Author: The Author

Lawrie Reilly finishing second to David Glassborow in AAA’s Junior 1500m, 1970

Lawrie Reilly (7 August 54) was a very good athlete indeed, as was his older brother Joe, who is not as well known in Scotland as others of his generation who accomplished less.   Joe (8 July 1945) was ranked nationally on the track every year from 1964 to 1971, and ranked in One, Two, Three and Six Miles as well as in 1500m, 5000m, 10000m and 3000m steeplechase.   Third in the SAAA Six Miles championship in 1965 with a time of 29:09.2 which placed fifth on the year’s statistical rankings, Joe was very unlucky not to gain international recognition.

Lawrie is recalled by former team mates as slim, quiet and a bit reserved but very talented.   His performances would have been good in any era.   The family moved south to Liverpool in 1972 and both men ran for Liverpool Pembroke as well as retaining and using their Victoria Park membership.   Lawrie wn no fewer than six internationl cross country vests for Scotland and still holds three junior club records for the Liverpool Pembroke Club – these are for the 3000m (8:10:57), the 5000m (14:10.2) and the 10000m (30:29.8).    His range of talen was indeed wide – he is ranked at various times for 800m, 1500m, Mile, 3000m, 5000m and 10000m and well after his cross country international days were over, he ran 2:26:29 for the marathon in 1985.   

Joe Reilly in the national cross-country championships at Hamilton in 1967

Lawrie first appeared on the scene in season 1968/69 as a Senior Boy.   In the Midland District cross-country championships at  Bellahouston  in January 1969 he finished fifth individual in a team that finished fourth.   Then in the National at Hamilton when he was tenth the team responded to the higher level of competition by finishing first.     He showed even then what a good track runner he was when he topped the  rankings for 800m (2:09.7 at Scotstoun on 12th June) and 1500m (4:20.5 at Scotstoun on 12th June).   The 1500m time was when he won the Scottish School 1500m.   Many young athletes are successful because they are physically very mature – look at the starting line of any U13 or U15 800m race – and they disappear when there are increased training demands as they progress through the age groups.   Lawrie was not in the big, burly, physically strong category at any time.   

After a good summer, young Lawrie was still a Senior Boy and improved his Midland Championship run of the previous year when he finished second at Lenzie and led the team home to third place medals.    The next championship was the big one and he was second in the national to Mulvey of Shettleston.

That summer he again won the Scottish Schools 1500m title: on 20th June 1970 at Pitreavie, he was and exactly one week later in the  first in the 15-17 age group in 4:05, and exactly one week later he took part in the first ever combined men’s and women’s Junior and Youth track championships at Grangemouth where he won the 1500 metres in a time of 3:58.9 which also won the Bank of Scotland Trophy for the best performance in his age group.    He ended that summer with best times of 1500 in  3:57.6 which ranked him 26th in Scotland, 3000m in  8:36.2  (19th) and for 10000, a distance seldom run by Under 17’s,  31:19.8  (27th).   The 1500m time was when he finished second in the AAA’s 1500 at Kirkby on 1st August.   The 10000m time was run at Scotstoun on 31st July.   The times were not just good, they were verging on the precocious.

By winter 1970/71 he had stepped up to the Youths (U17) cross-country age group but it didn’t seem to slow his progress.  If anything it accelerated the process.   In the District Championships at Stirling he won the Youths race by 18 seconds from Gillespie of Springburn with Mulvey of Shetleston third.   Victoria Park’s team of Reilly, Alexander (6th) and Inglis (7th) was also first.   Not content with that, Lawrie also won the national in Bellahouston Pak from Rowan of Ayr Seaforth and Paul Bannon of Shettleston with Mulvey fourth.   The  team was also first with the other runners being Alexander 7th, Logue 12th, and Turner 22nd.    The ‘Glasgow Herald’simply said  “Laurie Reilly had a comfortable win the Youths 5000 metres.”   And left it at that.

Summer ’71 was one to remember.   His best times were 1500m  3:56.8  (22nd),   3000 8:33.8  (23rd).    These were senior men’s rankings.   As far as the age group ratings were concerned he was placed first and first.   Competitively he won the Scottish Schools in 4:04.6, the West District Championship in 4:03.0 and the inter-counties in 4:04.6.   He didn’t run in the national championships which was probably as well for the others  he was almost eight and a half seconds faster than anyone else in his age group.   (Lawrie 3:56.8 and Jim Thomson (Law) 4:05.2)   Selected for the Schools international at Meadowbank on 17th July, he finished fourth the time that headed the rankings.    The SATS Handbook read: “Once again Lawrence Reilly was the outstanding Youth at this distance, unaccountably missing the SAAA Championships but winning by a large margin in the other major titles.   Reilly convincingly broke four minutes in the Schools International race at Meadowbank, but will not be seen much in Scotland due to having moved South to Liverpool.”   

Lawrie was listed in 1971 as St Thomas Aquinas HS and Victoria Park, while Joe was credited to Liverpool Pembroke and VPAAC in that order.  His first race south of the Border was at the old track at Wavertree where the local runners knew nothing about him at the start of the race.   He simply sat in for the duration of the race – then out kicked them all.   They knew a bit more about the slightly built young Scot then.  The good news is that Lawrie continued to run for the Scottish club; the sad news is that he missed the major championships that winter of ’71/’72.   In the summer of ’72 he finished the season with best times of  3:58.0  for the 1500m which placed him 26th,  8:12.2 for the 3000m (5th),  14:35.8 for 5000m  (21st),  and 30:29.8 for 10000m (11th).    The last time, the 1000m, was run when winning for Liverpool Pembroke at at Kirkby on 11th June, 1972, which still stands as a club Junior record.

By 1972/73  Lawrie was a Junior Man in athletics terms and was able to run in the eight stage Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay for the first time.   Run on Saturday 18th November, it was a race with no easy stages.   Having said that, second and sixth were the really ferociously competitive ones where the top Scottish endurance runners faced each other.  Lawrie, on his first outing, was asked to run the second stage.   He performed nobly, but for the only time ever in the race, he dropped three places, from fifth to eighth.    The threee who overtook him were Norman Morrison, Jim Dingwall and Doug Gunstone.   Against that, Lawrie (who was a first year Junior) ran faster than Jim Alder.   He would never drop a place in the E-G again.    The club team was fourth – a position they were to fill several times in that decade.   Based in Liverpool, he failed to turn out in the District Championships at Viewpark in January 1973 but in a very competitive Junior National he was third across the line.   He was part of a very talented generation of runners, in eveidence I list the first five in the race:

   1st J Brown (Monkland), 2nd L Spence (Strathclyde),  3rd Lawrie Reilly, 4th R MacDonald (Monkland), 5th D McMeekin (Victoria Park).

