1925 ISDT Centenary Commemorative Run

VMCC Somerset Section / Galleries / 1925 ISDT Centenary Commemorative Run

From VMCC flyer for the event:

1925 ISDT COMMEMORATIVE RUN
10th AUG.2025 – FROM SALISBURY TO CHEDDAR
ORGANISED FOR VMCC MEMBERS BY THE DORSET,
SOMERSET AND WEST WILTSHIRE SECTIONS

A 72 mile heritage commemorative run on paved
roads, with the option of 14 miles of gentle green
lane, following as closely as possible the route of
the 1925 ISDT. Open to girders and rigids and
machines appropriate to the theme of the event.

 

From the VMCC Officlal Programme:

“The 1925 International Six Days Trial (ISDT) started on 11th August and the first day’s route ran from Southampton to Taunton. The Vintage Motor Cycle Club Library has recognised this historic event by staging a commemorative social run covering the middle section of the first day in collaboration with the Dorset, Somerset and West Wilts Sections of the VMCC. This starts at the Barford Inn, Barford St Martin at 10am (using the same start venue as the equally historic Arbuthnot Trial) and finishing at Cheddar Football Club by circa 4pm. The route optionally includes 14 miles of unpaved roads in Wiltshire and some challenging hills including Kingsettle and Draycott which was an observed section in the 1925 event.

We have adopted a pragmatic approach to the route planning as some of the roads used in 1925 are no longer publicly accessible and some are major trunk roads not considered suitable for the many period machines entered. Our chosen route mirrors the original closely but is mainly on minor and unclassified roads. However, it includes the key features of the original event including Middle Down Hill, the Whitesheet Byway, Draycott Hill and Cheddar Gorge.The entrants have a choice of two routes, one of 72 miles including the byways and test hills, the other 66 miles wholly on paved roads. There is much commonality so that riders can switch between the routes if they wish.

The key places visited include Shaftesbury, Motcombe, Mere, Stourton, (passing Alfreds Tower and descending Kingsettle Hill which is still challenging today), Bruton, Batcombe, Cranmore, Oakhill, and Priddy, descending to Westbury sub Mendip and then ascending Draycott Hill before running down Cheddar Gorge to the finish.”

 

Further information on the 1925 ISDT (including contemporary reports photographs)

Summary:

https://speedtracktales.com/index-of-isdt-events/isdt-1925-england/

‘Motor Sport’ article on the event in the West Country:

https://speedtracktales.com/2015/05/02/isdt-1925-event-notes-from-motorsport-magazine/

 

 

Entry List

NumberNameDateMake/ModelSize
1Kevin Hellier1923 Sunbeam One 350
2Philip Ham 1927Norton Model 18490
3Geoff Stovold 1924 BSA B25 250
4Jon Hodges 1927 Scott Super Squirrel600
5Mike Tizard1928Raleigh Model 26SS348
6Alastair Godfrey1928Sunbeam Model 9500
7David Gordon 1928 Sunbeam Model 6 500
8John Wells1928BSA S28500
9Andrew Tyldesley 1928Sunbeam Model 90500
10Trevor Dale1928Sunbeam Model 9500
11Simon Feeney1929 Scott TT Rep600
12Richard Kinsey1929Scott Flying Squirrel600
13Manuel Hughes1929Ariel Model A550
14Steve Brown1929Scott Flyer600
15Tom Hallah1930Cotton Blackburne350
16David Walker1931Sunbeam Model 90499
17Don Adams1933Norton Model 50350
18Steve Iles 1956BSA M21600
19Jon Wiggins1934Velocette KTS350
20Chris Wiggins1937Velocette KTS350
21Colin Bentham 1932Norton International500
22Jonathan Foster1936Sunbeam Model 14350
23Andrew King 1936Royal Enfield G2350
24Colin Durnall1937P&M Red Panther350
25Tony Barnett1938Ariel VH500
26Brian Ayres1946BSA ZB32350
27Steven Gard1930Sunbeam Model 5499
28Nick Morris1938Triumph 3H350
29Adrian Rampton1938BSA WM20500
30Julian Bennett1941 Ariel W/NG350
31Malcolm White1952Triumph TR5 Trophy499
32Andrew Pearce1971Honda CT90 Trail90
33Ian Clarke 1953BMW R51/3 ISDT500
34Richard Harding1953Moto Guzzi Supe Alce500
35John Denham1955Greeves Scottish250
36Julian Kingshott1958AJS Pykett350
37Clive Wilson1958Greeves Scottish250
38Job Hutchings1961Royal Enfield Crusader250
39Bob Papps1970Triumph Cheney ISDT500
40Alan Keane1972Triumph Cheney ISDT500
41Ian Kerr1975Triumph TR5T500
42Andrew Hitchens1978Wasp TwinShock750
43James Hubbard1979MZ TS250/1249
44Gabriel Hubbard1979MZ TS250/1249
45Peter Henshaw1993Royal Enfield Robin DR400412
46Mark Roper1929Terrot HSS350
47Jacqui Furneaux2000Royal Enfield Bullet500

 

Barford St Martin gallery (picture credits: Phil and James)

