[CR]Fwd: Re: Harry Hill...

> Date: Sun, 4 Dec 2005 19:25:58 +0000 (GMT)
> From: Michael Butler <pariscycles@yahoo.co.uk>
> Subject: Re: Harry Hill...
> To: Bob Reid <robertrreid@tiscali.co.uk>
>
> Bob,
> When Harry arrived back home from the Berlin
> Olympics
> in 1936, nobody took a blind bit of notice. All he
> had
> waiting for him at Victoria Station was a 200-mile
> ride back up north, forced to pedal the same bicycle
> on which he had won a bronze medal in the team
> pursuit
> a few days earlier.
>
> "The problem was I'd spent almost all my money on
> buying an Olympic souvenir jersey with the five
> rings
> on it while I was over there and I hadn't got enough
> left to buy any food. All I had in my pocket were my
> two medals - the bronze and the competitors' medal
> everyone was given," recalls Harry.
>
> "As I cycled home, I was getting tired and hungry
> and
> not feeling good so, about 30 miles from my home in
> Sheffield, I decided I couldn't go on and I needed
> to
> hitch a lift.
>
> "Fortunately, a lorry driver stopped and, to make
> him
> realise how desperate I was to get home, I told him
> I'd won an Olympic medal. He said 'Well done, mate.
> Chuck your bike in the back, jump in and I'll take
> you
> home'. He did, too, right to my doorstep."
>
> Tonight, 69 years on, it really is time to make a
> fuss
> of him. For when the British Olympic Association
> started sleuthing, trying to track down our
> surviving
> 300 to 400 medallists to invite to tonight's
> reception
> as part of their centenary celebrations, they
> concluded Harry, now 88 and these days living in
> Radcliffe, near Manchester, must be Britain's oldest
> living male medallist.
>
> The BOA can't be completely sure, though. They
> thought
> Harry was the oldest medallist, period, until the
> unexpected discovery, the other week, that swimmer
> Sarah Hunt, née Stewart, part of the 4 x 100m
> freestyle relay silver medal-winning quartet from
> the
> 1928 Amsterdam Games, was still going strong in
> Scotland at 93.
>
> As for Harry, he seems as sprightly as he is
> indestructible. He has outlived his Olympic jacket
> which, when he dug it out for tonight's celebration,
> had been devoured by moths. The official 1936 motif
> had to be rescued and sewn on to a new blazer.
>
> He tells me that he has never smoked, that he has
> been
> a lifelong teetotaller and that his only drug has
> been
> cycling. Up until last year, his proud boast was
> that
> he'd ridden every day of his life since being given
> a
> bike as a 13-year-old. "I've done over a million
> kilometres," he insists.
>
> Sadly last year, though, he was forced to give up
> the
> sport when he fell during a ride in Spain and
> fractured his hip. He sounds as frustrated as hell
> that he is having to walk around with a stick and
> that
> the NHS are not sorting out his ailments quickly
> enough. He is limited to cycling on a boring
> exercise
> bike but swears he will be back on the real thing
> soon
> enough.
>
> You wouldn't put it past Harry when he tells you of
> an
> extraordinary life in the saddle. He was a
> 20-year-old
> motor mechanic who had already built a reputation as
> a
> masterful time triallist when the BOA invited him to
> join the pursuit team in Berlin. The plan was for
> him
> to take the train from Sheffield and join his
> colleagues in London but Harry couldn't afford it.
>
> "I had no father - he'd died in east Africa from
> disease during the First World War - and there was
> just me, my mother and brother," he says. "We didn't
> have much money, so I decided I'd have to cycle down
> on the bike I was going to use in Berlin, which was
> tiring and not the best preparation."
>
> Once in the capital, he teamed up for the first time
> with the three local cyclists he was going to
> partner
> in Berlin. "We had one practice together at Herne
> Hill
> and that was it before the Olympics," says Harry.
> "Only they did give us some better wheels to use on
> our bikes for the actual event."
>
> Having reached Berlin by cycle, boat and train,
> Harry
> reckoned the Nazis' great global propaganda exercise
> and Jesse Owens's heroics tended to pass the cycling
> competitors by because the velodrome was situated
> away
> from all the hullabaloo at the main stadium.