The club team was second.    This run gained him selection for the Junior team to compete in the ICCU cross-country championships at Cambridge where he finished 20th.   Brother Joe had run in these championships in 1964 and finished ninth.   

The following summer, living in Liverpool by now, he had best times of 3:52.6 for 1500m which placed him 11th on the domestic ranking lists, 8:10.6 for fifth place in the 3000m listings and he was ninth in the 5000m with a best time of 14:10.0.   Running in the Pembroke colours, he ran the 3000m at Crystal Palace when finishing fifth in the AAA Under 20 championships on 14th July, 1973, and the 5000m at Derby on 4th September in the Northern Counties v Midland Counties v RAF fixture: both still stand as club Junior records in March 2017.

In the cross-country season of 1973/74, Lawrie ran well and won his first world cross-country selection.   In his second Edinburgh to Glasgow, Lawrtie again ran on the second leg where taking over in sixth place, he moved up to second collecting some good scalps on the way.   Two seconds faster than Jim Brown on the same stage, he saw the club again finish fourth.    Came the Junior National and this time Lawrie went two better than the previous year and won from Allister Hutton, Willie Sheridan and Lawrie Spence.   The standard of running among this generation was very high indeed and Reilly was well up to it.    The report in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ said only “Our junior winner, Laurie Reilly, has made the senior team, and it was little wonder after his clear cut victory over All-star Hutton (Edinburgh Southern). ”       Yes, he did say ‘All-star’ Hutton – wasn’t my misprint.

Selected for the Senior team for the international at Monza in Italy, Reilly finished 97th and was a counting runner for the Scottish team.

The 3000m distance seemed to suit Lawrie’s talents better than any o the standard events with his rankings for it consistently in the top five or six.  Strange then not to see him rated over the distance in summer 1974.   That summer he was running for Sale, which was the only club for whom he was credited that year.   Based in and running almost exclusively in England, he ran 3:56.9 for 1500m when finishing second at Oldham on 19th May, and 14:20.6 for 5000m at Crystal Palace on 21st September.   

The age groups for SAAA and SCCU were sometimes at odds with each other.    For cross-country purposes however, he was a Junior in 1974/75 and ran his third Edinburgh to Glasgow race in November 1974.   Again on the second stage he moved from the middle of the field (ninth) up to second with the fastest time of the day on this stage of savage competition among the top men.   Among those beaten for speed by Lawrie were Jim Dingwall, Ronnie McDonald, Donald Macgregor, Sandy Keith and Frank Clement.   Some were top milers, some were marathon men, and Lawrie ran faster than every one of them.   The team finished, yet again, fourth.    Living in the south as he did, he was not out in the District championships but he did appear in the Junior National and finished second, 11 seconds behind Allister Hutton.   It was another quality field.   As an illustration, the top ten are noted: 

1st A Hutton, 2nd L Reilly, 3rd P Kenney, 4th J Graham, 5th J Burns, 6th W Sheridan, 7th J Thomson, 8th J McGarva, 9th P Forbes, 10th I Orton.   

He had gone into the race as favourite, but the report in the ‘Glasgow Haerald’ said, In the junior five miles, Alistair Hutton emphatically turned the tables on his conqueror  of last year, Laurie Reilly.   Hutton was always a threat to the favourite, but informed spectators must have been  stunned to see a gap of 70 yards between them at the finish.”    Yes, he did say Alistair Hutton – wasn’t my mis-spelling.

The team selected for the international that year included Reilly among the seniors and he finished 43rd on the flat trail in Rabat.

The following summer was spent south of the border and it was a good one as his list of best times shows:

Event     time     ranking

1500     3:51.3       17th,  

3000  8:01.4,    4th

5000  14:01.8       5th,  

10000  28:58.75   3rd

The 10000m time was recorded when he competed in the AAA’s championship at Crystal Palace on 1st August that year.   The fact that he ran that time when finishing 13th indicates the gap in standards between Scottish and English distance track running at the time.

Winter 1975/76 was his first as a Senior over  the country and it was another good one.    In the eight stage relay from Edinburgh to Glasgow, Lawrie ran on trhe sixth stage and gained one place when he went from sixth to fifth.   He had fourth fastest time of the day behind Dave Logue, Doug Gunstone and Ronnie McDonald.   The team finished sixth.   At the start of 1976, Lawrie made a rare appearance in the District Championships at Coatbridge on 24th January and won from Frank Clement and Phil Dolan.   Ron Marshall in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ commented at length on the race.   “Scotland’s cross-country selectors have few opportunities to check on Anglos such as Lawrie Reilly.   Normally they have to rely on newspaper results from south of the Border, but on Saturday Reilly came north to reinforce the printed word with a victory of impressive dimension.   Slim, pale, scholarly looking, with a pair of unfashionable spectacles, Reilly gives the impression he would have a struggle lapping a kiddies playground, far less the four laps totalling six miles that an immense field of runners undertook at Drumpellier Park, Coatbridge, in a quest for the Western District senior championship.

 Appearances are deceptive.   He is superbly fit.   Winner last week of the East Lancashire cross-country title, Reilly counted among his victims Ron Hill and Mike Freary, two of the North of England’s best known faces.  Last year on the track he dipped under 29 minutes for the 10,000 metres and his summer objective is to beat 28 min 30 sec.   

On Saturday his aim was to stretch the biggest gap possible between himself and the rest.  The result was beyond dispute.   His ultimate lead was one of 175 yards, his runner-up the familiar bearded features of Frank Clement who had stayed more or less in third throughout.   Phil Dolan, Clydesdale, leader at three-quarter distance, was third in 30 min 46 sec, six seconds behind Clement.”

Two weeks, two wins.    Reilly was clearly in great form.   In the National on 14th February, racing at Coatbridge for the second time in less than a month, he finished fourth, six seconds behind Hutton, and was selected for the international at Chepstow on 29th February.    The Scottish team finished a disappointing tenth in the race and Reilly was a counting runner when he finished in 81st place.

Summer 1976 saw Lawrie Reilly ranked in five different distances.   He ran the unfamiliar 800m distance in 1:54 to be fourtenth fastest Scot, his best 1500m was in 3:48.4 where he was eighth, in the Mile he turned in a 4:06.4 time to be seventh, his 3000m was in 8:02.4 and he was third best Scot over 5000m when he ran 13:54.6.

*

Winter 1976/77  was one where we did not see too much of Lawrie in Scotland at all.   He had a very good run in the Edinburgh – Glasgow.  Back on the second stage, he pulled the club from sixth to fourth with the fourth quickest run of the day behind Jim Dingwall, Lawrie Spence and John Graham – it was a position that the club held to the finish  and they had been fourth  four times in five years.   He had run in his last District race the previous year, and he was absent from theNtional championships in February 1977.   He was nevertheless selected for the International in Dusseldorf where he finished 41st.

