To respond to both of the above two inputs. I remember Johnny Berry frames very well. They were particularly well made with beautifully filed down intricate lugs - essentially works of art, good shape and handling. Most of the top riders from the Manchester Wheelers rode them. As a young person at that time - I was only 20 when I took over a shop owned by Aussie Hurlen - I was influenced by Italian frames, purely because of Fausto Coppi etc. They had simple, smooth sweeping lugs and I had little time for fancy work. Efficient shape, performance and handling were all that mattered and after I had moved on from the Nervex fancy lugs I never went back to them; for that matter most builders did the same.
At that time many frames were hopelessly inefficient, wrong shape for handling on both the road and track; fork rakes that didn't match the head angle for "trail". It was common to have to prise open the front forks to get a wheel in and the older drop-outs wouldn't take Campag hub spindles so had to be filed out and then they were too thin for quick release !!! It took many years for some builders to learn - some never did. Nowadays you can go into any store and buy a bike off the shelf and it will be the right shape for handling and this applies to bikes of all price ranges. That's the way it should be - it's just as easy to build something of the right shape as the wrong shape.
As for finding a Fothergill - try
eBay or
www.merseysidebicycles/blogspot.co.uk
Sorry, no book coming out. Writing the odd article for a magazine or whatever is one thing but to undertake all the research to fill a book is quite another. Few things though:-
Eddie Soens was born August 27th 1912 (would have been 100 a couple of month's back) in Liverpool. His father my Grandad, had the first (or second) racing bike shop in the city before 1900 - it was always debated whether R.J.Wilson was first. He left school at 13 and went as an apprentice French Polisher. In the mid/late 1930s he broke the British 50 mile tandem paced track record - peculiar event that no longer exists. Married Mima Osborne and I came along a year later. Was called up for WWII and served in India/Burma against the Japanese, achieving the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major. Demobbed 1946 he went straight back to cycling and french polishing !
Whilst he raced a little again he generated towards coaching his club-mates. How and why he had this in-built ability and knowledge I have no idea since he had only the most rudimentary education but he had the ability to motivate people beyond their own beliefs. His first success was a man named George Booth who quickly became a local top man but this was cut short when he was killed in a car crash - tragically ironic for one who had seen WWII military action.
Others came along for help - he never approached anyone. They all came to him without exception and the most famous at that time was Norman Sheil, a teenager with a prodigious talent.
Bear in mind that there was no support from any organisation and a huge number of barriers thrown up from the blazer brigade. It is impossible for people now to grasp the attitudes of some officialese of that time. Sheil had equalled or beaten the British 4,000 metre record at Fallowfield but when he tried to get a ride at Herne Hill was told by the relevant personnel that "we don't take any notice of times from the North "!!! Much arguing got the ride and Sheil went on to win the National Championship beating Peter Brotherton. He then went on to win the Commonwealth Games and then the World Championship individual pursuit in 1955 and again in 1958.
This was the beginning and the list of riders who came to him is too long for this column. Shortened version would include John Geddes, Beryl Burton, Charly McCoy, Barry Hoban, Harry Middleton,Doug Dailey, Dave Lloyd, Viking team, Gordon Singleton and just before his death in August 1985 Paul McHugh.
In addition, athletes from other sports came through his front door, most notably Geoff Smith who won the Boston Marathon a couple of times.
All of the above was undertaken from his own house with no financial reward until the very end of his life when the BCF began to reimburse people for their time.
He received no official recognition. Had he been doing the same thing now he would doubtless be in the honours' list but his attitude to certain officials was uncompromising, making a small number of adversaries. There was only one opinion and that was his ! Anything else was "wrong". The riders idolised him, a small number of certain influential personnel did not.
Different world now and so it should be. How wonderful it is to see the current successes. At Eddie Soens' funeral some people suggested some form of memorial - it exists in the Aintree race in March. In my speech I held up Gordon Singleton's rainbow jersey and suggested that the greatest tribute to him would be to fill jersies like this with British riders - he would be delighted now. Bill Soens
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