National Clarion Cycling Club 1895 ~ an association of Clarion Cycling Clubs
May 2024 May Day Greetings to all Clarion cyclists
Clarion Cycling Clubs and Socialism, the unbroken link
Front page: ‘Flowers for labour’s May Day’ (1898) by Walter Crane, an artist who did much to further the celebration of May Day. He created beautiful drawings, which were used on leaflets to publicise May Day and published as the covers of May Day editions of newspapers like Justice, the paper of the Social-Democratic Federation, The Clarion and in Labour Leader, the paper of the Independent Labour Party. Crane’s drawings incorporated the earlier concepts of May Day and "Merrie England" with the ideas of international socialism. He also designed the Clarion Cycling Club’s Winged Angel image (1914) which proudly bears the legend ‘Socialism the Hope of the World’ along with a quote from Wiliam Morris.
The actual quote which reads: ‘Forsooth, brothers, fellowship is heaven, and lack of fellowship is hell: fellowship is life, and lack of fellowship is death … was taken from ‘A Dream of John Ball’, a novel by William Morris, one of the leading figures of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
John Ball, a very turbulent priest Whilst both Walter Crane and William Morris were cyclists, John Ball most certainly wasn’t having been born almost 500 years before the invention of the Hobby Horse, the ancestor of the modern bicycle. The Hobby Horse, made from wood, did not have pedals you simply propelled yourself along it using your feet in a manner very similar to today’s balance bikes on which many young children learn to ride. So, who was John Ball? A priest born in the 14th century, who had been excommunicated by the Bishop for giving inflammatory sermons in which he advocated a classless society. As he was no longer welcome in the Church, he started to preach in marketplaces
and on village greens throughout the southeast of England. He would use his sermons to argue for greater equality and questioned not only the unfairness of the current system but the very structure of medieval society by asking a simple question “When Adam delved and Eve span who then was the gentleman?” Following the Black Death there was a great shortage of labour to work in the fields, but the serfs were not free to sell their labour as they were tied to their master’s land by the feudal system and although they were very poor, they still had to pay taxes to the King. In 1381, the serfs living in Kent started a Peasants Revolt by refusing to pay a Poll Tax. At the time John Ball was in prison for his inflammatory preaching but was quickly freed from his cell by the rebels. He, along with Watt Tyler, became leaders of the large peasant army marching on London where he preached to the rebels: “things cannot go on well in England, nor ever will until everything shall be in common, when there shall be neither vassal nor lord, and all distinctions levelled, when the lords shall be no more masters than ourselves”. His anger was targeted at the greedy Lords, the Bishops and the wealthy landowners, but it was easy to interpret his message as a threat to the King himself, in other words high treason punishable by death, a very slow and extremely painful death. On reaching London, Watt Tyler was slain and the revolt collapsed. John Ball fled but was captured in Coventry and following a trial he was hanged, drawn and quartered at St.Albans in the presence of the King. His head was then displayed on a pike on London Bridge and the quarters of his body were sent to four important towns, as an example, to all those who might chose to question the existing order of society. In other words, “the rich man in his castle, the poor man at his gate, God made them, high or lowly, and ordered their estate”. Something that Kier Starmer and his ilk would have no problem accepting. Would John Ball have joined London Clarion? Of course he would.
Clarion Camp at Chevin End, Menston
The Yorkshire Clarion Clubhouse at Chevin End is now sadly closed. This was one of the most important sites in the story of Socialism in West Yorkshire. The camp and later the clubhouse began its life several miles away when in the late 1890’s the Bradford Clarion Cycling Club, which in 1897 claimed a membership of 112, pitched 5 second-hand bell tents in a field between Burley and Otley as a venue for Summer Club runs out of the smoke and grim of one of England’s most polluted cities. By 1906 the location of the summer camp had changed several times, including one held at Chevin in 1902. In 1906 when the newly formed Yorkshire Clarion Cycling Club began to look for a site on which to build a ‘country house’, a Clarion House, they turned to Chevin and initially took out a 3 year lease for the field with an option to buy outright for the sum of £500. Early in 1907 the Clarion Clubhouse Ltd., was registered as an Industrial Provident Society, offering supporters half-crown shares (25p). The plan was to build a dormitory, bike sheds and a club house, with the foreground levelled for tennis courts.
