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Earlier Ssdt.


laird387
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Hi,

It is May 1939, in just four months time we would be at war, indeed Adolf Hitler was already well into his attempt to subjugate the rest of Europe, and there were quiet preparations being made on this side of the Channel.

Preparations like Fred Rist, entered in the Scottish by BSA, was mounted on the WD M20 motorcycle as an 'aide memoire', perhaps, to the purchasing committee?

And look at the crowds of spectators at Kinlochrannoch - can you spot many ladies - bear in mind you had to cross Rannoch Moor and all its boggy patches to get there!

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-40504000-1396079968_thumb.jpg

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Hi,

It is 1923, riders in the Scottish have left the hotel where they stayed overnight in Dingwall and travelled across the width of Scotland from east to west on rigid machines and poorly surfaced, occasionally gravelled roads. They have climbed 'Bealach-na-baa' the highest pass in the British Isles from Tornapress and descended to the village of Applecross where they took a refreshment break in the Temperance Hotel (now the Applecross Inn).

Next they will cross 'the Pass of Cattle' again and return to Dingwall via a different route.

I can highly recommend a lunch break in the Inn, where motorcyclists are still welcomed, and you can see additional historic photographs of the trial on the walls. You can also look along the street and compare it with this photograph and see that in the ninety one years very little has changed - most of the houses now have electricity and indoor facilities.

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-45094500-1396630936_thumb.jpg

Edited by laird387
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Hi,

Another shot from the 1957 Scottish shows Norman Storer on his works Greeves.

As ever the Scottish offers plenty of opportunities of scenic backdrops as in this case from high up on Loch Eild Path, with Kinlochleven village below. The pointed peak in the distance is the Pap of Glencoe and on the left-hand lochside almost directly above the riders head is Caolasnacoan, the section still used in the Pre-65 event.

The hillside on the right-hand side of Loch Leven is Caillich where, in later years a track up the hillside was used as an observed section.

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-11682700-1396680873_thumb.jpg

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Hi,

The 1957 Scottish again, Davie Hogg (Edinburgh) on Grey Mare's Ridge, observed by Bobby Combe. On the left of Bobby in the picture is Stan Ferguson, Assistant Clerk of the Course, and on the right, George Baird, Clerk of the Course.

To the right of Davie's front wheel is the rock on which, four years later, Gordon Jackson was to make his only dab of the trial. The rock is no longer there - apparently it is in retirement featuring in a garden rockery in Surrey.

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-31385800-1396686660_thumb.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi,

It's getting close to THAT time again, sadly old age (and poverty) means that I no longer dare risk life and limb on a bike - but that doesn't mean I'm happy to miss it...........

But I hope to meet and greet a lot of old friends - and have my quiet moments remembering those that are no longer there.

Here is an image of one of my greatest friends - we spent hours swopping stories about not only the event, but also a myriad of detail about the background, how the observing teams were organised, where they all stayed, how the access to various parts of the ever changing course was gained - who you must talk to to make sure you would be welcome back next time..............

Ed Stott really wanted to write a book about it all - but sadly he took ill and died before he could see it. But I was astonished when I was contacted and told he had bequeathed his entire collection of photographs, slides, notes, programmes and bound copies of all the press reports to my care, so I set to and produced the book I know he would have written.

I called it Lochaber Rich Mixture and when I published it every copy sold out in weeks. You still see occasional copies on eBay at exhorbitant prices - but that's always the way.

Now I have decided it's time to rethink that venture and make it more generally available - so watch this space and 'bear with' as Miranda would say - a revised electronic version, albeit in a different format and including many images not used in the original hard copy version could well be just around the corner............

Meanwhile here is an image of Ed Stott himself, in the late 1950's, complete with his Observer armband.

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-11196300-1398580620_thumb.jpg

Edited by laird387
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Hi,

It is a sad time for me this year, it is Wednesday and many old friends are already in Kinlochleven for the Pre-65 and the Scottish but circumstances mean that I just cannot get there this time, so I have to rely on memories.

But I'm working through my archive of Scottish images never seen before and adding many to the revision of the book 'Lochaber Rich Mixture' that I published in May 2000. The revision should be available shortly, in the meantime here is one of the images from the archive, showing the works Matchless rider, Ted Usher, tackling Weem in 1953.

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-24152500-1398847487_thumb.jpg

Edited by laird387
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi,

Sixty years back it was a wet start to the Scottish, the riders faced a long, wet ride from Edinburgh to Fort William in 1954. This is the scene at the SMT garage and in the foreground is Scotsman Ron Thompson (148) with his Matchless (Any relation, Ross?).

Four months earlier I had made my first visit to Scotland, riding my 1937 AJS 347cc rigid to which I had fitted some ex-WD Matchless teleforks. I had it in trials format and in February decided to try my hand on the highest mountain pass in Britain, Tornapress Hill (Bealach-na-baa). With no lights and camping by the roadside - I was a keen Scout in those days - it took three days to get to the hill, down the other side to Applecross for a sandwich, then turn round and three days home - it wasn't the distance that took the time, but waiting for the ferries on winter schedule........

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-49252400-1399962446_thumb.jpg

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Hi Deryk, no Ron is not related, as far as I'm aware (we have no "p") I think he was originally from St Andrews, but lived most of his life in fort bill.

Great picture, must have been quite an "adventure" in those days.

Edited by b40rt
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  • 2 months later...

