To show how machinery had developed since the first Six Days Trial in 1913, here is the Phelon & Moore of Cleckheaton first P&M (Panther Team)

Pontardulais & Dist. M.C. & L.C.C. the sort of title emanating from the 20's into 30's when this region supplied competitors & marshals to all events.  This was located by Top Trials man plus racer, rallyist & Owner of Pontarddulais Tyre Centre where every day bikers assemble!. With thanks to Trevor Richards!, (Disputes over the true spelling of 'Bont will continue long after I shall be pushing up daisies.

This had the tightest finish of all ISDT Events, just 10 Seconds in Speed Test Riding brought Honour to Britain after Britain & Germany who had no penalty points at all & contested times on a wetcircuit at  Donnington on tha 6th Speed Trial Day.

Llandrindod Wells, Vic Brittain's 348 Norton at rear of Ireland's B Stronge & his 250 Matchless, ahead of them is Frank Whittle & his 600 Pather Sidecar outfit.

1937 Course, you will see the pics at Pontargothi further on. this should be turned 90 degrees clockwise to have North at the top.

We shall be adding far more information to this and other pages plus identifying riders. The programme has an upper pic. showing Winners of the Trophy 1936 in Germany. from left G E Rowley, V N Brittain, W S Waycott & sidecar passenger E Belsten.  The lower pic. shows 1936 Winners of the Silver Vase in Germany in 1936. From left first we see Graham Walker, Murray Walker's dad who was team manager ,then riders, R McGregor, J A McL Leslie, & J E Edward. Having lost the Trophy in 1936 actually in Germany an all out effort seemed to be imminent at Llandrindod Wells in 1937 & teams from Branches of Military personnel amounting to 79 riders with a 60 strong back-up team arrived in Britain into Southampton (they wanted a prominent presence on arrival) by sea aboard the Steamship SS Europa, a 4 propshaft Blohm & Voss built sister ship to SS Bremen, almost 50k DWT. SS Europa became a vessel so significant, adorned superbly within, intended to be part Officer Invasion Admin.  a large part of HQ plus transportation to be a main Organizing section of Germany's Operation Sealion Victory fleet planned to conquer & occupy Britain with almost 600 first class accomodation plus almost 500 2nd Class.  It was run by NDL, Nord Germanischer Lloyd & in German Military hands during WW2, briefly Post Axis hostilities used as an American Troop tranport it was sunk in shallow water at New York after being formally given to France & immediately renamed Liberte & a fire plus mechanical damage had followed during a refit, & after striking the sunken French vessel, of all wrecks, SS PARIS !, now SS Liberte the vessel had initially been an immigrant transporter and Post WW2 saw it return to those same duties, being refitted in 1950 then in service until lay up in 1961 & final scrapping in 1962.  Far more than was even guessed in 1937 ostensibly bringing a German Military team with support force to the ISDT, Europa's previous Master, Kapitan Sharfa helped with PostWW2 Refurbishment & extensive Swastika Insignia & Official Embellishment of staterooms & main quarters were more than just prominent, a ship always has stories if you search for them.

Recce parties had preceded this & Practice commenced well prior to other teams, German teams wore incredibly thorough riding leathers, Field-grey of normal army units, Light brown one piece suits of Storm troopers teams plus SS teams had their expected black leathers. Contrary to its normal September time this event had been brought forward to July! & tourist holiday traffic with roaming sheep confrontations predicted! plus competitors 'were wary of each other'.   Stuart Waycott's Velocette outfit motor had been made larger capacity & spark plug had to be reached via a tube through its petrol tank.  Vic Brittain's Norton 350 had an ohc motor, & the trio which was made up again by George Rowley's AJS was the type which post WW2 became the 7R Boy Racer to compete for the Trophy against Stelzer & George Meier on 500 BMW's with Kraus to drive the 600 BMW sidecar outfit, he replaced Henne of 1936 team who had been injured in car events, 213 prepared for the 'off'.. (This vessel pic was sent in, whilst if this is offends copyright anywhere it will be immediately removed) there are a number of pics with which we can replace it.