The wooden two storey dormitory sadly lost to fire during the 1940’s.
The National Clarion Cycling Club programme for the 20th Annual Meet held in Shrewsbury carries an advert for Chevin End Holiday Camp and Club House, located in the ‘Switzerland of England’. Whilst Chevin End stands close to the 200 metre contour it’s not exactly the Swiss Alps, but it’s a steep climb from Otley or Burley at the end of a long day in the saddle.
The camp catered as a venue for Socialist Sunday School outings and camps, the Clarion Cinderella Clubs, Vocal Unions, Clarion Ramblers, Clarion Field and Camera Clubs and the Clarion Handicraft Guilds.
Following the disruption of the Great Imperialist War many Clarion Cycling Clubs moved away from the collectivism and propaganda work on which the Club had been founded to the individualism of non-political Sunday social runs, racing and time trials. Who could beat whom, prevailed over who could beat the corruption of the capitalist system. Nevertheless, the National Committee meeting at the Menston Club House in September 1936 affirmed their solidarity with Spanish workers in the fight against the fascist hordes seeking to overthrow the democratically elected Republican government. Many Clarion cyclists answered the cries of the Spanish workers and at least five made the ultimate sacrifice far from the green lanes of England.
The stone-built Dining and Concert Room with its stained-glass ‘Clarion’ fanlight above the front door is still standing but is now in private hands.
The Calder Section (sic) of the National Clarion were instrumental in keeping the Clubhouse going throughout the 1990’s. Club Secretary Harry Beardshall and his Calder comrades were testament to hundreds of industrial workers who spent nights in the clean air under the stars of Chevin End in the hope of a better world.
The Yorkshire Clubhouse closed in 2011.
Carbeth Hutters
The origins of the Carbeth Hutters Community go back to the beginning of the 20th century when local landowner Allan Barnes-Graham, who was sympathetic to the ideals of the Clarion movement and allowed the Clarion cyclists to hold an annual summer Clarion Fellowship Camp on his land. Eventually the campers built a permanent wooden hut for storing tent and camping equipment. Weekends saw people gathered around the campfire to discuss the political issues of the day inspiring some young men to go to fight the fascists in the civil war in Spain. Several famous Scottish mountaineering clubs trace their roots to the Carbeth camp where the seeds of Scotland’s national parks were first sown. The Hutting Community at Carbeth was established from 1918 when people from Glasgow and Clydebank were allowed to self-build small wooden huts to escape the widespread pollution in the Clyde Valley. Many cycled out to Carbeth carrying what materials they could to their build huts. There are stories of visitors being encouraged to bring a brick or other materials in exchange for a cup of tea.
Hut numbers expanded in 1941 when families were rehoused at Carbeth after the Clydebank Blitz. During the 1950’s Carbeth had its heyday, with 250 huts, a tearoom shops, a swimming pool with diving boards and changing rooms. The estate was bought by the community in 2013 and there are presently over 170 huts on the site. The Carbeth huts are situated 12 miles north of Glasgow in Stirlingshire.
The Craigallian Fire The site of the Fire beside Craigallain Loch on the present-day West Highland Way, south of Carbeth, represents an important beacon in the history of the working class. This ‘Eternal Fire’, which is said to have remained alight from the late 1920’s for as long as ten years, was a beacon which attracted those unemployed workers who wanted to escape into the countryside during the Great Depression years of the 1930’s. The Fire offered warmth, company, interesting political discussions and an everboiling dixie of tea into which the visitor’s mug or tin-can could be dipped. Some would be passing through on their way to the Carbeth huts, others would remain at the Fire for most of the week returning to the city to claim their dole money.