By now Lawrie was appearing only as a Sale Harrier as far as the ranking lists were concerned and on 3rd May he turned in a 4:06.5 Mile to get his summer off to a good start.   A month later on 14th June he recorded 8:02.8 for 3000m and on 7th August 5000m was run in 14:07.4.   All three times were good enough to be in the top 10 Scots – 9th for the Mile and 5000m and 5th for the 3000m.    

Winter 1977/78  saw him firmly ensconced in England but still committed to Scotland.   Nevertheless he missed the November relay as well as the District  Championship but he was out in the National where he finished down in 23rd position.   He was however selected – presumably on his form over the winter in the south – for the international to be held in Glasgow.   On a very wet day with rain throughout the running of the race, he finished 97th.     

In summer 1978 he won his only SAAA medal when he was third (14:08.7) in the 5000m behind Lawrie Spence (13:45.0) and Nat Muir (13:47.5).   By the season’s end he had bests of 

1500  3:46.8  7th, 

Mile  4:06.4  6th, 

3000  8:00.4  5th, 

5000  14:08.7 8th

In the 1978 version of the Edinburgh to Glasgow, he was back on the sixth stage for the team that won second place medals.   After Alistair Douglas won the first stage, Dave McMeeking was passed by Ian Elliott, Rod Stone and Jim Brown to hand over in fourth place.   Albert Smith ran the fastest third stage of the day to move into second place and the club held that all the way to the finish with Lawrie holding it with Nat Muir, Doug Gunstone, Willie Day and several other top guns chasing him.   In the National on 10th February, 1979, Lawrie in the blue and white hoops of Victoria Park  finished sixth and was again selected for the international championship.    Like many of the Scots senior team, Lawrie had a bad day at Limerick and finished 146th.   The team was fourteenth – the worst ever finishing position.   None of the big names in the team, and there were many very big names that year, performed to expectations.

In summer ’79, Reilly’s times in 3000m and 5000m were good enough to be ranked but were slower than he had run for many years.   His 3000m time was almost outside the top ten.   They were:  3000  8:16.4 and ranked 10th,  5000  14:35.5  ranked 15th.   By now he was not running in Scotland at all and in summer 1980 he appeared in the ranking lists for the last time with  1:53.2 for 800 placing him 18th,  and  3:49.1  for 1500 9th.

That is where the Lawrie Reilly trail in Scotland stops.    Whether he was injured or stopped serious running for business and career reasons has not been noted anywhere.   The SATS are assiduous enough to have noted any times coming out of England but there were none until 1987 when he ran a marathon in an excellent 2:26:29  –  good enough to be ranked 24th.

Such was the sandard of Scottish distance running at the time that Lawrie only gained one Scottish international vest.   That was at Cwmbran in Wales on 9/8/75 against England, Wales and Northern Ireland where he was fifth in the 3000m in 8:01.8, the race being won by Jim Dingwall in 7:58.   At British level, he was second in  the Youths 1500m in 1970, and and second to Paul Bannon in the AAA Junior 3000m in 1973 and also placed eighth in the Euro Juniors in the 5000m in the same year.

More information on the latter part of his career in athletics, or of his racing in England is really required to finish the profile but it is already evident that he was a very talented athlete and a loss to Scottish athletics when he stopped running seriously.

Helen trailing Barbara Tait

Helen Cherry was an excellent endurance runner from the late 1950’s and early 1960’s who was never properly recognised after she stopped competing.   Winner of medals in British as well as Scottish championships and cross-country internationalist and medallist she and her Edinburgh counterpart Barbara Tait dominated the Mile in Scottish women’s athletics from the late 50’s to mid 60’s.   Unfortunately Helen retired at the relatively early age of 23 when she married Ian Donald who was himself a very talented athlete from Shettleston Harriers.   She went to all the cross-country races and always turned up at road races or hill running events where she was competing.   They were a very popular couple on all circuits.  

Helen was a pupil at Bellahouston Academy when she was taken along to Bellahouston Harriers track at Stanalane in Glasgow by her school friend Mary Symon and tried various events over the summer.   Her introduction to middle distance running came when Dale Greig, who was a member of the club at the time invited her to run with her from the Pollokshaws Baths.    This was the start to Helen’s endurance career but she was always a versatile athlete as we will see later.    There was no sign of her in any of the SWAAA or SWCCU championships in 1956 – unless you looked at the Intermediate 100 yards and long jump where the 16 year old Helen was entered.   At that point the excellent young Barbara Tait and the slightly older Aileen Drummond of Maryhill were winning all the Mile races and picking up the medals over the country.   In the West trials, Aileen won the Mile and the 880 yards, in the East Barbara Tait won; in the Inter-area Drummond won the Mile and in the SWAAA Championships Tait won from Drummond.   Between 1959 and 1963 the three women dominated the Mile in Scottish women’s athletics.   Helen first appeared competitively in the winter ’56-’57 cross-country season.   

In the first cross-country championships of 1957 on 16th March, Morag O’Hare (Maryhill) won in 12:50 with B Rodgers (Shotts) second in 12:57, 40 yards down, and Helen Cherry in 13:12,  80 yards further back.   The report by Dale Greig in ‘The Scots Athlete’ read,The Scottish Women’s Cross-Country Championship was held on March 16th on a rather picturesque setting at Craigie Estate in Ayr.   From an entry of 25, only 16 started, the smallest field for many years.   Right from the start a small group including O’Hare, Boyes, Fulton, Rodger and Webster broke away from the field and although there was some inter-changing of positions during the first half, Morag O’Hare who had dictated the pace from the start, moved away strongly to gain her first national title and bring her home in first position yet again.   There was a keen tussle for second place with Betty Rodger just holding off Helen Cherry (Bellahouston) who had moved up in the latter stages in a very close finish.   This suggests that there may have been some error in the time recordings.   The first six to finish were selected to represent Scotland at the International with England at Musselburgh on March 30th.   Mrs Williamson was elected team manager.   Details:   1.   M O’Hare   12:50;   2.   B Rodger   12:57;   3.   H Cherry   13:12;   4.   D Fulton (Springburn)   13:13;   5.   D Greig (Bellahouston)   13:17;   6.   M Campbell (Maryhill)   13:22.    Reserve – J Thursby (Ayr).   Team Race:   Maryhill Harriers (M O’Hare 1, M Campbell 6, K Boyes 11.)  18 points;   2.   Ayr   33 points.”  