1937 Program showed the 1936 winners teams

First day only was heavy rain affected & at 6 am machines were collected from parc ferme, Dutch Harley Davidson sidecar entry H M Persoon recorded the first 'bump' striking a wall on a r/hand bend & his passenger suffered a bad cut above his eye, a quick check up & they continued.  Allt y Budy the first tough climb followed by difficult Dol y Wern.  Press became impressed over Klopfer's performance on the 98cc DKW, Harold Tozer overturned his BSA outfit & retired & naturally special attention was paid to ladies efforts, Marjorie Cottle on the 250 BSA plus Frau Thouret on the 245 DKW had made praisworthy climbs. This picture in the Archive at Llandrindod's National Cycle Museum is marked 1938, however the flag mountings were far different & we would appreciate a few more eyes scanning this pic for ID of this chap plus Nationality.

 We may all wonder where & when the Barbour suits emerged?, well in 1937 Submariner Capt. George Phillips took Command of the 'URSULA' & found their wet weather clothing so useful that he and a crewman visited the South Shields Barbour factory & using their own finance arranged for Navy issued apparel to be made into a 2 piece suit with elastication at the waist, after 1937 each British & many other teams wore Barbour suits!! I hope that solves a mystery. The man in the suit is shown. (Our thanks to Barbour Suits for the Disc of their advertising images the allowed us to use)

At the weigh in FO3647 is Gold Medal Winner, Arthur (Archie?) Colcombe, (the dad of the late Austin Colcombe, an old friend from Builth Wells who was riding plus making superb Grass Track Machines at his motorcycle Shop in Builth a 250 BSA version of which he allowed me to ride at Llanbadarn in an early 60's event to compare it with my 500 GP Triumph 500 powered BSA framed scrambler.)  That  New Imperial on the left has P C Sivell & Far right with the Ariel is Gorseinon man & Swansea Clubman E G Bennett a superb ex Sand racer whose pictures you will see in Oxwich & Aberavon Sand Races Section http://www.sandspeedwales.co.uk has the other Ariel. Photo kindly provided provided by Swansea Motor Club Historian Mike Evans. please note:-JohnB now is rebuilding that very same Ariel 350, FO3547 here held by Arthur Colcombe then of Franksbridge, Hundred House Nr. Builth Wells, he had Gold in 1937 ISDT and like perhaps ALL others did not get reported as a finisher in the 1938 ISDT listed to have been curtailed at 3 days mark. The machine was transferred from Radnor to Brecon CC on 30/1/39 and then back to Radnor 8/12/1955, does anyone have anything to help us fill in any happenings to the machine during that period?. Percy Sivell's 250 BSA machine of the 1938 ISDT is now owned by John Harding, the 'Pistons' man who is a store of brilliant data on long past Trials, I should have a pic. shortly. 

Six Bells  tavern in Crickhowell which sold G E Watkins's Home Brewed Ales somehow gets central focus in this pic as George Wolsey takes his 500 Ariel throught the Village what better venue for Lunchtime as a photographer.

"Burton the Bread", delivery lad has his delivery bike leaning against parapet of Crickhowell Bridge as P Oettinger takes his NSU Sidecar outfit over.  (left of the bicycle with a 'Dai Cap' leans the lad himself.)

First Day was the 12th August with a stop for "Replenishment" at Clyro, next Lunch was taken at Crai Village Hall, after this came "Replenishment" once more somewhere between Dinas Rock and Crai, one of these is perhaps the location seen on this picture kindly sent by Reinhard Waschneck whose friend owns the Works entered Velocette 169 ridden here by (Billy) W.T. Tiffen Jnr.  His father W.T. Tiffen Snr. is also in another part of this website in the 1932 part of the 1913 onwards section with a Dolomites Backdrop and another pic appears of Jr. unidentified German rider is to the right with AJS entered G Povey sitting on 168, the AJS Factory entered OHC 350 early 7R machinery.  with Karpol Polish KLG plugs A fabulous photograph of The International Six DaysTrials which took place in Llandrindod Wells in 1937.  The back of the photo states 12/7/37,  taken outside a garage where the advertising is really clear for Firestone Tyres and Karpol Car Polish. PLEASE CAN SOMEONE IDENTIFY THE LOCATION FOR US?, plus the 2 European riders, we would love identified in the pic below, military insgnae visible on them.