In 2012 the landowner gave permission for a memorial to the legacy of the Fire-sitters to be erected on the site of the fire.
An inscription reads: Here burned the Craigallian Fire. During the Depression of the 1930s it was a beacon of companionship and hope for young unemployed people who came from Glasgow and Clydebank seeking adventure in Scotland's wild places. Their pioneering spirit helped to make the Scottish countryside free for all to roam.
Know your Clarion history. ‘Who’ll call the meeting now and who’ll take the Chair for Tom, our brave Tom, in Clapham no longer will remain he’s gone to fight the fascists in the Civil War in Spain.’
Tom Oldershaw (left) with David Guest The October 1938 edition of ‘Boots’, the magazine of the London and Southern Counties Union of National Clarion Cycling Clubs contains an article under the title: ‘In Memoriam to Tom Oldershaw’. It is with deepest regret that we have to record the death in Spain, of a member of Clapham Section. Tom Oldershaw was 24 years of age and a carpenter by trade. He was one of the most staunch fighters for the Socialist cause, being vice-president of his trade union branch (A.S.W.), a member of Battersea Communist Party, and Battersea Trades Council and the first secretary of the Aid-Spain Committee. He did a tremendous amount of work for the Battersea Labour movement. He was a keen cyclist and rode with Clapham Section for many months. In company with another comrade, Edgar Priest, he cycled through France and Germany and crossed the Pyrenees. He was an ideal clubman, having a ready wit and a sense of humour. He volunteered to fight against Franco and was in the thick of the fighting during the Fascist push at Aragon in March of this year. During a rear-guard action he was severely wounded, and his comrades were forced to leave him on the field in their retreat. Every effort has been made to trace him, but he is not among the listed prisoners, nor can be found in the hospitals of France. After months of anxiety, we are forced to the conclusion that he must have died on the
battlefield. It is sad indeed, to know that we no longer have this wonderful and heroic comrade in our ranks. Tom, with the blessing of King Street, left for Spain in May 1937, at the time he had been living at 74 Balham Park Road, SW12. The house was known as ‘Community House’ and was shared by other members of the Communist Party. On completion of his training, he became a Political Commissar in the British Battalion of the 15th International Brigade. Political Commissars were an integral part of the army with the job of inspiring their unit with discipline and loyalty. They were often elected by their comrades. His first role as a Political Commissar was with the Machine Gun Company at the start of Franco’s offensive on the Aragon front. Tom was wounded in an action at Caspe in March 1938 and having been given first aid was left in a small archway to await recovery. He was never seen again. Political Commissars were usually shot when taken by Fascists. London comrades marched with muffled drums honouring their fallen comrades David Guest and Tom Oldershaw killed in action defending the Spanish Republic.
‘We pledge ourselves to carry on their fight for freedom and humanity in order that their sacrifice may not have been in vain. Their heroic example is always with us’. Battersea Young Communist League. To think that today, for some the National Clarion Cycling Club is too political!
Gloucester Easter Meet
Mucky cycle path due to flooding
Meet H.Q. the Premeir Inn (Quayside)
A well deserved pint, more to follow
Annual General Meeting was held in The Pelican
after Easter Sunday’s ride The Secretary opened the meeting by thanking the Meet organisers, the ride leaders and London Clarion for the Meet ribbons. He then announced ‘there’s nowt to report, finances were sound and Easter Meet 2025 would be in held Buxton’. There being no objections the meeting was closed and another round of drinks called for.
Gloucester Cathedral
A Clarion angel?