>
> "Though we heard about him, we didn't see Hitler -
> but
> he did put on a show with these Games," ponders
> Harry.
> Anyway, then, British cyclists were rather more
> concerned with the brilliance of their lavishly
> backed
> French cycling rivals than with global politics.
>
> For Harry, Berlin was just the springboard for a
> life
> of adventures. A year later, a cycling magazine
> raised
> sponsorship for him to attack the world one-hour
> record in Milan and he became the first man to break
> 25 miles on an outdoor track. Unbelievably, at the
> age
> of 80 and given the chance to ride one of those new
> lightweight superbikes at Manchester Velodrome, he
> came within a mile and a half of equalling the mark
> he
> had set almost 60 years earlier.
>
> In his heyday, Harry was invincible in time trials
> and
> he lost his best competitive racing days to the War,
> during which he built submarines in Barrow. Yet,
> afterwards, he kept finding new cycling challenges
> in
> between running a garage business in Manchester and
> starting a family. At 60, this dad of five even
> became
> a bit of a celebrity across the pond by cycling from
> coast to coast in North America across four time
> zones.
>
> "When I look back on my life, I can see the most
> wonderful things," says Harry. "All the countries
> I've
> seen, the people I've met . . . now even the Queen
> in
> London. Mind, I won't be cycling down there this
> time."
>
> The tinge of regret in his voice suggests there
> really
> was a time when we might have found this
> irrepressible
> figure chaining his bike to the Buck House railings
> tonight.
>
> Sheffield Phoenix CC member Harry Hill was born in
> 1916 and has had a remarkable career in cycling. He
> was selected to ride in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and
> came home with a bronze medal. As his life has
> progressed Harry has collected many awards for his
> achievements in cycling. Reproduced below are his
> recollections of cycling in 1930s England and the
> 1936
> Olympics.
>
> Cycling in the 1930s
>
> 1937 was an exciting year; the highlight was the
> World's Amateur Hour Record. Cycling magazine set up
> a
> fund to send Mills, Paul, myself and a manager to
> break hour records in Milan ; Mills and Paul on the
> tandem and me for the solo hour. At that time Milan
> was the best track in the world. We stayed at a
> local
> hotel and took the tram to the track. After a day or
> so getting used to the track the weather improved
> and
> the decision to try for the records was taken. Mills
> and Paul broke the tandem hour with 50km and I did
> 44.5km. The following year the UCI decided to alter
> the hour record to best only, so obviously it always
> went to the pros. Maurice Archambaud broke the
> record
> with 45.8km.
>
> We were all happy with the success of our hour rides
> and the manager gave us all a special reward by
> taking
> us to Venice for the weekend by air. This was a
> brilliant idea as none of us had flown before and we
> enjoyed the special attraction of the layout of the
> city with the bridges, buildings and gondolas along
> the waterways. However the airport was fogbound and
> we
> had to return to Milan by train. The day after that
> we
> left for home and on arriving in London we were met
> by
> the editor of Cycling and others and all enjoyed the
> reception, especially as there was money left in the
> fund. 1938 was the centenary of the Dunlop Rubber
> Co.
> who promoted an international track meet at Herne
> Hill
> in the Summer. The German world champion of the
> time,
> Meulenberg, was invited to ride a 10 minute pursuit
> and I was chosen to ride against him. The officials
> would afterwards arrange for me to turn pro and
> would
> assist in providing me with a sponsor. However, as
> the
> Dunlop track meet was about 3 weeks away, and I had
> ridden several 25s in just over the hour, my cycling
> club mates said all I needed was a good day and I
> would beat the hour. Maurice Gibson would be the
> time
> keeper and Albert Butterworth, the local cycle
> dealer,
> acted as observer. I had 3 attempts using the local
> 25
> mile course at Sutton Crossing, and on the 3rd
> attempt
> I did 59.57. This was the first time anyone had gone
> under the hour. All the club were excited and
> shortly
> after a paragraph was written about it in Cycling.