An old silver and black motorcycle stands on parched brown grass with a man in a light top and blue jeans standing immediately behind it. Behind them, a white car with the tailgate raised, a wooden picket fence, tall trees and a bright blue sky. In the foreground there are the shadows of several photographers!
1927 490cc Norton with proud owner!
A smiling man in a dark blue fleece stands behind an old black motorcycle with a brown wicker basket behind its single saddle. Immediately behind, to one side, the back of a dark grey van looms. In the background tall leafy trees and a bright blue sky.
1923 350cc side-valve Sunbeam Model 1 with proud owner!
Side on, on short dry brown and green grass, a dark figure with a dark crash helmet is astride an old black motorbike with a black and silver tank. Immediately behind, rear on, a big white van with the passenger door and one back door wide open. In the background leafy trees and bright blue sky. The motorcycle and the van are casting strong dark shadows on the grass.
Getting ready on the Inter Norton….
A dark-clothed man, with a dark open-face crash helmet and dark glasses faces the camera astride a silver and black motorbike with a white metal disc for racing numbers on its front and a shiny big fishtail silencer. Behind a white-haired, bearded man in blue top and jeans stands beside an old motorcycle with khaki canvas pannier bags and a military green crash helmet hanging from its handlebars. The sky is brilliant blue, a very bright and sunny scene.
Norton Inter ready to go! (1938 BSA WM20 preparations behind.)
Several old motorcycles, some with baskets and boxes over their back mudguards, parked on grey gravel in front of a low light-brown wooden fence with leafy trees and a few white-painted houses behind. Several figures are moving between the motorcycles.
Browsing among the entrants.
Several motorcycles parked on grey gravel in front of a brown wooden fence. Nearest the camera a black machine with a silver tank, boxy leather bags on tank and rear rack. Behind the fence can be seen a mix of houses and green trees.
Parked-up, ’27 Norton Model 18 nearest.
A number of parked motorcycles stretching back on one side, with three (a black and silver machine with a leather bag strapped to its rear rack, a machine with a light tan petrol tank and another with a red petrol tank) prominent in the foreground. Behind are parked cars and groups of people in discussions.
Bikes ready and waiting…
An old black Sunbeam motorcycle with a big wicker basket on its rear rack and a big bulb horn on its handlebars is parked with several people standing around it. Behind are parked cars and green trees. It is very sunny, the strong sunlight is casting dark shadows.
Admirers around the oldest bike.
A black and silver Norton motorcycle with the number 21 displayed on a forward-facing white disc fills the picture. There is a black crash helmet on the ground next to the back wheel. Immediately behind on the left of the picture is the back half of a black motorcycle with white lining along the edge of its back mudguard and the side of its petrol tank. In the background can be seen a dark grey estate car and a grass verge and fence, then some buildings.
1932 Norton International, with the back end of an ISDT BMW behind!
Motorcycles parked on grey tarmac, with several people and some parked cars behind them. Three machines are closest, a black bike with a light tan panel to the top of the petrol tank which has 'Raleigh' in red lettering on the side, behind and to the front a black and silver Norton with a big bulb horn and leather bags strapped to its tank and rear rack , behind again a black Sunbeam motorbike with a wicker basket on its rear rack and also with a big bulb horn.
1928 348cc Raleigh 26SS (No. 5) parked with ’27 Norton (No. 2) and ’23 Sunbeam (No. 1)
On a narrow path leading from a white, slate-roofed two-storey building a couple of motorbikes and riders wait in line. On one side a group of people, on the other a low open veranda with more people inside. In front of the first rider, back to camera, stands a figure in a baseball cap, dark trousers and a light green gilet with the VMCC logo.
Riders away! (Kevin Hellier ’23 Sunbeam is No. 1, behind Phil Ham ’29 Norton is No. 2)
A dark-clothed rider, with a dark open-face helmet and dark glasses sits astride a motorcycle with the number 21 on a white disc attached above its front wheel. Behind, the bright walls and windows of a white building, on one side several people and on the other an open veranda (in deep shade) fronted by a trellis fence and with a tub of red and white flowers next to some steps up into it.
Colin Bentham (’32 Norton International) awaits starters orders.

 

Cheddar Football Club gallery (picture credits: Phil, Stuart, and ‘your correspondent’)