Bit of a climb, but worth it for the view
My first bike, a familiar tale As a child I never owned a bicycle, nor was I ever allowed to touch, let alone sit on, my grandad’s precious single-speed, drophandlebar black bike. At the age of 11, my mother said if I joined the Boy Scouts to keep out of trouble, she would buy me a second-hand machine from a chap at the cotton mill where she worked as a weaver. Next week mum, grandad and I went to see this bike. It was fantastic! bright yellow with red box and lug lining, a head badge, fancy decals, drop handlebars and a five-speed derailleur. For me it was love at first sight, unfortunately everyone else agreed it was far too big for me. My feet couldn’t touch the pedals and my fingers wouldn’t reach the brake levers, all this seemed nit-picking to me; what did I need brakes for it’s a racing bike? I burst into tears and ran home to tell my gran. Less than a week later I was the proud owner of a second-hand Freddie Grubb, allegedly paid for with gran’s ‘Moscow gold’. It too had drop handlebars, and a three-speed hub gear. This pleased my grandad because unlike that ‘stupid foreign derailleur’, a hub gear kept a straight chain line just as the good Lord intended. Having got my first bicycle, my grandad somewhat grudgingly said I better join his Cycle Club and start accompanying him on the weekly Sunday runs.
I never appreciated just how much there was to learn about riding a bike: ‘your seat’s too high’, ‘you’re bobbing up and down’, ‘stop rocking, get that seat lowered’, ‘don’t push the pedals, think turn, turn and turn again,’ ‘use your heels not your toes’, ‘stop squeezing those handlebars’, ‘don’t half wheel’, ‘your knees should be brushing that
cross-bar’, ‘keep your elbows tucked in, keep your head up, don’t look down’, ‘you never pass on the left’, ‘ no! you can’t stop for a rest and don’t whine’ all this was within the first mile or so. In fairness over the coming months the older Club members did teach me a great deal about the techniques of riding safely in a group and the mechanical skills necessary to keep one’s machine in good, roadworthy order. By far the most important lesson I was to learn out on the Club runs had nothing to do with riding techniques or bicycle maintenance, it was about cycling etiquette, those special qualities that distinguish a real cyclist from a mere bicycle rider. I was taught one must always exercise three quite simple courtesies: You always acknowledge an approaching cyclist, irrespective of their age, their appearance, or the quality of their machine. You do this not because of a desire to strike up friendship, you do it because you are acknowledging that they, like you, are part of the great world-wide cycling fraternity. You see a cyclist stationary at the roadside, you stop and enquire if they need any assistance. Whether you have the tools or the mechanical skills that may be required is irrelevant. The important thing is you offered, and they will appreciate it. Finally, and most importantly because it helped to avoid spills, when about to overtake a slower rider, you had to sound your bell or shout, loud and clearly, ‘coming through’ or ‘passing on your right’ BEFORE executing the said manoeuvre and having passed, acknowledge his or her thanks. Riders who overtake on country lanes without warning fall into one of two categories; they are either ignorant or a novice. The ignorant are those who have been told but choose to endanger themselves and a slower rider. The novice has never been told and so doesn’t appreciate the potential consequences of an unannounced overtake. A Clubman or Clubwoman who overtakes a slower cyclist without warning misses an opportunity to educate someone who either doesn’t belong to a Club or is perhaps new to cycling.
Gears In the 1950’s cyclists on Club runs would fall into one of four categories: most would probably be riding single speed freewheel, a few of the ‘crack’ lads and lasses would be on single speed fixed wheel, some would have three-speed BSA or Sturmey Archer hub gears and a few would be riding with 3 or 4 speed derailluers, never 5 as it was too many and simply confused you. Today’s bikes are much lighter and will almost certainly have far more than 3 or 4 gears. There is no problem with this as the modern multi-geared machine allows the rider to select the gear ratio that will make the most efficient use of his/her energy. If you want to get the maximum possible speed for the minimum effort then you need a multigeared bike, just how many gears you need and how many you actually use on a ride is the question. More gears mean more weight, more complications and greater fragility.