> The
> advertising manager of Cycling arranged for me to
> visit the John Bull Rubber Co in Leicester , which I
> did; this resulted in a year's contract and turning
> pro. It was done quickly and I was able to meet
> Meulenberg at the Dunlop meeting at Herne Hill. It
> was
> a first class meeting of champions and great
> publicity
> for Dunlop. I won the pursuit, but to be fair,
> Meulenberg was not a pursuit specialist. I rode at
> Herne Hill later in the season against Karl Kaers,
> the
> Belgian pursuit specialist, and he beat me in the
> pursuit.
>
> In the autumn of 1938 I went to Edinburgh to go for
> the straight out 50 mile RRA record, riding on John
> Bull tyres. The first attempt failed as the wind was
> not in the right direction, but 2 days later it was,
> and I had a trouble free ride - except for a level
> crossing where I had to climb over both gates with
> the
> bike and get going again. Of course, the time
> keeper's
> car was held up. I had a good run in to the finish
> and
> the timekeeper just managed to catch up and beat me
> to
> the line. I did 1.44.30 beating the old record by 3
> minutes. The following year Shake Earnshaw beat me
> by
> the same time. However, I was on 92" fixed and he
> used
> a deraileur.
>
> My next ride of importance was to attack the
> professional hour on the track in Central London in
> July ‘39. I organised the attempt with the time
> keeper
> and observer and started one Sunday morning with
> little wind. I rode 26½ miles, beating the old
> record
> by about ½ mile.
>
> The 1939 World Track Championships were being held
> in
> Milan and I went with my mother and Les Brooks, a
> local cycle dealer, in the car. It was a pleasant
> journey through France , Switzerland , and Italy .
> However, there were rumours of German troops massing
> on the Polish frontier and people were getting
> anxious. A day later the rest of the British team
> arrived, but during lunch a telegram arrived stating
> all the team were to return at once. It was the
> biggest turn round I had ever known. However, as
> professionals we could make our way home in the car,
> which we did. Before that, on the same day, we saw
> the
> sprint finals with Van Vliet and Scherens, but
> everything else at the Velodrome was cancelled as
> World War II had started.
>
> The return journey was made against a background of
> stress, with soldiers at many road junctions as we
> traveled through France . Going through Dijon and
> the
> various villages around, the roads were mostly used
> by
> the military. On arriving in Paris the army was
> giving
> details of mobilisation assembly points, and people
> were obviously very anxious. The Metro underground
> was
> closed. We met British army officers who guided us
> on
> the road to Dieppe . On arrival in Dieppe the
> dockside
> was full of GB cars, so we left ours thinking we may
> never see it again, and we rushed on to the boat.
> After about 3 hours we were in England , yes it was
> a
> great feeling.
>
> Up to the 1936 Olympics
>
> In the early 30s there were very few cars, most
> people
> used public transport. There were trams in Sheffield
> just like today, and of course men and boys rode
> bicycles. It was a 6 day working week but most
> people
> managed to go home early to visit relations and go
> to
> the pictures. Club cyclists around the country
> looked
> forward to Sundays; we would often ride 100 miles
> during the day, dinner at one place and tea at
> another, with always a mad sprint to get there
> first.
> Those were the days for cycling; we had the roads to
> ourselves.
>
> In 1935 I took part in club riding and raced in 25
> mile time trials on the old O2 at Sutton Crossing. I
> stayed at Blyth on Saturday evenings in a B&B at the
> first house (at that time) on Worksop Road , for 3
> shillings and 6 pence (17½p).
>
> On a few occasions Maurice Gibson would organise a
> club 5 mile time trial starting about ½ mile east of
> Mattersey, the course going east for 2½ miles
> alongside the canal and back again. They were
> enjoyable times, watching the canal boats going
> under
> the bridge and having a drink at the pub and
> discussing the local racing results. Both Ron Blythe
> and myself had the fastest times for this 5 mile
> event. I think Ron did 11 minutes and I did 11.30.
>
> In September of 1935 I rode a 25 mile TT but
> punctured
> on the return at about 15 miles, and to my surprise
> my
> photo was in Cycling that week, with the heading "H
> Hill went fast until he punctured." This event was
> on
> the A1 about 60 miles north of London .
