Newsletter of the National Clarion Cycling Club 1895 (North Lancs Union)
April 2009 May Day Greetings To Cyclists and Trade Unionists in every land
Labour ~ the source of all wealth
Know your history; learn your history; understand your history; but most important of all, never forget your history. The Clarion Van and Sarah Reddish In ‘Fellowship is Life: The History of the Clarion Cycling Club’, the author Denis Pye tells of the occasion when Robert Blatchford, editor of The Clarion, replied to a criticism of his views on women thus: Women must have equal rights, political, industrial, social and civic, with men. They must cease to be chattels or vassals, or servants or inferiors. Man has a duty to women…..to grant her AT ONCE complete freedom and complete equality. (The Clarion 1895) One of the most influential parts of The Clarion was ‘Our Women’s Letter’ written from 1895 until 1920 by Julia Dawson. It is she that must take the credit for devising a method of Socialist campaigning which was to involve thousands of Clarion cyclists over the next thirty years. In February 1896 she announced a plan for a thirteen week Clarion Women’s Van Tour.
Clarion women would tour the villages and market towns of northern England in a horse-drawn caravan spreading the new gospel of Socialism. They would distribute literature and give open-air lectures from the steps of a Clarion Van painted with political slogans. Clarion cyclists would ride ahead of the Van to announce its pending arrival and draw a crowd. One of the leading women speakers who took part in the first Clarion Van tour was the Bolton Socialist, Sarah Reddish. Sarah is best remembered for her work in the Co-operative Women’s Guild, but in Bolton her name is honoured by the survival of Bolton Wood Street Socialist Club. In 1898, as the Secretary of the local branch of the Independent Labour Party, she declared that she was prepared to fuse locally with the Social Democratic Federation: ‘Division means weakness’, she wrote. The result of her initiative was the formation of Bolton Socialist Party whose stated objective was (and still remains): The national ownership and control of the land and the means of distributing national wealth. In May 1904 the Party purchased No16 Wood Street, the house in which Lord Leverhulme had been born. Today the Club remains a haven of Socialism where a wide range of organisations from the left regularly meet. A history of the Club and the Party, also written by Denis Pye, can be purchased from the Secretary, c/o 16 Wood Street, Bolton price £1.50 including postage. On May Day, Clarion members from Wood St. make pilgrimage to the town’s Heaton Cemetery in order to leave red flags flying above Sarah Reddish’s grave.
Rochdale Clarion Banner (update)
Last April we appealed for information about Rochdale Clarion banner. Thanks to Andrew Moore from the town’s Touchstone Museum. We can report it was painted by a local sign writer A.Dalgetty but better still Andrew has sent a transcript of an interview given in 1998 by Anne Millet age 94 who actually carried the banner on Labour Day. The exact year she can’t remember, but the reason her and a friend carried the banner is quite vivid. ‘We went to the Co-op gentleman’s out-fitters on Toad Lane for some plus fours, our first visit; we were shown out of the shop. The next visit caused all sorts of confusion, all sorts of excuses were given, this is a man’s shop only, women do not wear suits, none of our tailors have made anything for a woman before and how can we make trousers without flies. But after much deliberation our suits were eventually made in time for the May Day parade. We turned up at the appointed time and caused such a stir and because we looked so smart we were given the new banner to carry’. Footnote: Rochdale Clarion Cycling Club was formed in March 1895. It met at the ILP Hall on Fridays and had rides on Saturday. Secretary, Horace Burghall, declared at the inaugural meeting: ‘that Socialist propaganda and literature distribution would be the Club’s first priority’.
National Clarion CC 1895 (North Lancs Union) The Club was formed in 2006 by former members of the then Clarion Cycling Club. It is a Club which remains committed to the Socialist Principles of the founders of the first Clarion Cycling Clubs. A Club whose members are keen to share their love of cycling and of ‘bounderising’ with friends and strangers. ‘Meet a stranger ~ make a friend’ is the Club’s guiding ethos. The Club is also proud to be seen on the streets with our brothers and sisters in the Trade Union and Labour Movement campaigning for a New Society with Justice as its Foundation and Love as its Law. Membership is £2. The Club issues ‘The Clarion’, a thrice yearly newsletter, free to members, one penny plus postage to none members. www.nationalclarioncc1895.co.uk Bounderise (irregular verb): to imbibe liquors of various degrees of strength, to assimilate resuscitating comestibles, to walk on one’s heels and to generally spread one’s self.
