Fairfield affront

Firstly let me congratulate you and your team on a great magazine. Now let me take you to Task on the Len Atlee article page 30 OBA 45. I note no preface as to the author was printed but my gripe is that Len was an avid Fairfield Motor Cycle Club Member as was Jim Airey, Bill Dillow, Gordon Gausco (sic) and John Dodds. Yet not one mention of Fairfield Motor Cycle Club was mentioned in the otherwise great article. You would know just looking at the photo on page 32 that Len Atlee and Gordon “Horse” Gausco (sic) were wearing Fairfield colours at the Short Cicuit Meeting. I joined Fairfield club in 1959 with my elder Brother Jim. I was just 15 and raced a few short circuits underage without a licence on a Mac Velocette. Being a Bank Johnny a couple of years later, I was elected to several positions in the Club over the next 6 years; Treasurer, Secretary, ACU Club Representative etc.

Fairfield Club nurtured many top riders and whilst not all made the world stage or even ‘A’ grade a hell of a lot of us made ‘B’ grade and raced Scrambles, Short Circuit and Road Racing , including winning the Bob Brown Memorial Trophy at Bathurst three times. A lot of us lost our youth and innocence to Shell ‘A’ and Castrol ‘R’ oil. Working on bikes or driving on Friday nights to make a Race meeting the next day anywhere in the State, Canberra , Goulburn, West Wyalong, Hedden Greta , Taree, Dubbo ,not to forget the local tracks and then the Tar Tracks Winton, Hume Weir Benalla, Bathurst etc. Please don’t let the memory of a Terrific Club with Terrific Blokes fade away. Len Atlee is a top bloke too and well deserved of the article.

John Francis Kingscliff, NSW