1970

30th January. Roy Archer made a lengthy set of proposals to update and clarify the club championships and competitions. These were accepted. (He did exactly the same thing once again, in 1996).

2nd March. The club, whose membership had dropped to 43 proposed to advertise in the “County Express” for new recruits.

6th April. The cost of advertising was £2 the committee agreed that this was too expensive.

1st June. The committee ruled that they would not allow 2-up time trials for inexperienced riders on the Clent course.

20th July. The Beacon RC offered for hire a 16mm film of the Tour of Italy. The problem was, could the club afford to pay to hire a projector? We had £43 in the current account and £202 in the building society.

17th August. The projector hire cost was £3 and this was thought to be too expensive. 9th November. We decided to apply to rejoin the South Staffs CA. A YHA visit was arranged to Clun for the following weekend. The club decided to submit a proposal to the Worcs CA AGM to wind up the affairs of the association – but the delegate was told to do it as tactfully as possible. Details were received of proposed extensions to the clubroom.

7th December. Les Archer proposed to book the main hall at the community centre for one evening per week for a “physical training class”.

1971

4th January. Gordon Gould announced that he would be promoting the Ladies National 25 miles Championship for the Midland District Council of the RTTC in July on the K9 course and hoped the club would support him with officials and marshals etc.

8th February. There was great concern over the poaching of young members by other rival clubs. There had obviously been a change of heart over the hire of the Tour of Italy film but the famous (or infamous) postal strike caused problems. The films were late, the projector broke down and an emergency replacement cost £5. Jo Onslow and Roy Archer were to marshal the SSCA 25.

26th April. There was much discussion about how to attract new members, but no new ideas. The social secretary requested the club buy a new kettle because the community centre one had leaked over his person. The committee stoutly rejected this request. At this point there is a sizeable gap in the records but apparently the Ladies National 50 was held, attracting only a small field because of the unfashionable course. Beryl Burton won the event and title in the (comparatively) slow time of 2-01-58.

17th September. The committee meetings around this period were much concerned with money matters, particularly the cost of the club dinner and whether there should be a subsidy, and there are very detailed projected accounts. It seemed very important not to make any loss. The Talbot was threatening a 10% service charge, which Mr L Archer said should be firmly resisted.

22nd October. The AGM. Graham Huggins was elected as Treasurer, a post that he still holds. (To this date – 1999).

22nd November. Mick Lay claimed a Stourbridge – Ludlow – Stourbridge record of 2-36-28. The club was going to promote another national event in July 1972, this time the National Schoolboys 10.

1972

6th January. The darts match against the Beacon RCC had been lost once more. Club runs had been starting from Hagley Cattle Market (can you remember it?). This was causing problems and confusion and it was decided to revert to the traditional library start.

18th February. A rota of timekeepers was to be arranged for the seasons club events. 20th April. There was more trouble with the club runs. Some were now starting from Brettell Lane instead of the library at Stourbridge. The touring secretary was not amused. The club was trying to organise circuit races in Mary Stevens Park and Wollaston Park, but the council was not being very helpful and neither were the police.

6th July. Final details were arranged for the National Schoolboys 10, with Ombersley Village Hall as the HQ. the timekeepers were to be Gerry Tromans and Cyril Underhill. The course started south of Ombersley and went to the Warndon motorway island and returned to finish almost opposite the start. The event was unique in one respect that a finish board had been made which made it possible to indicate the finishing position of each competitor, the first time this had been done in the Midlands if not the country. The event and title was won by Alaric Gayfer (d. 2004) son of “Cycling” with a 23-02 ride.

7th September. The club had put in a bid to run the Mens National 25 mile championship in 1973 on the K8 course.

19th October. Membership was down to 32. The final arrangements for the dinner had been made. The original band booked wanted £35. This was deemed too expensive and “Smokey Blue” was engaged for £27.

27th November. The darts match with the Beacon RCC had resulted in a victory for Stourbridge.

1973

1st January. There was much discussion about the venue for the next club dinner and many quotations were obtained. It was hoped that Jimmy Saville would be guest of honour or perhaps Johnny Helms the cartoonist.

19th February. The treasurer reported a small loss over the year, due to the purchase of a new electric kettle (I should think so too). The club also had the opportunity to purchase 4000 plastic cups for £10. There was much pondering and the decision was deferred.

26th March. The matter of the plastic cups re-surfaced. They were too expensive. One could buy 2000 for £5 anyway as required. Further investigation was needed. Arrangements for the National 25 Championship were discussed and the threat of road works on the Ombersley by-pass cast a shadow over the preparations. (It is surprising how little people recall of this event. It was won by the famous Alf Engers, Luton CC in a time of 54-58 which remained course record for this course until it was banned because U-turns became impractical).