EVENTS Book Review: ‘One More kilometre and we’re in the showers: Memoirs of a cyclist’ written by Tim Hilton (2004) ISBN 0-00-653228-4. This 396 page book costing just £7.99 is a most unusual book which will interest any road or racing cyclist. Written by a veteran Leaguer and former Party member it traces the development of cycling as seen through the eyes of the author, firstly as a youngest, who in 1951 discovers an old bike in his grandfather’s garage (behind the Bentley!) and never looks back. There are chapters on the CTC, The Clarion, on Percy Stallard and the BLRC ‘What a thrill to strut into a tea room to hear the whispers of ‘It’s the League’ and no one would leave until we left’. There are chapters on: Club runs and on Cycling Clubs with magical names Tyneside Vagabond, Colchester Rovers, Bedouin CC, The Thirty Five Nomads, Buckshee Wheelers, Velo Club Pierre (from Staffordshire) the names live on, though some of the Clubs have long since died. The book focuses primarily on what many rightly regard as the Golden Age of Cycling, the 1950/1960. The continental Classics merit in depth coverage: we read of the tears of Rene Vietto, hero of the 1934 Tour. Of Fausto Coppi’s legendary One Hour record at the Vel Vigorelli track in Milan. Of his victories in the Tour, the Giro d’Italia and his bitter rivalry with Gino Bartali. Reg Harris, who was never given a knighthood, gets a good mention along with a section on track racing. All the famous names of cycling are covered: Louison Bobet, Charly Gaul, Raphael Geminiani, Jacques Anquetil and of course Tommy Simpson ‘The straps, Harry, The Straps’ then our hero died. As are the frame makers: Les Ephgrave, Brian Rourke, Harry Quinn, Joe Waugh, Malcolm Cowle to mention a few (Where was Adam Hill?). The women are rather neglected but not totally forgotten with interesting sections on Eileen Sheridan and Beryl Burton. Fredrick Thomas Bidlake the man responsible for the Best British All Rounder competition over the distances of 25, 50, 100 and 12 hours is given credit. The British time trial scene gets good coverage with items on Alf Engers and Ray Booty as well as informative pieces on place to place records such as London to York, Liverpool to Edinburgh, Lands End to John O’Groats. Even the local village hall gets a well deserved chapter. The book’s unusual title is explained within the text, I feel the book’s jacket design does not immediately suggest you are looking at a cycling book and one must wonder why anyone would ever want to put a quote, even a complimentary quote, from the Daily Mail on the front of such a good book. For the cost of just 3 copies of CW you get a much better read.
Exhibition
An exhibition of his works runs at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester until September 2009.
Annual Autumn Meet at Wortley Hall This year’s Meet, organised by our comrades in the Manchester and Stretford Section of the National Clarion C. C. will take place over the weekend of Oct 31st/Nov 1st. The programme is as follows: Saturday: 1.30pm Club Run (alternative activity for none riders). 6pm: Group reassemble for meal. 8pm: Film Show: A boy, a girl and a bike (1950 classic about a traditional road club) 10pm: Serious ‘boundarising’ in the bar. Sunday: 9.30am Group photograph 10am Open Hill Climb. 11am Chris Goode’s ‘The Pride of Bilbao’ Quiz 12.30pm More ‘boundarising’ up at the Wortley Arms. If you wish to book a room please contact: Charles on 01254 51302 or Chris on 01723 341050.
Club Colours
Now available from Secretary in sizes: S(40), M(42), L(44), EL(46), EEL(48). Price incl. P& P £32. To place an order please contact Charles on 01254 51302 or email: clarioncc@yahoo.co.uk. Pay when you receive the shirt.
Walter Crane who drew the Winged Angel logo for the National Clarion Cycling Club with its much treasured legend: Socialism the Hope of the World, was one of the most important radical artists of the 19th century. Crane believed that the reorganisation of labour under socialism would release the artist from market competition and specialisation. He drew a number of sketches for the National Clarion Cycling Club, an organisation sympathetic with his socialist views.
