Rachael Clegg’s family album.
Just bbeforef Father’sh Day, Noell Clegg’sl collectionlli off motorcyclel photographs, which were taken at his father Tom’s side as a young boy at race meetings of the 1950s and 1960s, were examined by his daughter, Rachael.
It’s one thing to understand the past through its contemporaries, its commentators and even its heroes, it’s quite another to observe a period through the eyes of a 12 year old boy. And thanks toCovid-19 and its infinite restrictions, my attention was turned to a special photographic collection – and one that was very close to home: that of my father, Noel Clegg. As a boy, dad would travel to various racing circuits and trials events with his father, Tom, a motorcycle hobbyist and some-time Clubman’s TT competitor. Whenever Tom could escape from running the family haulage firm, Clegg Transport, he’d be off to inhale Castrol R and shatter his eardrums. And all with his son, Noel, at his side. Granddad was the sort of manwho was always prepared, with ready-made tarpaulin shelters, an infinite supply of butties and enormous flasks of tea at hand. While dad – a budding photographer at 12 years old – was seldom without a Kodak Brownie, borrowed fromthe neighbours on Phyllis Street, Rochdale. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Beforewemove on, let’s start at the start, with my granddad Tomriding an ex Roland Pike Rudge at Rhyydymohen in Wales, around 1936. “That’s my dad there, I’mnot entirely certain of the exact date but it will be around 1936, before I was born. He loved the Rudge but later switched to a BSA Gold Star, which he raced at the Clubman’s TT in 1950. Dad had stopped racing by the time I was a toddler (dad was born in 1949) but was alwaysmassively keen on going to motorbike races and trials events.”
It was onlyamatter of time after dad was born that he’d be introduced to this two-wheeled parallel universe. “My first race was 1957 at the TT, when I saw Bob Mac break the 100mph record. I can just about remember standing at Windy Corner freezing to death,” said dad. “BobMac was the best rider in the world at that time as far as we were concerned. He never won a world title but in his day he could beat anyone. But that lapwas possibly as big, or even bigger, thanwinning a world championship.
“I can also remember being at Oulton Park in 1959 at the start of the 500cc race when all the machines were silent before they were push-started into life.”
But it was later on that dad’s interest in motorcycles really started to deepen.
“I remember going toOulton Park, around 1960, and being with dad around the paddock. He was friends with lots of the top riders then, such as Ralph Rensen, Dave Chadwick – who went on to become an MV factory rider – and Harold Scholes, a sidecar racer who was also fromRochdale, and his passenger Ray Lindsey. Dad also knew Bill Webster, who was anMV importer for England back then. All this made me feel really special that I had this dad who seemed to know all the famous people. He wasmy hero.”
By 1961 granddad and dad had become something of a dynamic spectating duo and were travelling tomore and more events, often with dad’s best friend Michael Greenwood (they are still friends today) and, of course, the Kodak Brownie.
Fantastic to watch
One of the earliest events dad captured on camera was the 1961 TT. “I can remember the TT because dad used to get us up at the crack of dawn towatch all the early morning practice sessions. I can recall being in awe at watching Mike Hailwood (pic 1), Jim Redman (pic 2) and TomPhillis at the time – they actually frightenedme with the speeds at which they went by. They were fantastic to watch. The bikes used to buck and weave over the bumps, which were all over the TT course back then. It was nowhere near as smooth as it is now.”
Dadwas especially prolific with his camera at the 1961 TT. Photographs include the travellingmarshal’s Bonneville,
Ralph Rensen (pic 3) on a 500cc Norton at Braddan Bridge and sidecar driverMax Deuble and passenger Emil Hoerner at Doran’s Bend, a place that had a certain significance for the Cleggs. “Doran’s Bend was named after Bill Doran, who broke his leg at this spot. Bill was fromRawtenstall, not far from Rochdale, and ranmy dad’s motorbike shop, which dad bought off Ben Drinkwater’s family after Ben was killed. Doranwas the shop manager but left after he wasmade a factory AJS rider.”
Other photographs include Gary Hocking’sMVAgusta and Walter Schneider’s BMWsidecar outfit (pic 4).
“The range of machines at that TT was unbelievable,” said dad. “It was also the year when Masuda (pic 5) entered with a 125cc factory Suzuki.
“And there’s Bob Mac again,” said dad, as he turns a page in the album, “that was taken during practice for the 250cc race and he was leading the race until the last lap. He set the record that race at 99.97mph from a standing start!” (pic 6).
Of course, 1961 was Hailwood’s TT.
“It was also the year that Hailwood scored his first hat trick,” said dad. “He had so
much charisma and it was exciting just to be near them as a young lad. I used to go to the promenade in Douglas just to spot Hailwood driving down in his IsoGrifo, or spot Tarquinio Provini in his Mercedes sports car. I can also remember Hailwood’s father, Stan, because he had one shoe built up as one leg was shorter than the other. That’s the sort of thing you notice as a child.