Who are these German Military Entered riders?

The Lake at Llandrindod Wells, machine 176 of K M Hurst British Entrant 496 Levis stands there, next to T N Blockley's No 183 350 BSA, that chap broke his leg in the aborted 1939 ISDT event in Austria.   Further left we see 177, the 500 BMW of A Scholte from Germany shielding 186 W N Clarke's 500 Vincent HRD,  193 is parked there too, the Works BMW entry of J Stelzer., 190, another 500 Vincent HRD ridden by W H Cooke.

 Identities & data to follow at the start alongside the boating lake at Llandrindod Wells, 25 is BSA Cycles Ltd entrant M (I believe Marjorie) Cottle on a 250 BSA, 27 alongside is Czechoslovakian private entry R Protiva on a 250 Jawa, both in the 'A' Class of entries. The findings to follow are thanks to Chris Stevens of Surrey & Isle of Man Historian & Author, David Wright.

Blaen Annau signpost pointing to Llangattock  has Irish Vase A entrant A Archer take his 500 Ariel purring on Thursday.

123 is H Fruth on a BMW 500,again of the 'Brownshirts' as German Military NSKK came to be termed, 122 However was Dutchman Moejes on a 500 BMW, a civilian Association for riders in Netherlands, European riders seemed unsure what exactly RAC men were engaged upon. NB  The Storm Troopers term emerged from WW1 & the around 1930's SA which Duly became formed into a Paramilitary Motorized arm of the Nazi Party, NSKK is for Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrerkorps, the required racial doctrine membership was needed along with Aryan qualities.  It did however become a found a Condemned Organization at the Nuremburg Trials.  

31 is Austrian W V Millenkovich in Class A on a 250 Puch, 30 is a German RFSS/SS.-Hauptamt(16) entrant H Steger dressed also in the customary SS riders uniform, riding a 250 DKW in Class A.

36 is private entry A C Kelly on a 600 Norton Sidecar outfit in Class F, 64 is Norton's entry J Williams on a 350 Norton 'outfit,  Tom Norton owned the largest  sales & development premises for Cycles to Aircraft in Llandrindod Wells & it is now the National Cycles Museum & really well worth a visit. 

90 is Versuchs abteilung Wunsdorf's German entrant H Behrens on a 569 Zundapp  in Class F.

S Bell 500 BSA Empire Star 161, Otto Sensburg 490 DKW 163 & Harry Ogden 350 BSA queue politely at Crickhowell Time Checkpoint.

180 is M Greenwood on his 496  New Imperial, 184 is R Seltsam of the NSKK Brownshirts (Storm troopers?) Motor. Divn. Germany.

Syd Moran of Ireland, 45 on his 500 Matchless ahead of Ludwig Patina 500 BMW on Wednesday on Abergwesyn to Tregaron river crossings.   ONE HECKUVA LOAD OF ARTHUR WILLIAMS'S KINDLY RECOVERED IMAGES USED WITH MANY THANKS HERE!

Two German riders with problems at the base of Bwlch y Groes, J Forstner collides with 250 DKW rider T Feischmann.

Tregaron Pass water crossing was thought to be too deep by ACU & a temporary crossing seen here was used & Jimmy Edwards 500 Rudge of the Scottish ACU Team crosses.

Who is this then at Bwlch y Groes.?

Cometh a horrible WW2 & machinery developed in separate ways as we see in 1940

Norton here shown as a Bren Gun Carrier in 1942, is rather cruder, by quality & performance I think I know which machinery is the better built.

154 is Welshman Eddie M Stephens of Carmarthen on a 350 Triumph in Class B, 155 NSKK's German entry A Drax on a 500 BMW in Class C, 156 is Zundapp Ges. m.b.H works entry German rider G Heimbucher on a 493 Zundapp in Class C. First wet day passed without major mishaps & huge force of helpful police directed competitor plus tourists traffic along with carefully advising controlling spectator volumes. Course route markings inevitably came in for complaint too which seems par for the course wherever the ISDT takes place, second day press turned to passing comments on the weather & scenic aspects of the event whilst by the thirds day the people seriously in with a chance had begun to emerge.