>
> I did many training miles in the Winter of 1935-6
> and
> felt in good shape for another successful season. I
> won the first 6 events I rode in, in different parts
> of the country. The officials of the day must have
> taken notice because Maurice Gibson came to the
> garage
> where I worked just before Easter with an invitation
> to ride at Herne Hill on Good Friday, as Ralph
> Dougherty could not ride. His boss would not allow
> him
> to race on that date. It was a 10 minute pursuit of
> 4
> riders and at the end there was only Ernie Mills
> left,
> who I nearly caught. The officials were all around
> me
> giving instructions that I had to stay for 2 more
> days
> for training and come to the next meeting. This was
> the first time I had ever seen a track, and 4 months
> later I would be riding an Olympic pursuit on the
> new
> Berlin velodrome.
>
> As far as I can remember I won almost every 25 mile
> TT
> in different areas in 1936, and on my 20th birthday
> I
> received a letter from the NCU that I was one of the
> competitors to ride for England in the Olympic 4km
> pursuit. The track officials gave me sound advice
> and
> we had pursuit training, but only once did the
> pursuit
> team have official timing on the track We should
> have
> had more training together but it's always difficult
> to have the four of us together.
>
> We were given the train fare to London and we left
> for
> Berlin the day after and were housed in the Olympic
> village about 15 miles west of Berlin . The German
> Olympic officials had organised the games in a
> professional manner and Germany seemed a wonderful
> country to live in. Adolf Hitler Platz was decorated
> with all kinds of advertising. It was lit up for the
> presentation of all the competitors at the Olympic
> stadium; this went off very well but the cycling
> team
> did not take part as the baggage and cycles had been
> mislaid. The cycle track had been built in another
> district of the city so we never saw the big
> athletic
> stadium.
>
> In the actual race when we were against the
> Italians,
> we would have had silver instead of bronze medals
> because we finished one behind the other when it
> should have been abreast. So, we were first over the
> line by a second, but we had dropped a man and I
> being
> the 3rd man lost that split second. Teddy Southcott,
> the President at that time, dealt with the incident
> but to no avail. Yes, if we had gone training
> together
> we would have had silver instead of bronze. The
> medal
> presentation was done professionally with a capacity
> crowd. Watching the celebrations it was the first
> time
> I had been on a podium at such an important
> occasion.
>
> We came away from the track and Olympic village very
> impressed by all the propaganda, such things as this
> left a big impression in our lives. We arrived back
> in
> London to receive a welcome homecoming. Back in
> Sheffield there was to be no welcome and no civic
> reception, just a few lines in the local paper.
>
> I had bought an Olympic jersey with the 5 rings in
> front as a souvenir and when I was ready to go home
> to
> Sheffield I realised I had spent the train fare on
> the
> jersey, so I had to cycle home. I rode over 100
> miles
> to Gonerby Hill just north of Grantham, but it was
> getting dark, I had no lights and I was tired, so I
> stopped a lorry going to Sheffield and he took me
> home. My mother was pleased to see me. There is no
> need to mention much about the Sydney Olympics as
> most
> people have seen or read all that happened. Compared
> to 2000, we were real amateurs without a doubt.
>
> Technical note: Harry used his own bike for the
> Olympic pursuit, a Holdsworth with 531 tubing. He
> used
> a 92" fixed gear, though for 25 mile time trials he
> used 82 or 84" fixed. For those who are too young to
> know, 92" is 48x14, 82" is 52x17 and 84" is 53x17.
>
> Middleton Cycling club our president Harry H Hill ,
> won a Bronze Medal in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin,
> he
> set a new 1 Hour record in Italy and has also
> travelled coast to coast across America. He later
> set
> a world 1 hour record at the Manchester Velodrome
> for
> his age category (80+). Then in Spring 2005 he was
> invited to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen as
> part
> of the Olympic Team celebrations
> DOB 5/18/16
> Any good all the best Mick.
>
>
>
> Thats all for now. Keep those wheels spinning, in
> your memories if not still on the road. Be lucky
> Mick Butler Huntingdon UK.
>
>
>
>
>
>

Thats all for now. Keep those wheels spinning, in your memories if not still on the road. Be lucky Mick Butler Huntingdon UK.