“Lanterne Rouge” MDTTA Christmas 10 Charles and Ruth decided to use this annual fun/ serious (for some) event to test their latest aero-dynamic cycling helmets. The pointed bit worked quite well but the brim still needs modification and the cat was no help whatsoever. As always a well run event and fun too.
Report on Easter Tour On 28th March 1894 The Clarion newspaper published an article ‘Advance Birmingham’ written by Tom Groom, a young Socialist from the city. The piece began thus: “We shall arrive!” And in order that our coming may be speedy, we have started the Clarion Cycling Club and at Easter we went on tour. We were seven. Tom went on to describe the tour, focusing in far greater detail on the lunches and dinners than on the route or the cycling. As this sounded a bit like one of Merlin’s Easter Pub Rides and since Norman would know, and be known, in every pub along the route we decided to spend Easter re-enacting the very first Clarion Tour. (A detailed account will be published in the next edition)
Clarion Call to support the Workers’ Stately Home
Wortley Hall, just north of Sheffield, is the venue for an annual Trade Union gathering, the South Yorkshire Festival. This year’s event on Saturday, 4th July is to be addressed by Arthur Scargill (former NUM President). National Clarion CC 1895 have once again booked a stall for the day, we have also recently purchased a number of shares (non-profit making) in the Hall. Great news: The Hall’s Management Committee have recently announced a stunning offer to all cyclists: Bed and breakfast for just £22.50 per person per night. Please try to book a night or two you will not be disappointed and spread the good news to every single cyclist you meet, they will be eternally grateful.
Clarion Sunday Once again a number of Clarion choirs will sing at the Nelson ILP Clarion Tearoom situated between Roughlee and Newchurch in Pendle on Sunday, June 21st. Please support what we hope will grow into a large annual gathering of Socialist choirs.
Blackstone Edge Chartist Gathering On Sunday 3rd May an event will take place on Blackstone Edge above Littleborough to commemorate the Chartist rally of 1846. When a crowd, estimated to be over 30,000, gathered to hear Feargus O’Connor, the fiery editor of the Northern Star and a local Chartist Ernest Jones. Jones was later to write a long poem of the occasion which contained the following:
But waved the wind on Blackstone – height,
A standard of the broad sunlight, And sung that morn with trumpet might,
A sounding song of liberty. There is to be a picnic, walk and singing ~ all are welcome: Details: Gwyneth.morgan@3-c.coop
News from Oakhill Since the beginning of the year three events have been held our H.Q. Firstly another extremely successful cycle jumble took place in February. Then we played host to the North Lancs Road Club who used our facility as HQ for their annual Circuit of Pendle 27 mile time trial. Finally a basic cycle maintenance course was held in order to encourage parents and members of the Oakhill Academy to get out on their bikes this summer. Regular Club runs also depart from the College at 8.30am. See below:
News from the Campaign Front The Club has again booked stalls at a number of rallies during the summer, so please come and say hello and share a glass of wine, Red, of course at: The York CTC Cycle Rally on June 20th/21st The South Yorks Festival at Wortley Hall on July 4th The Tolpuddle Martyr’s Rally on July 18th’19th.
Advance notice: C W U Cycle Sportif. This excellent 60k event, organized by our comrades in the Communication Workers’ Union will take place on Saturday, Sept.26th. More news in September’s Clarion.
Club Runs (depart from HQ at 8.30) April 19th: Chipping April 26th: Long Preston May 3rd : Blackstone Edge (contact Charles) May 10th : Austwick May 17th : Ingleton June 7th : Clarion House June 14th: Scorton July 5th : Ribblehead Aug 2nd: Sedburgh. All rides will be geared to the ability of those attending. Please bring a spare inner tube and money for the café.
A Very Big Thank You To those supporters who have made donations to The Clarion: as well as Trade Union donations, we have received four bicycles; two of which were ‘classics’ a Johnny Berry and a Bates; a large stamp collection and numerous cycle related items, the sale of which enables the Club to pursue its Objectives of:
Combining the pleasures of cycling with support
for the Principles of Socialism.