77 is British entrant P. Head in B Class on a 350 Royal Enfield, 79 is the famous George Meier from Germany, entered by Versuchs abteilung Wunsdorf in C Class on a 500 BMW.

Superb Picture Section follows kindly contributed from the Richard Clare collection, Grandson of the great Mumbles Photographer M A Clare who used to cycle to his photo shoot locations. several others of Richard's Collection will follow.

197 in the background is entry by Versuchs abteilung Plon, German rider in C Class on a 494 BMW, H Sauermann, 199 is Peter Sivell.

A closer look at what is stated on the building itself, above the lamp & how apt for British & German Army members shortly to go to war once more.

E G Bennett, 'Gordon Bennet' of the Wales team.  The Irish Vase 'B' Team by Thursday had seen Stewart became lost but returned to forfeit points for his mistake & Doc Galloway similarly got lost but returned to course without points loss & Vivtar of the Czech Trophy Team became lost & ran out of petrol before he could return to the route. Dust tiredness & low cloud on areas they travelled on higher mountainous routes Dutchman Eysink on his own 122 Villiers engined Eysink machine had frame breakage to retire.   Tommy Meeten who in 1935-6 took over the initially Len Vale-Onslow designed & produced  172cc SOS retired after a heavy tumble.(Tommy by this stage had taken over all to do with SOS & many thanks to Colin Atkinson of the British Two Stroke Club for sorting this out for me!)  Returning to Llandrindod Wells the BMW of Stelzer had its tyre changed spectacularly & speedily using the detachable rim flanges used by several of the German team.  Irish Vase 'A'team consisting of R C Yeates on a 'pushrod' Norton & H L Archer whom we take to be Les Archer Snr unexpectedly on an Ariel not a Velo! along with C W Duffin on a Matchless had lost no marks entering the lat days & maintained their nothing lost rides to the finish.

'Archie' Colcombe of Builth Wells & Gordon Bennett of Swansea/Gorseinon

Pontargothi then

Pontargothi in April 2004!, not all that much changed.

186 is Briton W Clarke on his 499 Vincent HRD & 187 NSKK entry German W Gabriel on a 493 Zundapp, both in Class C.  That Bill Clarke was actually a Director of Vincent HRD plus a backer moneywise, sadly Bill Clarke as a Squadron Leader went missing in action in WW2 flying a Stirling Bomber, many thanks for that sad piece of info to Dave Martin. 

The rider to left could again be Marjorie Cottle on her works 250 BSA with Czeck Protiva & Jawa in the background.    Clearer pic below sent by Dave Martin.

The sidecar outfit appears to be the Fabrique des Armes Ing. F Janecek entry of a 598 Jawa ridden by Franta Juhan in Class F. Franta was a superb & well respected rider on GP IoM Speedway & Dirt bike Circuits & Competitions prior to establishing his own Jawa CZ & Motor car business in 1938.

In 1948 Franta Juhan & family arrived in Vancouver to start HONDA Centre there & he continued to race & with his family became parts of a successful venture, a picture similar to this appears in Honda History section with "year & location not known" well look again at the number etc, this was him at the 1937 ISDT out of Llandrindod Wells we believe near the Crai Reservoir/village.  Arthur Williams (who knos this area really well) has identified this to be travelling in to Crai from Trecastle, right by the outof view Crai Church, in the top right distance Dixie's Corner building can be spotted with Penyfai Hill in between. Arthur was a Military 'spotter ' in that area!, Big thanks.

107 is E G Rowley, a winner in the 1936 event & entered by AJS factory on a 350 in Class B. Number 14, a significant machine of that SOS marque Len Vale Onslow initially produced, after acquiring control of SOS in 1935/36 that 172cc SOS is ridden by SOS's total OWNER Tommy Meeten, (is that Trevor's dad?). 105 is John Ashworth's 500 BSA in Class C.  106 W James on his 346 New Imperial in Class B.  behind him is KNMV Dutch entry W Zylaard on a 122 Eysink.   

