My late father Eric won an ISDT Gold Medal in 1951 (and a Silver in'52) & was a one-time Cheshire Centre Trials Champion.

I will be posting to see if anybody has any photos or stories of my Dad.

Kind Regards

Dave Wilson

Yes, I can relate a tale. When I was with Trials and Motocross News, I went to the last ISDE held in Britain, based at Builth Wells. For my accommodation that week I rented a caravan near Crossgates. I enjoyed a passing acquaintance with Eric, then the Rock Oil rep who were good enough to sponsor me with lubricants during my sidecar championship chasing years, and also Jack Mathews, who taught me how to ride a sidecar in trials.

 

Eric and Jack were great pals, and for some reason, known probably only to them, they decided to spend a very long afternoon and evening, before the ISDE started, chatting about old times whilst enjoying regular brews in the caravan I had rented. There was obviously a significant age difference and to be honest, I was totally lost during most of the conversation, but after several hours, they upped and left with a "thanks for the brew Rappers" leaving me bewildered as to why two "old" gents should have chosen to spend  a significant amount of time in a chiilly caravan prior to the Six Days with me, barely half their age and with absolutely no connection to the times they were chatting about.

 

But it has left me with an abiding memory of two grand characters, now much missed by the off road scene.