Came the day of the international and the result was unfortunately a clean sweep for England with the first six places going south of the border.   The Scottish positions were – 7th D Fulton (13:10), 8th M O’Hare (13:26), 9th B Rodger , 10th H Cherry (13:41), 11th D Greig (14:02, 12th M Campbell (14:15).   Then it was into the summer season and the first notable fixture was on 4th May at Scotstoun in the West District trials where 17 year old Helen won the Mile in 5:54.   Exactly a week later in the East v West fixture she was second behind Barbara Tait of the East.   Less than a month later, on 8th June at Pitreavie, in the SWAAA Championships Helen was again second to Barbara Tait over the Mile – Barbara’s time was 5:18.3.   Unfortunately many of the popular Highland Games of the time (eg Gourock and Strathallan) only had two events for women – the 100 yards and the 220 yards, so there was not a lot happening on that front and the poor reporting of women’s athletics in the Press did nothing to alter that situation.   Two examples – in most women’s inter-club or local fixtures, only the first across the line was given and even in the SWAAA Championships when the first four were recorded only the winning time was noted.   When the men travelled to the AAA’s Championships their places and performances were were all given on the Monday and in most years the entire event was reported on – for women only the notable performances were commented on.   After listing the six or eight who were travelling to the fixture, the single or even double paragraph report, would maybe only comment on doubles by English women or mention a Scots woman who had won a medal.   Hardly even handed reporting. 

Race Invitation; Programme

On 8th March 1958, Isobel Mooney of Jordanhill TC wom the SWCCU Championships from Dale Greig who was only one second ahead of Helen Cherry.    Again the first six were selected for the international but there was no report of the event in the Glasgow Herald although there was an extended article on the men’s event.   The local paper contained the following article at the start of the season.   “Helen who is 16 years old was educated at Bellahouston Academy where she was a swimming instructress.   She also played for the girls hockey team and took part in track racing.   She joined the Bellahouston Harriers club when she left school last year.   Her first big competition was at Ayr in March when she gained third place in the Scottish cross-country championship.   The international followed and she was chosen for the Scottish team.   Last week she travelled to Westerlands to compete in a one mile event, being a few seconds behind Scottish champion Miss Tait who was out to make a record.   Helen goes forward to meet the champion again in the mile event at Meadowbank in June.   It takes a lot of training to be a good runner and Helen spends two nights a week at the club’s track.   She also practises on a Saturday afternoon when she is not away at a competition.”

The first race of any consequence in the summer was the West Trials for the match against the East and Helen was in action twice.   Second in the 880 yards to Isobel Mooney she won the Mile in 5:45 from Dale Greig.   A week later the headline in the Glasgow Herald was ‘West Win At Jordanhill.’   Helen and Dale had done their bit by being first and second in the Mile with Helen eleven seconds faster than the week before.   The lack of races must have been frustrating for the middle distance runners – individual university championships, inter university championships and even the Scottish University championships only had races up to440 yards, and in one case up to220 yards.   The highland gatherings and local sports meetings were also sparing in their races at longer distances – there were women’s 880 yards handicap events at Ardeer, Strathallan and a few more but they were the exceptions rather than the rule.   Came the SWAAA Championships and Helen was in the Mile where she finished behind Barbara Tait (5:33.2) and in front of Dale Greig.   It was reported in the Glasgow Herald as follows: The highlight of the Scottish Women’s Championships at Meadowbank on Saturday was the mile event when Barbara Tait (Edinburgh Harriers) regained her title with a fine tactical race.   Lying second to Helen Cherry (Bellahouston Harriers) for three laps, she put in a sprint, 15 yards to go, forged ahead and broke the tape two yards in front of the Bellahouston girl.”   Later in the year in the Round The Bridges Race at Musselburgh it was a different story.   “The women’s one and a quarter miles race was well supported.   Miss H Cherry, the Bellahouston Harriers club champion, led from the start and won in a satisfactory time of 6:08.   Miss B Tait, the Scottish Mile Champion, and Miss D Greig, the Scottish cross-country champion were second and fourth.”   And that seemed to be it for the summer season.

Summer 1959 would be a good one for Helen although she did not feature in the National Cross-Country Championships of 1959.   On 16th May in the West District Championships, Helen Cherry was first in the Mile in 5:35.3 with Dale Greig in second.   Unfortunately in the East v West the Herald headline read, ‘Comfortable Win By East Women.’   Helen was led in by Barbara Tait in 5:21.0 – a new native record that beat her own time in the East Championships by 3.6 seconds.   The result was similar in the SWAAA Championships on 13th June where the Mile was won by Barbara in 5:18.3 with Helen second and Dale third.   The report said that Barbara was going to compete in the WAAA Championships in England but the report of that meeting in the Glasgow Herald gave only the winners and their performances.   Nowadays they might do that but then add in the Scottish athletes with a note of their performances.   By the end of season 1959, Helen was ranked second in both 880 yards and Mile with times of 2:22.2 and 5:24.7.   Not in the first three at the National Cross-Country Championships in 1960, Helen started the summer with a victory in the Mile at the West District Championships at Scotstoun on 6th May with a time of 5:46.7 over R O’Hare of Maryhill.   This was the fourth successive year that she had won this event.   She missed the West v East match on 21st May and was not placed in the SWAAA Championships.   At the end of summer 1960 she was number three in Scotland but with a time 24 seconds slower than 1959 – 5:48.7.  

1961 seemed to represent a switch for Helen in that after a winter with no cross-country races reported, she targeted the shorter, faster 880 yards.   On 6th May in the West District Championships the Glasgow Herald report read, “Miss H Cherry (Bellahouston) succeeded Miss Reilly as holder of the half-mile title with a time of 2:26.2, almost four seconds faster than last year’s winning time.”   Helen did not run in the Mile which was won by Dale Greig in 5:46.4.   Into the East v West Match on 20th May where she won the 880 yards in 2:26.7 and was also a member of the winning Mile Medley Relay team of H Cherry, M Carmichael, M Brown and I Bond who ran in that order. Helen also turned out in the Renfrewshire Championships which she won in 2:22.4.   In the SWAAA Championships on 10th June, Helen won the 880 yards in 2:22.1 from S Lofts (Anglo Scottish Club) and Pam Brown who had already won the 440 yards and Doreen Fulton who had won the Mile also competed in the half mile .   “Both Fulton and Brown tried later for victory in the half-mile – but neither could match the devastating running of 24 year old Helen Cherry of Bellahouston.   Helen finished like a sprinter in 2:22.1 well ahead of her nearest rival, Sheila Lofts.   Pat Brown had to be satisfied with third place.   Helen, who is an accounting machine operator ran in the half-mile because she was fed up taking second place in the mile for three years in succession to Barbara Tait.   The change was worth while.”    Apart from getting her age wrong, the irony in the report is that this time round, Barbara Tait was third in the mile.  Her versatility was also mentioned earlier and on 1st July she travelled all the way to Kinlochleven Highland Games where she had entered 100y, 220y, 880y, mile, high jump and long jump!   She only managed to compete in three – she won the 880 yards and the mile and was  second in the long jump.   To complete the day, Ian Donald won the Mamore Hill Race.    In the annual rankings at the end of the summer, Helen was third in the 880 yards with a season’s best of 2:19.5.   Ahead of her were two Anglos – Sheena Lofts of Aldershot (2:17.7) and Margaret Easson of Birchfield who led with 2:17.2.     