Understanding gears and terminology
Your high gear (top gear) is achieved by combining the largest front chainwheel with the smallest rear sprocket. A high gear is one that enables you to cycle quickly downhill or on the flat while pedalling at an easy cadence (pedalling rate). The lowest gear (bottom gear) is when the chain is on the smallest chainring at the front and the largest sprocket at the rear. This is the gear that enables you to cycle slowly uphill whilst pedalling at an easy cadence. The larger the rear sprocket the easier it is to climb hills.
Gear inches and gear development. If you use gears, and most of us do, you really should understand something about them. That way you will know what is the most suitable gear ratio for you and your riding style. All too often cyclists rush off to the bike shop crying ‘I struggle on the hills I need more gears’, when in truth they probably have more than enough gears. They don’t need more they simply need gears that will lower their gear ratio and make climbing easier. Of course, losing weight from your body or your bike also helps. Remember more gears equals more weight which means no bacon butty at the café stop. The first pedal cycles had cranks fixed directly to the front wheel hence the distance travelled for each revolution of the cranks was solely determined by the size of the front wheel. The larger the front wheel the further and faster you travelled for one revolution. In other words, the wheel size determined the gear size. A penny farthing with a 52 inch wheel had a 52 inch gear. The wheel size is still a factor on a chain driven bike but you can travel more or less distance for each revolution of the crank by altering the size of the chainring fixed to the crank or by the number of teeth on the sprockets fixed to the rear wheel. If your chainring is twice the size of the rear sprocket, the rear wheel will turn twice for one revolution of the crank, thus a bike with a 26 inch wheels would travel the same distance as a penny farthing with 52 inch wheel i.e. 2x26 inch = 52 inch. To work out your gear inches i.e. how big an equivalent penny-farthing wheel would be, you simply divide the number of teeth on the chain ring by the number of teeth on the sprocket and then multiply by the bike’s wheel diameter (a modern 700c wheel measures 26.69 inches). Gear development tells you exactly how far your bike travels in a given gear for each revolution of the cranks. To find this multiply your gear inches by 3.142.
Cigarette cards
The production of cigarette cards dates from the 1890’s when the American Tobacco Company started to move into the British market, steadily acquiring control of some 200 companies. Led by W.D. and H.O. Wills, of Bristol, 13 companies in Britain agreed to form a joint consortium – The Imperial Tobacco Company Ltd. A 'tobacco war’ ensued between the two groups, which resulted in the Americans giving away brightly coloured cards and real photographs, to publicise their cigarettes. The Imperial Tobacco Company responded with their own tobacco cards.
Cycling first featured on cards by W.Duke and Sons Ltd (USA) with Bicycles and Track Riders (1891) and Ogdens Ltd, in their Guinea Golden Issues of 1899, with a set of 57 Cyclists. Pride of place must however go to John Player & Sons who in 1939, issued three sets – Home, Eire and Overseas – giving a comprehensive picture of cycling through the ages. Their Home issue Cycling covers the whole
spectrum from the 1880s until 1939, and includes hobby horses, velocipedes, tricycles, tandems along with many other types of bicycles.
Although cards were first produced bearing advertisements matter on the backs, in the course of time this gave way to brief details, complementing the pictures on the face sides. Much research went into this aspect, with the result that, after World War One, cards carried a wealth of information with every set published.
The companies sold albums for collectors to safely store their cards consequently many have survived in excellent condition.
Road Traffic Accidents The Law defines a reportable road traffic accident as a collision involving a mechanically-propelled vehicle on the road or other public area which causes:
• Injury or damage to anybody. • Injury or damage to an animal. An
animal being a horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep, pig, goat or dog. • Damage to a vehicle other than the
vehicle which caused the collision. • Damage to property built on, attached
to, growing in, or otherwise forming part of the land where the road is. You don’t need to report an accident to the police if you’ve exchanged details, nobody was injured and there are no allegations of drving offences. You MUST report a collision to the police if you were unable to exchange details at the scene, if anyone was injured, or if you suspect that the other person may have committed a driving offence.
