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Middlesex Clarion
Cycling and Athletics Club. 

A West London Racing Club, 1948–1979

Middlesex Clarion Cycling Club Badge

The Middlesex Clarion Cycling and Athletics Club was born out of a practical need: as the National Clarion movement grew in post-war London, the city’s western districts needed their own dedicated racing body. Founded in December 1948, the club quickly established itself as a serious competitive force, running road time trials, track events, and mass-start races across the Home Counties. At its peak it counted over 100 members and produced nationally recognised champions.
This page draws on contemporary newspaper reporting — principally from the Richmond Herald but also the national press — to piece together the club’s story decade by decade.

The Origins

The club emerged from a reorganisation of National Clarion’s London operations. The Bayswater Chronicle of 17 December 1948 reported the formation of a new body that would take control of racing for all National Clarion members in West London, with G. Booker of Berrymede Road, W.4 named as secretary. A week later, the Richmond Herald confirmed that the inaugural club night had been held on 10 December at the Oddfellows Hall in Acton, where the racing section would meet every Friday. The new club was immediately affiliated to the Road Time Trials Council.


From the outset, Middlesex Clarion balanced hard racing with a lively social programme. By early 1949, members were already riding to St Albans on Sundays, holding dances jointly with the Kensington and Fulham Section at Hammersmith, and sending their strongest riders on training runs down to Brighton. The intermediates explored Surrey’s hills via Leith Hill and Abinger Hammer, while the “hardriders” prepared seriously for the time trial season.


The club grew rapidly. By the time of its first AGM in November 1949, membership stood at 114. In its debut competitive season it had promoted road and track events as well as a mass-start race — all praised for their efficient organisation. A highlight came in the club’s first open 25-mile time trial, when George Fell (Becontree Wheelers) broke the British competition record with an extraordinary time of 58 minutes.


Newspaper sources — The 1940s:

  • Bayswater Chronicle, 17 December 1948 — formation of the club announced

  • Richmond Herald, 18 December 1948 — first club night at Oddfellows Hall, Acton

  • Richmond Herald, 5 March 1949 — rides to St Albans and Brighton training runs

  • Richmond Herald, 30 April 1949 — Shrewsbury National Meet; Bath Road “50”; Rockingham Castle mass start

  • Richmond Herald, 8 October 1949 — “Tommy Atkins” Trophy won by “Blackpool” Yates (25 miles in 1hr 3min)

  • Richmond Herald, 19 November 1949 — AGM notice; “100 in 61” reliability trial entries

  • Richmond Herald, 26 November 1949 — first AGM review: 114 members, record broken at inaugural open event

Growth and Competition: The 1950s

The new decade saw the club hit its competitive stride. Members made the long ride to the National Clarion Easter Meet in Buxton in April 1950, stopping overnight at Harpenden on the way north and Leicester on the return — a proper adventure in the era before motorways. On the racing front, the 1950 open 25-mile time trial was a highlight: C. Marriner recorded a fastest-of-the-season 58 mins 43 secs, edging out the previous year’s record holder G. Fell, with G. Bentley taking third in his first sub-hour ride.
The club’s social life remained active too, with a farewell dinner for venue hosts Mr and Mrs Crabbe at the Bull Hotel drawing 17 members, followed by dancing at the Penrhyn Rooms until midnight. The new clubroom moved to the Greyhound on Kew Green.
The most celebrated figure to emerge from Middlesex Clarion in this era was Jean Dunn, a housewife from Stanmore who became one of Britain’s finest track sprinters. In August 1957 she set a new national women’s 880-yard standing start record at Coventry with a time of 68.2 seconds. The following year she broke her own quarter-mile standing start record at Herne Hill, improving from 39.4 seconds to 33.4 seconds. She went on to win the English women’s 500 metres sprint title three years in succession — 1957, 1958, and 1959 — and in 1959 also broke the half-mile tandem-paced record, lowering it from 1 min 2.2 secs to 55.9 secs.


Newspaper sources — The 1950s:

  • Richmond Herald, 15 April 1950 — Easter Meet ride to Buxton

  • Richmond Herald, 22 April 1950 — Matching Green mass start; club 25-mile TT won by A. Ford (1hr 6min 15sec)

  • Richmond Herald, 27 May 1950 — Open 25-mile TT: Marriner wins in 58:43; Fell second; Bentley third

  • Star Green ’un, 10 August 1957 — Jean Dunn sets national 880-yard record (68.2 sec) at Coventry

  • Birmingham Mail, 21 June 1958 — Jean Dunn breaks her own quarter-mile record at Herne Hill (33.4 sec)

  • Portsmouth Evening News, 2 August 1958 — Jean Dunn, English women’s sprint champion, races at Alexandra Park

  • Portsmouth Evening News, 5 August 1958 — Jean Dunn retains national sprint title for second year

  • Middlesex County Times, 11 July 1959 — Jean Dunn breaks half-mile tandem-paced record (55.9 sec)

  • Daily Mirror, 4 August 1959 — Jean Dunn retains 500m national sprint title at Portsmouth, beating Valerie Rainbow

Into the Sixties

The club continued to produce riders of national quality into the 1960s. Keith Mernickle was named in the British team for the 1963 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championship in Calais, as reported by the Wolverhampton Express and Star — one of several British riders selected from the record entry of 123 at the national championship at Harlow. In 1966, Derek Thomas of Acton made a remarkable comeback after nine years away from racing, finishing fifth in the West London Cycling Association’s 100-mile time trial, claiming the handicap prizes, and leading Middlesex Clarion to a team victory.


Newspaper sources — The 1960s:

  • Wolverhampton Express and Star, 1 February 1963 — Keith Mernickle named in British cyclo-cross team for World Championships

  • Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette, 7 July 1966 — Derek Thomas wins handicap and leads team to victory in WLCA 100-mile TT

Later Years: The 1970's

By the 1970s references to the club in the press had become less frequent, though Middlesex Clarion was still active on the track. In July 1979, the Westminster & Pimlico News recorded Ron Hughes and G. Locke of Middlesex Clarion CC placing first and second in a 10-lap track event — a small but telling sign that the club’s competitive spirit endured three decades after its formation.


Newspaper sources — The 1970s:

  • Westminster & Pimlico News, 6 July 1979 — Ron Hughes and G. Locke, 1st and 2nd in 10-lap track event

A Club Worth Remembering

Middlesex Clarion Cycling and Athletics Club was never a household name, but it embodied everything the Clarion movement stood for: ordinary working people cycling together, racing hard, socialising warmly, and building something that lasted. From the Oddfellows Hall in Acton to the track at Herne Hill, from the Bath Road time trials to the National Meet in Buxton, it left a real mark on West London cycling life across three decades.


If you have memories, photographs, or information about Middlesex Clarion, we’d love to hear from you — contact us here.

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