In summer 1962 Helen started off as she meant to continue with a second victory in the West District 880 yards when she recorded 2:26.5 and then missed the West v East.   Helen won the Mile in the SWAAA Championships at Pitreavie after finishing second in the 880 yards.   The mile was won in a native record of 5:08.4 which was 9.9 seconds faster than the previous time set by Barbara Tait four years earlier.   She just took the bull by the horns and ran away from the field with laps of 71.5 seconds, 2:30, 3:49.1 and a finishing time of 5:08.4.   The report simply said, “Miss H Cherry  misjudged her running in the half-mile and gained only second place to Miss S Lofts (Anglo-Scottish), who is 19, but she comfortably won the mile.   Miss B Tait, the record holder, was outpaced and finished fifth.”    Coverage of women’s athletics is a source of constant annoyance to me!   In the 50’s there was hardly any serious coverage in the National dailies and what there was in the 60’s was incredibly biased against the distance runners.   The jumpers and sprinters were likely to get several column inches at a time, more often than not with a picture attached, while the longer distances were covered with a comment.   Look at the sentences above – Helen had only broken the four year old Scottish record by almost exactly 10 seconds and yet two races were reported on in one sentence.      The best was yet to come.   On 7th July at the White City, in London, at the WAAA Championships Helen finished third.   You would not have noticed in Scotland – the report in the Glasgow Herald gave the meeting five short paragraphs and not one Scots woman was mentioned .    Maeve Kyle, Dorothy Hyman and Barbara Moore all had coverage but they were two English and one Irish women!   Helen had been third in 5:02.5, the fastest time run by  a Scot that year, behind  J Beretta (Australia) and Madeleine Ibbotson (England).  There were some reports however, one highlighting an injustice done to her by officialdom.   The first report read:  “HELEN CHERRY PROVES QUEEN OF SCOTS.   Helen Cherry of Bellahouston Harriers, 21 year old Scottish mile champion, was top performer of the seven-strong Scottish team competing in the Women’s AAA Championships at White City, London.   She finished third in the mile in 5:02.5.   Although way behind winner Joan Beretta of Australia, who returned 4:57, fastest in the world this year, it was a plucky run by Miss Cherry who was lying fourth at the bell.   She very nearly caught Madeleine Ibbotson who finished second.”   The second report read: “HELEN’S WONDER RUN CAN’T BE RECOGNISED.   Heroine of the day was small, dark-haired Helen Cherry of Bellahouston Harriers, Scotland’s Mile Champion and half-mile runner up.   The Ibrox girl brought the London Scots to their feet as she raced her way to third place in the mile behind England’s Mary Ibbotson and Australia’s J Beretta.   It was announced that the race had been won in the fastest time in the world this year.   Beretta’s time was a magnificent 4:57 – 12 seconds short of Dian (Leather) Charles’s official world best.   England’s Ibbotson clocked 5:00.4 and Helen 5:02.5.   Helen Cherry had scythed 14 seconds off the Scottish record but since  it was raced on a ‘foreign’ track it will not be taken as a national record.”.   The season of 880 yards racing seemed to have paid off with one gold and one silver at the Scottish and one bronze at the British.   In the end of the year rankings, Helen was fourth in the 880 yards with 2:17.2 and first in the Mile in 5:02.5.   I asked statistician Arnold Black what the real standing of Helen’s record time was and he replied that the 5:02.5 hadn’t been officially recognised but they had listed the record of 5:08.4 jointly with Helen (1963) and Georgena Craig (1966).   Then in 1969 they only listed metric records.   Unofficially, Helen’s time leasted until 14th June 1969 when Margaret McSherry ran 4:56.3 at Leicester.

1963 produced another WAAA’s medal at the White City after she had won the SWAAA Mile and this time the Glasgow Herald did report on the meeting and actually said, after reporting that it had been held in appalling conditions, “Miss HM Cherry was Scotland’s best performer.   The Bellahouston Harriers girl took third place in the Mile with a time of 5:15.5.”   Another report read Helen Cherry was Scotland’s heroine in the mud in the British Women’s Athletic Championships at London’s White City.   The Bellahouston Harrier finished third in the Mile in 5:17.5 to win Scotland’s only medal.   Courageous Helen led the field for more than halfway – but the strength-sapping track took its toll and eventually she was passed by the winner Pam Davies (Selsonia) and Madeleine Ibbotson (Longwood).”  So she had been timed at 5:17.5 behind Pam Davies (5:10.8) and Madeleine Ibbotson (5:14.0).   The weather clearly influenced everyone – Ibbotson had run 5:00.4 the previous year.   Nevertheless, Helen was the only Scots medallist but most coverage was given to the sprinters and long jumpers with of course the obligatory photo of a long jumper!  Helen had already won the West District Mile and the SWAAA Mile.   At the end of the year the statistics read 880 yards, third with 2:20, Mile first with 5:08.4 plus the medals of course.

The Mile at White City, 1963!   57 (J Williams) and 67 (SA Westlake) finished without their shoes.

What happened next?   What happened next was that Helen married Ian Donald of Shettleston Harriers and moved to Old Kilpatrick.   Willie Diverty reported in Athletics Weekly under the heading WEDDING BELLS: “Ian Donald, the well-known Shettleston Harrier, has married Helen Cherry (Bellahouston Harriers), the SWAAA mile champion and record holder who was third in this year’s mile at the WAAA Championships.”

Helen and Ian

Her serious running career just stopped there although she did do several races thereafter.    How good could she have been?   She had won the two previous SWAAA Mile titles and medalled in the WAAA in the same two years.   She was clearly the best in the country at the time.   Let’s look at the statistics in tabular form – first the competitive record.

Hugh leading Gaston Roelants at the White City

Hugh Barrow, himself a top class miler in the 1950’s and 60’s, has brought together a collection of photographs and memorabilia on the event from many sources including his own collection, from the internet and from other magazines and cuttings.   It is maybe appropriate to have many of these on the same single page.   Since many of the top men in the 50’s were Australian and New Zealanders, including such as Elliott, Landy, Lincoln, Snell and Davies, there is maybe a preponderance of antipodeans?   And rightly so!   