118 is Velocette Ltd works entry W S Waycott another 1936 winner & here on a oversize 595 Velocette sidecar outfit in Class F.

THE OVERSIZE VELO  of W S Waycott, look at the access to Sparking Plug tunnel just ahead of the knee rubber, it could be changed without even moving from the seat.  Thanks to Dave Martin for the pic.

Closer view here of the Sparking plug access tube tunnel by Courtesy of Dennis Quinlan

E. George Rowley, on a 350 Works enterd AJS OHC 7R development machine another Brit 1936 team winner.

10 is KNMV's Dutch entry listed simply as Heusden on a 98cc DKW in Class 4, 9 is Auto Union's German entry W Fahler on a 173 DKW in Class 6. 103 is RFSS/SS, - Hauptumt rider E Hainz, naturally in immaculate black leathers with SS insignia,  on a 494 BMW in Class C. 102 Enfield Cycle Co Ltd works rider J J Booker on a 350 Royal Enfield.

This looks again like a (from left) W James E G Rowley & John Ashworth line up.

68 is entered by NSU-D-Rad Vereinigte Fahrzeugwerke A G & a 348 NSU ridden in Class B by R Knees, 4 is Britain's H R Taylor in Class F on his 498 Ariel 'outfit.

Bayerische Motoren Werke's entrant Kraus on a 596 BMW 'outfit. 

182 Ariel Motors Ltd Factory British entry L Heath on a Ariel 500 in Class C, 184 NSKK's German entry R Seltsam on 498 Zundapp in Class C. 183 is British entry T N Blockley on his 348 BSA in Class B.m   (NSKK was the Motorised Brownshirts' in Germany)

Eysink Makers entered a 3 man team with 125 Villiers power plants 3 speed geared, here is G W Sannes at Bwlch y Groes hairpin.

186 W. Clarke again on his 500 Vincent HRD read about him around another picture of him a few pictures prior to this one.  Sad to learn that men here competing with each other were at war 2 years later.

181 whose rider A Fritsch you will see further back entered by  Versuchs abteilung Wunsdorf  on the 730cc BMW in Class G.   Thanks to Glynneath ISDT Historian & enthusiast Roger Simon we are able to note that this commercial media cum maintenance & caravan & escorts had to be fed each day & at CRAI Village Hall constructed in 1935 was used to feed rest, check in & report to the world on that first day & ISDTevents since!.

Crai Village Hall & Post Office received entrants with an enthralling range of differing languages, machinery, diets & customs, they paused at Crai then and at subsequent pre & post WW2 International Six Days Trials events.   Soup made in a type of boiler with a gas ring beneath it coped with providing a nourishing soup to precede the main course, behind much of this was Mrs Sally Lewis of the shop in Crai. The shop remains much the same to this day in 2004, we sat actually discussing the ISDT events in Welsh in Spring 2006.

The shop at Crai today seems to have hardly changed!.

Crai Telephone Kiosk as soon as it became installed there became proudly maintained by Postmistress Sally Lewis, Windows plus surfaces polished & even with a seat plus carpet inside, it was an example of Village pride & Norman Burns of Cwm Dulais Historical Society could vouch for that pristine condition continuing at least to seen here at the end of June 1980, Norman & his late wife pose at that Cray (Cray) kiosk which impressed so many users. 

This is the 1949 route, each time since 1937 virtually the same course & tracks were used & CRAI there spelt 'CRAY' was the 'replenishment' stop at virtually a 30 miles mark. 

Crickhowell Time check has 161 S Bell with his 500 BSA Empire Star, then 163 Otto Sensburg 500 DKW & Harry Ogden 350 BSA in a patient lineup.

209 NSKK's entry, German rider H Klett on a 730 BMW 'outfit.

Believed to be "Johnny" Laurani the Italian FIM chief can anyone confirm please?

