Jump to content

100 Years Of Ssdt?


rockyrider
 Share

Recommended Posts

 

SSDT started in 1909 as a 5 Day event starting from Edinburgh eventually becoming a 6 Day event and moving to the Fort.

100 years would have been 2009, however allowing for the war years the Centenary will be 2011

Big John, HL or Mark will fill you in with greater details on here no doubt :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
SSDT started in 1909 as a 5 Day event starting from Edinburgh eventually becoming a 6 Day event and moving to the Fort.

100 years would have been 2009, however allowing for the war years the Centenary will be 2011

Big John, HL or Mark will fill you in with greater details on here no doubt :rolleyes:

He's a clever boy that Mr Gizza, 09 would have been 100 years 2011 is the centenary

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

in brief

1909 was the first 5 day trial

1910 was the first 6 day trial

the Edinburgh & District motor club was formed in 1911 and took over the running of the SSDT - so the first E&DMC SSDT was 1911

the centenary was decided 50 years ago when the club decided to celebrate the 50th aniversary in 1961 and this was continued at its 75th aniversary.

so 2011 is the official centenary of the event and also the E&DMClub.

hope this helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

This is an issue that always confuses everyone, some of ourselves included!

The first 'SSDT' was in 1909 and was a five-day event run in mid-July by the Edinburgh MCC, a small club that had until 1908 been known as Dunedin MCC. In 1910 the event was stretched to six days and took place in June rather than July - this too was run by the Edinburgh MCC.

During the time that these two events were run, plans were underfoot in Edinburgh to amalgamate local clubs into one large club. By 1911 the Edinburgh MCC, Edinburgh Waverley MCC and Leith MCC (and possibly others) had been disbanded and a new Edinburgh & District MC was formed from the members of all the local clubs. The 1911 SSDT was handled by the new club and was the first Edinburgh & District MC SSDT.

There has been much debate about what should really be the centenary of the trial - many think that although 1909 was only a five day event, it was the origin of the trial and therefore 2009 should have been celebrated. Others feel that the 1910 event was the first six day event and therefore that should be celebrated. However, 1911 was the first Scottish Six Days Trial run by the Edinburgh & District Motor Club and as that was the basis for the 75th anniversary celebrations back in 1986, 2011 is our official centenary.

Hope that makes some sense! I'm sure you'll tell me if it doesn't. :rolleyes:

Edited by Highland Lassie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 
 
This is an issue that always confuses everyone, some of ourselves included!

The first 'SSDT' was in 1909 and was a five-day event run in mid-July by the Edinburgh MCC, a small club that had until 1908 been known as Dunedin MCC. In 1910 the event was stretched to six days and took place in June rather than July - this too was run by the Edinburgh MCC.

During the time that these two events were run, plans were underfoot in Edinburgh to amalgamate local clubs into one large club. By 1911 the Edinburgh MCC, Edinburgh Waverley MCC and Leith MCC (and possibly others) had been disbanded and a new Edinburgh & District MC was formed from the members of all the local clubs. The 1911 SSDT was handled by the new club and was the first Edinburgh & District MC SSDT.

There has been much debate about what should really be the centenary of the trial - many think that although 1909 was only a five day event, it was the origin of the trial and therefore 2009 should have been celebrated. Others feel that the 1910 event was the first six day event and therefore that should be celebrated. However, 1911 was the first Scottish Six Days Trial run by the Edinburgh & District Motor Club and as that was the basis for the 75th anniversary celebrations back in 1986, 2011 is our official centenary.

Hope that makes some sense! I'm sure you'll tell me if it doesn't. B)

Thanks, Highland Lassie. What you offered made lot's of sense, a most comprehensive account of early SSDT, along with others, I come away with imaginary thoughts of what that must have been, and will be like in 2010/11. I had the great pleasure to visit Edinburgh and Inverness in 1995, on a motorcycle tour. One of the most memorable places on earth. How many of us can say they've taken a dip in the Firth of Forth?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
Thanks, Highland Lassie. What you offered made lot's of sense, a most comprehensive account of early SSDT, along with others, I come away with imaginary thoughts of what that must have been, and will be like in 2010/11. I had the great pleasure to visit Edinburgh and Inverness in 1995, on a motorcycle tour. One of the most memorable places on earth. How many of us can say they've taken a dip in the Firth of Forth?

Well there you go! The first day of the 'SSDT' in 1909 ran from Edinburgh to Inverness, 186 miles it was then! I don't think many would have stopped for a dip in the Forth mind you, you're on your own there! It cost 7/6d for a standard entry, and there were twenty six competitors, two of which shared the winners trophy, having covered the entire 760 miles without dropping a mark. Time was described as very tight, and you were only allowed to be a maximum of ten minutes late...and to think folk think it's tough these days!

For 1910 the entry list dropped to 19 riders, the severity of 1909 having scared many off. When EDMC took over in 1911 there were quite a few changes made to the regulations governing the event, such as making some of the worst hills optional, and providing special awards for the best performances on these optional hills. That made the trial more accessible and resulted in the 1911 trial having 75 entrants. It might entertain some to know that the introduction of 'optional hills' resulted in many letters of complaint from people complaining about the trial being changed from a proper trial to a holiday in the Highlands....some things don't change!

There's a huge history associated with the trial, and the stories that can be told are endless...I'm sure you'll hear many more in the Fort if you get the chance to come over.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Couple of new tweets.

That's the ballot done folks - 358 entries this year, which isn't bad going, but means there will be a fair few disappointed folk out there 4 hours ago reply

ssdtoffice Webmaster currently in Alps, but entry list will be posted on www.ssdt.org whenever he gets internet access, and letters out tomorrow. 4 hours ago reply

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
  • Create New...