So there you are cycling along when BANG! you hit the deck. Was it a pothole, black ice or a driver that didn’t see your red flashing light, your bright yellow jersey or vivid green shorts? Whatever, you are down feeling shocked, hurt and disorientated. At this point your body response by pumping adrenaline into your bloodstream which helps to mask the pain but can also make you act without thinking. Jumping up claiming you are alright ‘its only blood’ or challenging a driver twice your size to fight must be resisted. Take time to think.
This ten point checklist of thing to do if you have been involved in an accident will help, even if you only remember a couple of them:
1. Look after your own safety by getting
off the road. If you are badly hurt stay still and breathe deeply until the ambulance arrives.
2. Look after other casualties, if the only
thing you do is to keep them calm it will help. Make the site safe by getting your bike off the road.
3. Get the other parties’ details: name,
address, registration number and insurance details.
4. Take photographs particularly of the
number plate if the driver won’t exchange details.
5. Get witnesses’ names and phone
numbers. This could be crucial should the case go to court.
6. Report the incident to the police if a
motor vehicle was involved, do it in person either to a PC or at the police station. Ask for an incident number.
7. Visit A&E or your doctor, even a
minor injury untreated could get worse.
8. Contact a solicitor (such as Smooth
Law) even if a traffic offence hasn’t been committed, it may be worth pursuing a civil claim for your injury or damage to your bike.
9. Deal only with your own insurance,
whilst cyclists don’t have to have vehicle insurance, you can get accident cover and third-party insurance through a number of sources. Do not deal directly with anyone else’s insurers, pass it over.
10. Keep your damaged bike, equipment,
and clothing (and receipts). The burden of collecting evidence for a civil claim falls on YOU.
Clarion Sunday National Clarion Cycling Club 1895 (NLU) ‘Calls’ all Clarion Cycling Club members to a ‘Meet’ to be held on SEPTEMBER 22nd 10am to 4pm at the Nelson Independent Labour Party’s Clarion House at Roughlee, Lancashire BL12 9LL. ‘Clarion Sunday’, is the largest annual gathering of Clarion cyclists, Clarion choirs and Clarion ramblers. A warm welcome awaits all Clarion members past and present. Invite your cycling comrades to come and share a pint pot of Clarion tea. Free sandwiches and cakes will be provided, and a commemorative ribbon will be given to all attendees. For further details contact: national.clarion1895@gmail.com
Cinque ports A sketch by Frank Patterson of Traders’ Passage in Rye one of the Cinque ports.
The Cinque ports pronounced ‘sink ports’ were established in the late 11th century. The idea was that in return for privileges granted to the ports by the King, they would furnish him with ships and crews. A cunning way of getting a navy on the cheap. Originally there were five ports: Sandwich, Dover, Hythe, New Romney and Hastings to which Winchelsea and Rye were later added. As compensation for their ship services, the towns were granted privileges that gave them a degree of self-government, legal jurisdiction, and financial advantages. The five port and two ancient towns were each entitled to send two Members to Parliament.
The potential for a future summer tour?
Autumn Meet A ‘Clarion Call’ to members past and present. Follow us to Ipswich for the Club’s Autumn Meet. For a weekend of cycling, ‘bounderising’ and good fellowship November 1st to 3rd.
All cyclists are welcome, there will be led easy rides on both Saturday and Sunday suitable for all abilities. Rides will depart at 10.30am from Meet HQ each day. Attendees will receive a Meet ribbon and there will be
NO MEET LEVY. Meet Headquarters will be Ipswich Town Centre (Quayside) Premier Inn Hotel. For further details contact: national.clarion1895@gmail.com
It is sad to record the passing of Norman Luxford one of London Clarion’s most colourful characters after a long period of poor health. Whilst it’s a number of years since Norman was able to ride his bike, he was always on hand to raise a glass to his Club and Socialism. No contribution is ever too small, none too large and Norman really knew how to ‘bounderise’ and helped to make the Clarion such a special Club.