21st May. An excellent decision by the committee about those plastic cups. A supplier was found at a price of £2 per 2000. An order was placed immediately. (Parkinson’s law are proven).

12th October. The AGM was held. Gordon Gould was elected President. The chairman, Roger Mantom had mixed feelings about how the club was progressing. It was difficult to keep the young members interested because no-one, it seems would take them out on short rides on Sundays.

1974

21st January. The first club 10 of the season was arranged for March 24th on the Torton course. The Manchester Track League asked for a donation to help restore the Fallowfield track. The committee agreed to send £1. There was some discussion about about arranging a coach trip to see the Tour de France.

22nd February. The attempt to disband the Worcester CA had failed. 1st March. The membership stood at 40. There was £415 in the bank account. The price of a ride in the club 10’s was to rise to 10p.

17th June. There was much discussion about an extra evening club event. The course was to be a circuit starting in High Park Avenue and going via the Stewpony, Lea Castle and over Iverley, finishing by Mary Stevens Park.

2nd September. A new club team record for 10 miles was approved. M Lay, P Johnson and R Redrup had recorded 1-10-48. There was a rumour circulating that the Oldbury and District CC wished to amalgamate with us. The committee decided to sit tight and do nothing until an official approach was made. Members were warned about leaving valuables attached to their bicycles outside the clubroom. Mr L Wankowski reported that his cape had been stolen.

17th October. The AGM. The club was 10 years old. There were 64 members including 16 schoolboys. The dinner at the Old White Horse had been excellent. There had been numerous team and individual wins in local races. There was £559 in the bank and the club subscription was now £1.50.

9th December. A new club 25 miles record was approved. Mike Lay recorded 56-06 in an MCCA event on the famous K16 course along the A38 around Burton-on-Trent. Beryl Burton posted a 56-09 in the same event.

1975

6th January. There was talk of a new cupboard to store the club’s possessions at the centre. The usual problem was of course – the cost. Barry Roberts asked to make one. There were new moves to wind up the poor old Worcester Cycling Association. We were applying to the council for a sports grant for “promotional equipment” and we were asking for a closed road circuit for the Dudley May Festival road race, probably in Buffery Park.

17th February. The club dinner had made a profit of £80 and the Worcs CA had finally folded. All assets to be distributed between member clubs.

28th February. The club had received its council grant of £75 and we were going to promote an evening of circuit races in Buffery Park. There was a strange proposal to alter the club colours and jersey design – but no alternative was offered. A working party was elected.

5th May. All preparations were in hand for the May festival races. We had obtained sponsorship from the Wolverhampton and District Breweries and the Staffordshire Building Society. The course would be roped off and swept by the council on the morning of the event.

30th June. The Buffery Park races were a great success and we immediately scheduled for the following year. P Johnson narrowly failed to beat the Stourbridge – Ludlow and back record. The evening 10s were attracting a regular 35 riders and we had £580 in the bank.

18th August. It was agreed to purchase a new first aid kit because there had been a big pile-up in the two-day road race.

17th October. A proposal to change club colours was soundly rejected, but it was agreed to issue medals for club standard rides.

17th November. We had a membership of 65 and had enjoyed a very successful year. A sub-committee of J Pawson, M Lay and R Archer was set up to propose the new club standard times. The Bishops Castle weekend was apparently a very enjoyable affair.

1976

12th January. The committee approved the medal standards proposals. The open 25 was to have a prize list of at least £50 “to attract a good standard of entry”. Gordon Gould was to measure the club’s 10 course to make it a full 10 miles(?).

15th March. A new course for the hilly event was discussed, missing out the lights at Lea castle and also Franche Island. The committee proved that they still took a firm line by reporting an MC & AC rider for entering a Coventry event as a Stourbridge rider. Firing squad stuff. A contest was to be held at Leasowes Sports Centre to find our own superstar to take part in the borough competition.

15th October. A short and peaceful AGM. We had 54 members and £650 in the bank dinner tickets were to cost £3.

1st November. John Halford offered to organise a rota to run the evening 10’s. the clubs championship 25 was to run as an inter-club event with the Bromsgrove Olympique in July with the Beacon Roads and the Wyre Forest. Mick Lay was to search for a suitable trophy from among the club relics. (This is what it says in the minutes).

20th December. No suitable trophy could be found. We offered to enter a team for the Dudley Jubilee celebrations “It’s a Knockout”.

1977

7th February. Brian Charlewood put in a claim for the club cyclo-cross championship. This was accepted by the committee, the trophy to be presented at the dinner.

1st April. M Lay pointed out that there was no such thing as a cyclo-cross championship in the club rules. The committee pondered; Bruce Mantom was delegated to break the “good” news to Brian. The club team for the knockout games was to be J Pawson, P Johnson and S Thompson.