Two promising young men

Remember cigarette cars?   Bubble Gum Cards? Sweetie Cards?

Do you remember cigarette cards?   Sweetie cards??

Two more from the days when the top athletic stars came to Glasgow … lured by the likes of Bill Struth and Willie Maley

Now a look at stuff from the man himself, the maker of champions, Percy Wells Cerutty.   Start with some print items – first, who else but Herb! 

Now we sec a statement of his approach, then a poem, before reading the sentiments of Merv Lincoln who was the second best runner of the distance (behind Herb Elliott) in his era: at any other time in the history of the event he would have been top dog by a mile (!),   Note his comments here.  Now the statement.

… then the poem …

… Now Merv ..

Lincoln

It’s a merciless review of his own career and one which I can’t imagine many of the current top domestic milers taking of their own life athletic achievements. 

John Landy helps Ron Clark up after a fall during a race

Allan Watt was a very good runner with Shettleston Harriers and we have a picture of him with miling great Sydner Wooderson, that’s him in the uniform of the Pioneer Corps during the war, taken at Ibrox two days before the Rangers Sports of 1940 at which Wooderson set a new Scottish All-comers record of 4:11 in the mile.   A wonderful meeting: pity it’s gone.

Although McCafferty is a Scot, and although Paisley is in Scotland, this Paisley Park is in Ireland.

While we are on the subject of sportsmen of a recent era, easily within living memory, there is nothing that needs to be added to this cutting which takes the form of a letter to another Australian, John Landy by a witness to an incident on the track. 

This is how close Merv (on the left) got to Herb – maybe a bit hard on himself in his comments above …

Coach Percy Cerutty and athlete Herb Elliott have a cup of tea …

From New Zealand – he world 4 x 1 mile relay record team …

One of Perce’s books …

Now for John Landy with Roger Bannister after the excellent race in Vancouver in 1954

Landy again – this time as a schoolboy:

And another of the schoolboy Landy

Lining up ..

Outside the fast pack …

more to be added

Jack Wright

The Wright family of Clydesdale Harriers was a three generational dynasty which produced runners who won national titles, football players and coaches as well as much-in-demand football trainer and physio.   Clydesdale Harriers was founded in May 1885 and the three Wright brothers (Jack, George and William) were founder members.   Jack’s sons Harold ( a sprinter) and Willie (a runner of modest talents but a first rate traainer, masseur and physio) carried on the family traditions and Harold’s son John won the Scottish Junior Championship  twice (1956 and 1957).

In Season 1889/90 the club handbook reported that “The past year was very fruitful in the bringing out and developing of cross-country talent of the very highest class, the best probably being JW McWilliams (cross-country champion of Scotland), C McCann (Scottish CCA Champion), C Pennycook (Scottish One Mile Champion) and Jack Wright (the ‘crack half miler’ but who was prevented by illness from taking part in any of the championships).”   This was no small praise when the Annual Report also said that “At present the Clydesdale Harriers are immensely stronger athletically than any other Scotch organisation.”    By 1890/91 he was the Local Captain for the Dumbartonshire section and was listed as having won one first prize and five seconds in the year as against brother George’s seven firsts, one second and one third.   This was the time of the split between the club and the Scottish Cross Country Association and one of the innovations brought in by the club was the running of a Junior Cross Country Championship of Scotland.   The Annual Report again: “The Scottish Harriers Union held a Junior Championship at which eleven teams competed.   Teams were entirely from our various sections.   The individual cross-country championship was won by Jack Wright in 48:50.”   As far as the SHU Junior Cross Country Championship was concerned his brother George had won it a year earlier.

George was a year older than Jack and won several notable victories in England.   I quote from an article in the ‘Widnes Weekly News’ from 1933:

“Forty years or more ago it is interesting to recall that George Wright was at the zenith of his athletics career.   Born at Rainhill he was one of a family of athletes.   He ran as a boy but was not successful though he was not daunted.   The first race he ever won was the one mile at Preston Pleasure Gardens.   He was then 19 years old.  Hr followed this by beating the late Tommy Burns in the four miles race at Farnworth and was third in the District mile.   A week later he won the mile at St Helens beating Bill Snooks – at this time a prominent runner.   Other successes included the mile at Sutton when he beat Kibblewhite; at Runcorn, Liverpool he beat Frank Lackey, at Woolton where he won the first of many gold medals, and two years in succession at Crompton.   Turning his attention to Scotland he had many great victories, the outstanding one being the winning outright of the Abercorn FC Sports Cup when he beat McWilliams and Gavin Stevenson.   His first victory in Scotland was in February 1889 when he was the Dunbartonshire Cross Country Championship over 10 miles.   At Clyde FC Sports he beat Andrew Hannah in a two mile race and won the mile at Greenock Morton FC meeting covering the distance from a short start in 4 minutes 28 seconds.   Many other successes came his way in Scotland and he was a member of the winning team in the Scottish Cross Country Championships with Clydesdale Harriers.   At Kirkintilloch he was first in the mile and second to his brother in the half mile.   He trained the Dalmuir FC Team for the Buchanan Cup.   Returning to pursue his winning career in England he won the mile at Widnes three times in succession, the two miles Junior Harriers at Manchester in a field of 100 runner4s and the mile at Chadderton, Poolstock and Rainford.   At Widnes in the Open he beat Jennison and at Warrington he beat Massey; he also won the mile at Blackburn Rovers FC Sports.   The Farnworth Harriers eight mile handicap fell to his prowess and he helped the Farnworth team to win the Liverpool District Cross Country Championship.”

 When so long ago as 1898 a representative of the ‘Football Express’ called to see George Wright he found his home almost furnished with his prizes.   He had a bedroom suite and many articles of furniture.   He had gold and silver medals, a dozen marble clocks, half a dozen watches, several cases of cutlery and many Gladstone bags.”

 The runners mentioned above such as William Snooks, Kibblewhite, McWilliams were all noted athletes who are well known to track statisticians.

Jack died in December 1934  and the finest tribute paid to him was by club president Jock Kirkland who said, “Copy him – because in his age and your youth, it was hard to tell who was the younger.”