NSKK German entrant H Walter in Class A on a 247 DKW.  Friday again saw no mighty casualties & British along with German Trophy Teams remained unpenalised, plus the British Vase 'A' team Ireland'A', Holland 'B' team and the two German teams, all was to be settled at Donnington Park. 

Competitors left to Donnington Park Circuit where many machines failed on the steady flat circuit, one to blow at the halfway stage was Marjorie Cottle's 250 BSA but she still had a Bronze medal,  Five 'clean' teams fought out the Vase prize throughout the Speed Test, German army A team dropped their BMW's at Coppice but still took the flag after remounting.  A protest from the Dutch team uncovered that lap scorers had missed lap 12 out for Moejes & Holland proudly won the Vase.  Trophy Speed test had the 500 BMW's called on to complete 19 Laps against 18 required of the British 350's. Racer George Meier kept his BMW ahead for most of the duration but George Rowley & Vic Brittain stayed within sight of him to win The Trophy by just 10 seconds. 

The late stage of that huge effort, at Donnington, Coppice Corner sees F Tragner 250 DKW leading Harold Flook 590 OHC Norton, then Jack Williams and Vic Brittain heading for the Maker's Norton Team's award. 

Britain's  Trophy Winning Team after one mighty speed test. from Left:- George Rowley 348 AJS Centre Vic Brittain 348 Norton & Stuart Waycott on that specially enlarged Velocette of 600 cc with Vivian Mundy in the chair.

T C Whitton's son David kindly allowed us to place a pic of his father's 1937 ISDT Medal, the awards he had won were impressive. he became a top rider in Trials Scrambles & Grass Track events. A west countryman, 'Tom Whitton', T.C.Whitton won that Devon award , The Patchquick Trophy when presented for the very first ever time on a 350 Velocette in 1934, & later became an AJS team man, we shall also include the Scottish Six Days award of 1939, this year the Austrian round of the ISDT from Salzburg came to cancellation & British ISDT guests of the German Army were advised by the British Consul to 'leg it home' via Switzerland, Petrol was provided by their hosts to help this, any further info on this wd be appreciated. FIM logo, ACU logo are shown high, plus Welsh Mountains view from the high course corner at Ystradfellte background with the LEEK of WALES shown to the right of the  World Symbol with an English rose to it's left. (Go to Glynneath, turn off there, on the road past the Golf club, take the only back road to Crai & you will come to the corner mentioned and you will see that very on course mountain view which was used) Tom became a Post WW2 motorcycle dealer with premises in Exmouth and Plymouth but like so many had tales to tell:  He joined the Royal Artillery as a gunner and when German Army advance in Europe became 'unstoppable' his second bid for freedom on a motorcycle came when Hazebroek became surrounded & Tom found his way through to Dunkirk Beaches then back to Britain where he was transferred to the Royal Signals Divn. training the 'source of many great post War riders. He was transferred to R.E.M.E. promoted to Captain & made a War Office Inspector of vehicles. (the tale stems from Colin Edge who was also a Competitor in the 1939 ISDT, Colin actually was one of a few and perhaps even the only Competitor that brought his machine back, his straightest route actually cut through Germany itself & where he was able to gain a Gestapo escort from the Frontier to cross an actually at War Germany!, the Colonel Grimm responsible for it could have been script written.) Colin & his wife Peggy were highly popular joint Presidents of Chester Motor Club.

Ladies & Gentlemen took part in this After 1937 ISDT event Banquet, the ISDT Banquet Menu kindly supplied from Thomas C Brierley gives an insight to the stars & talented folk involved. All is kept in these hues & sizes to prevent these items being copied from the web, in fairness to Thomas.  an absolute record of a time pre WW2 when all was well when compared to the mayhem to follow.

Vic Brittain George Rowley & W S Waycott captured the Trophy for England & A P van Hammersveld, G Bakker-Schut & J Moejes took the Silver Vase to the Netherlands

Another Award anyone would be proud of.

Team Jaguar appeared as seen here in the 1937 Wales Rally, ID needed & Location has been confirmed to be Column Road outside University of Wales Cardiff, this is another from the Dave Martin Collection no wonder Jaguars were so much admired.  Please stop by again. Thank you for your interest!