13th June. It was generously agreed that certain prize monies won by club members at the Superstars competition could be kept by the individuals concerned. It was further agreed to buy a new club watch for £52.

25th July. There had been months of negotiation about the rules governing the inter-club 25. It was obviously very difficult to pin down the wily and devious Bromsgrove crowd, but our tenacious team persevered and this was the compromise solution: “Teams to consist of the number of riders from the team with the lesser entries, minus 2” the Peace of Utrecht was simpler than this!

28th October. The AGM. We now had 68 members. The racing secretary Mick Lay gave a very enthusiastic report it was hoped to run a circuit race in the middle of Stourbridge and to make the 2-day event a “major Midland event”. Entry fees for the club 10 were raised to 15p. it was agreed to institute a club cyclo-cross championship. The motion was seconded by B Charlewood. Graham Huggins proposed that club subscriptions should not be based on sex. Whatever happened to this idea?

14th November. Revised rules for the inter-club 25. “The winning team to be the aggregate of the fastest 7 members on handicap time. If below 7 riders, the other team to win on default. Lawyers gathered from miles around.

12th December. Norman Fenn reported with delight that arrangements to close the roads for the “Stourbridge town centre criteria” were progressing towards a satisfactory conclusion.” Smiles all round.

1978

16th January. Mr Fenn reported that the Chief Constable had completely rejected all plans to close roads in Stourbridge Town Centre. We were to consider Buffery Park and Pensnett Trading Estate. A Mr H Scott from the Southgate CC had written requesting a club badge for his collection. Our committee, reeling from the news agreed to send him one FREE OF CHARGE!

20th February. Barry Roberts reported on the success of the dinner at the Old White Horse, Stourbridge. The change from a disco to a band was much appreciated. Bryan Hedges was leading some excellent Sunday club runs with good attendance.

3rd April. 47 members, £624 in the bank and 17 entries for the hilly.

22nd May. The 2-day had been won by Ken Platts. There was a vote of thanks to the ladies who ran the canteen. This canteen was to become almost a legend in cycling circles for the quality and variety of food available and remains so today. There was much discussion about the famous Mr WAG Onslow, club character and sage who had been racing for 50 years. What should we do to celebrate this achievement?

31st July. It was revealed that WAG actually began racing in 1930 so a special 25 would be dedicated to him in 1980.

4th August. A club social was to be organised by Roger Mantom, Graham Fardon and Ken Watson on Friday 29th December. This is a cue for a report on the famous Stourbridge pantomimes.

2nd October. Graham Fardon had obtained a supply of club tee-shirts which were very cheap and of indestructible quality. Barry Roberts had booked a band for the dinner costing £50. Dinner tickets were to be priced at £3.80. Younger members were apparently “abusing the wheelchairs at the rear of the centre”.

27th October. The AGM. Bryan Hedges was elected Clubman of the Year in recognition of his help to younger members. (Was he organising wheelchair races?) here is an abridged version of the racing secretary’s report:

“The year has been reasonably successful in both club and open events, both promotionally and results-wise. First club event was the hilly 26 which had a fair entry of 17. Mick Lay won from Tony Baker who also won the handicap. The 2-day road race and supporting event, organised by Graham Huggins, both ran well without any hitches. The club championship was run with Bromsgrove Inter-club which we won convincingly. Mick Lay won the championship from Fred Folkes and Les Archer with Nick Archer walking away with the handicap. The following week we ran the Warwickshire RC inter-club which we unfortunately lost. The open 25 in August received an excellent entry of 116, one of our best ever, but yet again, we were plagued by rain. The event was won by an “outsider” following punctures to most of the short markers. The 10’s were again a success with an average of 30+ per night. Nick Archer went one better than last year by winning the points competition following some excellent rides early in the year. I would like to thank all those who helped during the year, especially Roy Archer, John Halford and the 10 miles timekeeper’s panel. Finally, would anyone holding a trophy or having a record or standard claim please see me as soon as possible.”

1979

23rd April. It was decided to incorporate a tricycle event in our open 25, to be called the “WAG Onslow Trike Time Trial” to celebrate his 50 years of time trialling.

18th June. The treasurer reported a balance of £818. We were growing rich.

30th July. After months of discussion about who was to pay for make up a new door into the clubroom, we resolved to offer the association £200 to get the job done.

10th September. Bruce Mantom claimed a new club record for Stourbridge to Kington and back in 4-32-37.

17th December. Graham Fardon proposed a revised arrangement for the club dinner. No long tables, food to be served to smaller groups and the prize presentation to take place in the dance interval. This was agreed upon by the committee.

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