Hi,

For anyone interested in the development of the SSDT over the years, here is a sketch map of the routes used in the 1909 and 1910 events, with the overnight stops listed, because in its initial format it really was a comprehensive tour of most of the really challenging hills in Scotland.

Bearing in mind, of course, that hardly any of the roads were asphalted as we know them, but mostly tracks often reinforced with a hardcore base. The machines used very narrow tyres, similar to today's bicycle tyres so grip was at a minimum - and, of course, all the machines were actual normal road models, usually carrying extra loads of overnight clothes as well as spares for the machines.........

Similar sketch maps showing the way the routes changed over the years and what the effect of introducing the specialised trials machines had on the routes chosen are included in the serialised story of the SSDT being told in our digital magazine, ORRe, available exclusively from this website - and with many details and images never published before.

Enjoy.

post-19290-0-56733500-1407663432_thumb.jpg

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fuelled by insomnia and a desire to see pics of light cars that featured in the ssdt in the early 1920's i have eventually arrived here

http://www.austinharris.co.uk/photo/1923-scottish-6-day-trial/1010

almost 150 pictures of cars and a few bikes on the trial in 1923-1928.. look out for the lunch halts etc which show the mix of bikes sidecars and cars.. fantastic

by one of those co incidences that life throws up.. here on ebay ( no relation no connection etc etc)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1927-Solid-Silver-Trophy-SSDT-Scottish-Six-Days-Trial-Edinburgh-D-Motor-Club-/171403612232?pt=UK_Antiques_Silverware_RL&hash=item27e8739048

an award from the 1927 ssdt.... solid silver Porringer trophy awarded to FLD Salter.. as there were no overall winners pre the 1930s anyone any idea for what or whom FLD Salter recievd this award?

Edited by totalshell
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fuelled by insomnia and a desire to see pics of light cars that featured in the ssdt in the early 1920's i have eventually arrived here

http://www.austinharris.co.uk/photo/1923-scottish-6-day-trial/1010

almost 150 pictures of cars and a few bikes on the trial in 1923-1928.. look out for the lunch halts etc which show the mix of bikes sidecars and cars.. fantastic

by one of those co incidences that life throws up.. here on ebay ( no relation no connection etc etc)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1927-Solid-Silver-Trophy-SSDT-Scottish-Six-Days-Trial-Edinburgh-D-Motor-Club-/171403612232?pt=UK_Antiques_Silverware_RL&hash=item27e8739048

an award from the 1927 ssdt.... solid silver Porringer trophy awarded to FLD Salter.. as there were no overall winners pre the 1930s anyone any idea for what or whom FLD Salter recievd this award?

Hi totalshell,

What a fascinating picture taken at Altnaharrie Inn, which is on the southern shore of Loch Broom, opposite Ullapool. It is accessible by vehicle and the track is most likely very similar to the state faced by those competitors in places! Examining the route map for the 1923 event I find that the competitors descended into Altnaharrie for a lunch break, then climbed back out again to continue to Gairloch.

In 1923 there were 131 entries to the trial including just one lady driver, Miss Marjorie Cottle, whose photograph in another event is scheduled for an issue of 'ORRe'. There were other ladies in the event, but listed as passengers in the light cars, sidecars or on the pillion. The reputation of the 1923 event is 'severe', mainly because of the snow that fell on the competitors during the week. One of the 1923 innovations was the introduction of 'new' hills to the route, one of which, Mamore, remains to this day.

I don't know whether the Inn still operates, a few years back it had an excellent reputation for evening meals and the more usual transport was to hire a boat in Ullapool to ferry you across for the evening.

F L D Salter rode a 490 Norton solo in the 1927 event, and was awarded a silver cup for safely climbing all the observed hills in the week. Sadly I can find no 'official' definition of the reasoning between the apportionment of awards, but the usual understanding is that to win a gold award you needed to climb all the hills and keep within the official average speed allowance all week. Silver awards were given to riders who had climbed all the hills. Certificates were then awarded to every other finisher. Marks for observation were not introduced until the 1930s when they included penalties for such things as 'n.n.s', which translates as 'Not normally seated'........

Enjoy

Deryk Wylde

Edited by laird387
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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi,

I have included a very small selection of the images from my archives in these postings, some of the were used in my book 'Lochaber Rich Mixture' (incidentally when I was approached by the Edinburgh club to write a book for them, telling the story of the first hundred years of the SSDT, they asked; "Did I know the green book - we would like our book to be like that." - the green book is Lochaber Rich Mixture!)

The whole book, with all of its images, plus many more I didn't use in the original printed version, is being serialised in ORRe the digital magazine available exclusively from 'tc' - so if you want to see ALL the images - take out a subscription..........

I am including another image with this posting, depicting a well-known Scots rider, seen on a famous old section which is still used in the Pre-65 Scottish. There is a regular feature in ORRe entitled 'When was that SSDT section first used?' and this is one of the images from that feature.

Finally, with the valued help of one of my Scottish friends, there is another feature in ORRe, telling the story of the Lochaber stalwart who not only 'found' many of the famous sections - but then did all the essential work of getting permission to use them, arranging suitable routes linking them and, in many cases, arranging separate permissions to use land for parking spectators vehicles convenience.

If you are enthusiastic about the SSDT - there's much to learn and enjoy in the new magazine - which, by the way, does not have watermarks on the images.

post-19290-0-96816400-1410419987_thumb.jpg

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