Willie Wright

Harold Wright joined the club in October 1927 and Willie soon after.   Harold was a sprinter and a good one, while Willie, although being a solid club runner, was mainly a committee member and a trainer of athletes and football teams.   He had been vice captain in 1929 but was mainly a General Committee member rather than an office holder.   At the meeting on 2^nd May 1932 he was appointed trainer to the club. After training the club runners for a time he resigned the post – but not his club membership – to train the Duntocher Hibernian FC and then Clydebank Juniors and Yoker Athletic Football Clubs.   A good Committee Member and trainer he resigned on 15^th September 1933 and Tom Millar said in the ‘Clydebank Press’: “Not so good news item is that trainer Willie Wright is leaving us.   He takes up an appointment with Duntocher FC.   The Wrights have had a lengthy connection with the club.   Mention Jack Wright to an old Harrier and he will tell you the rest.   His two sons have naturally followed in his footsteps – Harold is our champion sprinter and Willie has given good service as a Committee man and trainer.   We are still assured of Willie’s best interest and I know I express the good wishes of the club in saying ‘success in your new job, Willie.’”   That he left on the best of terms was confirmed when it was noted three weeks later that “During the season our enthusiastic trainer Willie Wright took up a new post as trainer to Duntocher Hibernian FC.   In his letter of resignation he mentions that if at any time a member of the club is in need of treatment, he will be very pleased to do all he can for him.” 

 The club then went through several trainers, some of whom stayed for less than a full year.   The club was hungry for success and when they had a good group of athletes together and the trainer left, they again turned to Willie.   It was suggested at the August 1937 Committee Meeting that they approach him to take on the job of trainer.   The Minute of the September meeting reported that “a letter had been received from Mr W Wright accepting the position as trainer to the Harriers.   Mr Wright made a personal appearance at the meeting to discuss arrangements for the following cross country season.   The main features of discussion were: 

• Each Harrier to supply his own oil for massaging;
• Mr Wright gave the Committee a list of requisites for training kit;
• In the event of any difference between him and a club member, the member be referred to the Committee.

 He had clearly worked with committees and sportsmen before and knew what he wanted and needed.   This arrangement carried on until the War started, and the information gives an insight into what was regarded as necessary for the running of a local club.   How many clubs nowadays have this kind of provision for their athletes?

After the War at the Committee Meeting held on 28^th September 1945, it was reported that Mr W. Wright had been asked to be the club trainer.   “He will consider filling the post unless any football club asked for him.   He would come along until then.”  He appeared again in the Minute for 12^th February 1947: “Trainer’s Expenses and Gratuity: It was generally agreed that a gratuity be given to the trainer (W Wright) at the Presentation Social.   Amount to be £5.   Trainer to be asked to send an account for current expenses.”   

Harold Wright

He was a good sprinter but reports indicate that he was an unlucky one.  seems to have been an unlucky one.   The top club sprinter – referred to in the Minutes as our champion sprinter – and winner of many club sprints and track events, he was unlucky that the club had no trophies for track running at the time or he would surely have won several.    He was trained by his father in Clydebank.   They used a farm track off the Great Western Road Boulevard at times where he sometimes ran against a greyhound in training.   As for races, he was a bit unlucky as the race at Monkland Sports indicated.   The ‘Press’ said that Harold had very hard luck in the Open 100 just being pipped in his Heat but ‘his time is only delayed.’   But how unlucky can you get?   A report on the Queen’s Park FC Sports in June 1932 (just one week later) reads as follows: “Harold Wright waltzed through his Heat in the hundred and appeared to do the same in the semi final by at least a foot.   The judges decided otherwise however and the crowd on the terracing were not slow to let them know of their mistake or whatever it was.   The runner who was awarded the race protested to the judges in favour of Wright but it seemed beneath their dignity to change their decision.”   This was not the only case of Harold reaching the second round of the sprint and then losing out to a doubtful decision.

The ‘Press’ report of 17^th June 1932 joked that he was maybe wasting his time trying 100 yards handicaps.   He won the 880 yards off 35 yards easily.  This was maybe confirmed two years later when in June 1934 he was second in the half mile off 26 yards behind J Ewan (off 3 yards) and ahead of Tommy Arthur (off 6 yards).   Half miles seem to be a kind of family tradition!     Two weeks later and at the Lochwinnoch Sports Gala he won his Heat of the 220 yards but was unplaced in the Final.   A month later and at the Darvel FC Sports Harold was again in the Final of the Men’s Sprint but failed to qualify being beaten by the ultimate winner of the Final.  All summer he was a regular in relay teams.  

 At the start of the 1933 season he  won his Heat of the 100 at St Peter’s Sports and Excelsior in the ‘Press’ commented that qualifying and not winning was becoming a habit.   Two weeks later Harold ran in the British Legion Sports and had three first places.   He started by winning the invitation 100 yards, then won the handicap 100 yards and then took first in the handicap 220 yards!   1934 was his last competitive season and in the first club confined meeting of the year he was second (off scratch) in the 100 yards to D Strachan (of 2 yards and ahead of H Anderson who was off 5 yards.   In the half mile he was second – off 26 yards this time – to J Ewan (3 yards) and in front of Tommy Arthur (6 yards).   Came the 120 yards in August he won the first Heat, Tommy Arthur won the second and in the Final they dead heated and shared the points.   The only other race reported in the ‘Press’ was the 100 yards at the British Legion Sports (a fairly big local meeting) he as third in the 100 yards, a race so close that it was said only the judges could separate the runners.   The result of the club’s points contest was a win for J Ewan and J Martin on 43 points with Harold third with 39.

Harold’s son John, trained by Willie, won the Scottish Junior (Under 20) Cross Country Championship twice – an entirely Wright Dynasty project.   The parent, coach, athlete triangle being entirely within the family!

John Wright behind George Govan of Shettleston at Hamilton

John is primarily known as a cross country runner who took up the sport as a Youth (Under 17) in 1954.   In his first run in the National Cross Country Championships was a tenth place in the Youths race – good enough but the following year he was second – only 14 seconds behind Billy Goodwin of Bellahouston Harriers and five ahead of J Ewing of Victoria Park.   The team was also second.

The Bible of Scottish athletics at the time was the ‘Scots Athlete’ magazine produced by Walter Ross and one of its top features was John Emmet Farrell’s Running Commentary which dealt mainly with Scottish athletics in a very knowledgeable way but also covered the international scene.  He previewed the race and then reported on it in some detail and it is his words that are used below.

‘The race for the Junior Cross Country Championship of Scotland appears to be, at least on paper, to be the most open of the races. …………………..Strictly on the basis of the showing at Lenzie, P McParland of Springburn and Geo. Govan of Shettleston who came to the tape in close proximity may be installed as co-favourites with that grand little Clydesdale runner John Wright lying handy.’   (Running Commentary by J Emmet Farrell) was how it was previewed and in the next issue the following report appeared.