“I can remember the excitement being palpable and I decided then that I wanted a piece of it so it was at that TT that I decided I’d have a go at racing.” Granted, he’d have to grow a bit first – at this stage dad was only 12! And besides, he had more photographs to take….
Among these photographs, chillingly, is one of BobMcIntyre just before his lifeending crash at Oulton Park in 1962.
“I can’t remember anything about the crash at the time. There was no shock as far as I can recall, mainly because in those days accidents such as those like that of Bob Mac’s weren’t really mentioned. It was only later when there would be any information released so themajority of the crowdwould have been unaware. But there had been a very heavy rain shower at that time and it was believed that BobMac aquaplaned as he hit a puddle.”
The young Noel may have lost one of his racing heroes but this didn’t put him off.
“I can remember the smell of Castrol R, the sound of Manx Nortons, G50 Matchlesses, AJS 7Rs and little single-cylinder 125s and 250s. It was all so exciting.”
All this proved irresistible for the young Noel, who nowpursued his racing career with relentless gusto. “Mumand dad didn’t want me to go racing, though I think deep down dad thought it was okay. He kept quiet though because mumwas so against it.”
Another adventure
Eventually, Tomsuccumbed – at least provisionally – and bought dad a road bike. This was the end of dad’s photography career but it was also the beginning of another adventure. “Dad bought me a
YDS3 Yamaha road bike, which Michael [Greenwood] and I intended to ride to the 1965 Manx Grand Prix on. Trouble was, I crashed it in Rochdale in the week prior to us setting off so I had to quickly repair it. I had the brakes relined at Ferodo inChapelen-le-Frith and got it back toworking order.
But then, on the same road – just after I’d fixed it up – a drunk Justice of the Peace hit me, the newly-lined brakes locked and I was sent down the road, face-down.
“TheManx was inamere few days and the bike was a goner so we had to rebuild a written-off Riley, which had been donated to us. Finally we set off to the ferry but while driving down the East Lancs Road the bonnet blew up: we drove the rest of the journey peeping through this tiny gap at the bottom of the bonnet.”
None of this put dad off. Him and his pal still went on their holidays to the Manx GP. “After the Manx I foundaman who said he’d sponsor me to start racing but dad thought it would be safer if he sponsoredme, so he did.” Dad bought a written-off Ariel Leader which he had rebuilt and resprayed. “I then swapped that for a Greeves Silverstone and that wasmy first racingmachine.”
He raced the Greeves at his debut meeting at Cadwell Park in 1966. “All I can remember thinking at that time was ‘how the hell do I start the bike’, which I failed miserably at!
“Those were the days of the 250cc production racers beingmade by small
Britishmanufacturers. The engine in the Greeves was a Villiers two-stroke. These were okay for going to work on but not for racing. Also, I had no idea how to prepare or repair it.”
Dad rode the Greeves ( pic 7) for half a season in 1967. “My only claim to fame was racing against Barry Sheene on a race at NewBrighton Prom. Barry won on a factory Bultaco.”
Later that year dad ditched the Greeves and bought a Yamaha TD1B off Peter Padgett in Batley. “The TD1Bwas just fantastic compared to the Greeves and
I did quite well on it at DarleyMoor and okay at Cadwell and Oulton.”
In 1968, dad entered the Manx GP though it was a close-call that required the intervention of fellow racer JohnHartle, as the local newspaper, the Rochdale Observer, reported:
‘A fewweeks before 19-year old Noel was due to go to the Isle of Man a front fork on hismachine was damaged. “We tried every distributor and agent in the country but we couldn’t get that part,” said his father Tom, a former racer himself.
‘Eventually rider John Hartle of Molton, whowas killed in a race on Saturday, gave Noel the address ofamanufacturer in Milan.’
The report continues:
‘Noel, who does not speak any Italian, and the Italian, who does not speak English, in the end agreed to have the necessary part made.
‘Only days before the start of the Grand Prix the part had not been arrived. Noel left with hismachine but his father waited at Manchester and received the vital fork by air via Zurich. Then he flew onto the Isle of Man.’
Dad finished 12th in his debut MGP, fourth the following year and fourth in 1970. He went on to open his own motorcycle dealership and compete at race meetings across the UK, Europe and in the TT for the following 30 years, with his best results being fourth and fifth in 1994 and 1995.
But all this was kick-started back in 1957, by a trip to the TT with his dad and – soon after – a Kodak Brownie camera. And through these grainy, amateur pictures we canwitness the unfolding of a young boy’s lifelong fascination with motorcycles, racing and the smell of Castrol R.