcycle racer in the three seasons from 1928 and 1930 when female riders were allowed race speedway in Britain. She was one of only four British female speedway riders at this time and also raced internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty and Nancy Debenham</span>

Betty and Nancy Debenham were twin sisters, motorcyclists, and sports journalists in the United Kingdom. The sisters were heirs to the Debenhams department store fortune, and were both attached to the BSA works team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louie McLean</span> British motorcycle racer and trials rider

Louie McLeannée Ball (1900–1932) was a British motorcycle racer and trials rider. She was part of the team who won the Silver Vase at the 1927 International Six Days Trial: the only team of women to ever do so.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessie Ennis (motorcyclist)</span> British motorcyle racer and stunt rider

Jessie Ennis born Jessie Rosina Hole was a British motorcycle trials rider, stunt rider and founder of the London Ladies' Motor Club.

References

  1. 1 2 Mullins, Sasha (2003). Bikerlady: Living & Riding Free!. Citadel Press. p. 25. ISBN   978-0-8065-2519-8.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "London Ladies Motorcycle Club (founded in 1927)". IET Archives blog. Institution of Engineering and Technology. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Team of Women Motor-Cyclists". Liverpool Post and Mercury. 26 Jul 1934. p. 7.
  4. "Motor Girls' Quick Change". Daily Mirror. 3 March 1930. p. 14.
  5. "Where Girls Excelled". Daily Mirror. 16 Feb 1927. p. 21.
  6. "114 M.P.H.: Woman Motorist's Fine Performance". The Guardian. 1 October 1928. p. 5.
  7. "Male motorcyclists taking part in a forty mile race over difficult..." Getty Images. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  8. "Motor-cycle Girls on Holiday". Evening Despatch. 6 Aug 1929. p. 5.