‘At least half a dozen runners were forward to win the title but before half distance it was apparent that only P McParland (Springburn) and John Wright of Clydesdale would contest the issue.   The latter running very sweetly indeed stuck to his rival closer than a brother but could not quite cope with his rival’s stronger finish.   A grand win for McParland and a good showing for Wright’s chances next year as he is still a Junior.’

Result:   1.   P McParland (Springburn)     31:26   2.   J Wright        (Clydesdale)     31:36

 John kept working away and was by now one of the stars of the future in Scottish Athletics – indeed he was a ‘star of the present’ and after another year of sterling performances, he was once again a favourite for the National Junior Cross Country title by January of the following year.   Emmet Farrell again previewed the event:

 ‘Slim, consistent John Wright of Clydesdale Harriers looks at the moment a hot contender for this year’s Championship.’      His report of the race in the next issue was the kind that most runners can only dream about:

May 1957:  ‘Slim, immaculately stylish John Wright of Clydesdale running with machine like precision trounced his rivals in the Junior Championship and emerged the easiest winner of the day, an ample compensation for last year’s runner up position.    His form overshadowed the competent running of Edinburgh Eastern’s D. Togwell and Springburn’s J Rooney who finished in front of the more fancied Geo. Govan of Shettleston’.

Result:

1.   J Wright    31:50
2. D Togneri 32:2
3. J Rooney   32:52
4. G Govan     33:02                                                                                  

The following year it was held again at Hamilton Race Course but over a different trail.   In previous years it had been three laps of the race course proper but this time the course left the race course and went down past the Mausoleum and along the banks of the Clyde before coming back up to the course again.   He won again by an even larger margin – this time from Joe Connolly of Bellahouston Harriers leaving many good men such as Tommy Cochrane and Ian Harris of Beith behind him.    He went pn training and racing and went into 1958/59 in good heart.

One of the questions that any athlete would/should be asking at this point would be about the training he was doing to get these results.   Well, he was training six days a week, never training on a Friday.   His week went as follows.

Saturday: A race or an inter club run.

Sunday:    12 laps of the perimeter at the Recreation Ground at Mountblow in Clydebank.   The perimeter was a fairly accurate half mile and his coach, Willie Wright, always believed in a fast start to be right up with the race.   This meant a first lap in about 2:07 followed by another in about 2:12 before settling in to laps of 2:20.   In other words a mile in 4:19 followed by five in 4:40.   It would be a very good session to-day.

Monday:  He would usually run from his home in Linnvale, Clydebank, out to Anniesland Cross (going round the outside of the toilets at the furthest point to make sure the distance was always the same) and back.   This was just under 5 miles and took a bit over 23 minutes.   It was again a fast run.

Tuesday:   It was a club night so he would train from the Baths in Bruce Street with the pack over distances of 10 or 12 miles most nights.

Wednesday: Willie Wright was friendly with Allan Scally the Shettleston Harriers coach so on Wednesdays he would go to Helenvale track in Glasgow and train with Graham Everett.   Where Willie usually got John to do repetition 400’s with 400 jog recovery (which was pretty standard for the time) Scally kept the 400’s in 58 or 59 seconds and progressively reduced the intervals until they were doing 15 x 400 inside 60 seconds with 60 seconds recovery.   (Graham was also an excellent cross country runner but was better known as seven times Scottish One Mile Champion and British Mile Champion who defeated Murray Halberg (New Zealand) for the title).

Thursday:   Another club night but he would only do an easy 4.5 or 5 miles if he was racing on the Saturday.

Friday:   He never ever trained on a Friday.

In 1958, like every other top athlete in the country he wanted to make the team for the Empire Games in Cardiff but only just failed to do so.   The trials were at the Scottish Championships and he ran in the Six Miles on the Friday night where he finished third in 30:22.8 and with three to go he should have been selected.   But the selectors decided instead to take only the first two finishers and add in Ian Binnie who had run but dropped out.   On the Saturday John could do no better than sixth in the Three Miles in 14:40.2.   The track at Meadowbank was very poor and cut up dreadfully so that after the first couple of laps, the runners were running in the third lane.   Most of the athletes signed a letter of protest to the SAAA’s about it.    It was a disappointment but nothing compared to the disappointment the following year over the country.

Although known as a country specialist he was clearly also a considerably good track runner with wins in many open and highland games meetings such as    Shotts, Strathallan, Bute and Cowal.           On one occasion he ran the first stage in the Scottish Medley Relay Championship at Cowal and although not an 800 metres specialist he was barely two metres down on Mike Rawson of Birchfield at the changeover and ahead of some top class half milers such as JP Paterson and Neil Donnachie.

After a good season he finished a very good ninth in the National Cross Country Championship of 1959 in a bunch of three with Connolly (Bellahouston), Ross (Edinburgh Southern) and John being seventh, eighth, ninth.   The selectors decided to take only seven to Lisbon and John and Ross were told they were reserves but not travelling.   The runners spoke to each other and agreed to pay their own fare out to Portugal.   Their clubs put up most of the money and then they were told that there was only room on the plane for seven.   They couldn’t come.   It was finally revealed that most of the plane seats were taken up by officials.   On the day one of the selected seven athletes couldn’t run and John’s name was actually printed in the official programme.   It was this event that led to him joining the Army to do his National Service – all 18 year olds had to do two years of National Service but like many others John had had his deferred because he was doing an apprenticeship in Singer’s Factory and could have had a further extension but he was so peeved that he decided at that point just to go and do it then.

When he reported to Oswestry for six weeks square bashing (ie basic training) he saw that they had a running track and asked one of the regulars if he could do some running.   The guy happened to be the regimental cross country champion and John didn’t get the permission.   After basic training he was posted to Germany and won the regimental championship despite going off the course and then represented the regiment at the Area Championships where he beat the much more fancied runner from the Gordon Highlanders.   They soon approached his regiment asking if he could be transferred to their Unit where he would be expected to train and run and could have every facility to do so.   Without asking him, the offer was turned down and he stayed with the regiment.   He won the Divisional Championships and went to the BAOR Championships at Dusseldorf where he finished second to Ben Grubb – British International cross country and steeplechase runner.   He ran regularly thereafter with such as Ernie Pomfret (another GB Internationalist), Tommy Cochrane of Beith and other high quality athletes.

He also joined a German club – MTV Celle – and ran for them regularly with good results with his friend Terry Wells who had not been a runner before joining up.   He enjoyed this time and combined the club running with Army duties.   When he left the Army he was running really well after training and racing with guys such as Pomfret and Grubb.  He ran a time trial over 3 Miles and was inside 13:30 which looked good for future athletics.

John returned after his two years National Service intent on taking up where he had left off but unfortunately he injured himself on one of the local tracks and despite several years of trying to get back in business of running at the top level had to retire from the sport with his undoubted talent unrealised or tested to the full.