A mass of parked bikes with some parked cars behind, then in the distance a couple of red-red-tiled cottages and green hills. In front of all this a chunky sidecar outfit with blue mudguards and seat and a bright canary-yellow tank.
Wasp TwinShock 750 outfit from 1978
A line of 5 motorcycles, some parked cars behind. One is in the process of being ridden away, several people look on from among the parked bikes.
Diesel Enfield Robin heads away.
Several motorcycles parked on the grass in the sun. A small group of people are in a discussion around a small machine!
Discussions around a trailie Cub
Several off-road type motorcycles parked in a line on grass, with parked cars and then trees and hills behind.
Trailies line-up.
A busy scene on the grass. On one side a line of people relaxing in the sun, sitting and standing with drinks and food against a fence of advertising hoardings. In front of them, on the other side, a line of parked motorcycles , the first one that can be clearly seen a rigid-framed, alloy-engined Triumph with a chrome tank.
Bikes and people enjoying the sun!
Various motorcycles parked in two lines on the grass, with people wandering among them and also sitting and standing, relaxing against a fence (with advertising hoardings). In the background a low clubhouse with a pitched roof and a prominent yellow and black 'Thatchers' sign visible on the end wall.
Sun and machines!
Two Triumph motorcycles next two each other. Both have skimpy lightweight alloy mudguards and knobbly tyres. They are parked on the parched brown-green grass, behind a man attends to a third machine and several people walk past.
Trailie Trumpies!
Two men in dark blue T-shirts stand behind a small red-and silver machine with a step-through frame. Around them are a couple of other parked motorcycles, behind in the distance is a white van and then trees and green hills.
Trailie CT90 Cub still getting attention!
Several motorcycles parked on brown-green grass in front of several people relaxing against a fence of advertising hoardings. The nearest machine is khaki-brown with old girder-type forks, legshields, a single saddle and what looks like a big coat piled over the back. Slightly apart from it is a much more modern machine with a chromed exhaust pipe and silencer running along one side, a helmet slung from the handlebars, black panniers over the rear wheel with a motorcycle jacket slung over.
Guzzis, older and newer.
A line of old black Sunbeam motorcycles, parked one behind the other on the grass. In the background parked cars and vans, blues and reds and whites. The bike nearest the camera has a silver open-face helmet perched behind its single saddle, above pale khaki canvas saddlebags.
Sunbeam central!
Parked on teh grass, on its own, with a fence of advertisements behind, a black single-cylinder machine. On its rear rack rests a black open-face helmet with a gold strip over its top; one of a pair of canvas pannier bags bulges beside the rear wheel. Behind the engine, under the saddle, the side of the battery-box is covered in a white-printed list of many countries that have been visited.
Well-travelled Furneaux Enfield Bullet!
Inside the Clubhouse, three people sit on blue chairs, around a brown wooden table on which can be made out cups of tea, scones on plates and small containers of white cream and red jam. A bit apart behind them are more people, tables and chairs.
Cream teas were provided at the finish, here being taken in the Clubhouse
A black motorcycle with a silver tank (a small leather box strapped to it) parked on gravel, adjoining grass. The sub gleams on the big chrome-plated fishtail silencer. Behind, part of a bright red car.
’27 Norton still gleaming at the finish!
A dark-clothed figure with a black open-face crash helmet and dark glasses sits smiling astride a black machine with a silver and black tank and the number 21 on a white disc above the front mudguard. Behind are several parked motorcycles on one side and two standing figures next to a red car on the other. In the background green grass, a low hedge and then leafy trees.
Colin Bentham (’32 Inter Norton), happy with the day out or happy it’s finally all over?! !
A bulky man with a grey walrus moustache, wearing a red open-face crash helmet, a brown leather jacket and dark blue trousers sits astride a dark brown motorcycle with the number 46 on a white disc above the front mudguard and a hand gear change prominently attached to the petrol tank. His expression is serious - or maybe the moustache hides a smile. He is stopped with the side of a big silver van behind him.
Mark Roper, with the day completed, on his 1929 350cc Terrot HSS
A rider on a motorbike with a crimson horseshoe tank under the riders saddle and black throw-over pannier bags over the rear rack coasts into the car park. He is dressed in black leather riding boots and trousers and a blue and grey jacket. On his head a red crash helmet with white edge trim and black goggles. In the background red, grey and white vehicles and the front wheels of several parked motorbikes show at the right hand side.
Steve Brown (1929 600cc Scott Flyer) completes the day.
A slightly dusty old black motorbike with a single saddle parked on gravel, but with short grass bordering the rear wheel. The bike fills the picture but distantly behind are the figures of a few brightly dressed people, parked cars and a background of leafy trees and sunny blue skies with some puffy white clouds.
Jonathan Foster’s 1938 350cc Sunbeam Model 14 (No. 22)
A khaki-green motorcycle with chunky tyres, legshields, single saddles for the rider and also for the pillion (the pillion seat high above the back mudguard) fills the picture. It is parked on grass, with a white helmet upside-down next to the rear wheel. There is a jacket piled on a rack behind the pillion seat, and the machine has a 'well used' look with the brown of light rust showing through the paint work. Behind are more parked cars and motorbikes, in the background trees and blue skies with white clouds.
Richard Harding’s 1953 500cc Moto Guzzi Supe Alce (No. 34)
A line of black Sunbeam motorbikes parked alongside each other, on short grass. More machines, and then cars, are parked behind again. There are small groups of brightly clothed people among the bikes. The two bikes nearest the camera have canvas bags over rear luggage racks and silver and black crash helmets resting on them.
‘Sunbeam Central’ again! 1928 500cc Model 6 (No 7), 1928 500cc Model 9 (No.6), behind them is No. 16, entered as a 1931 499cc Sunbeam 33117
An old black single-cylinder motorcycle strapped on a trailer, on the grass. Behind the trailer a man with a grey beard, in a dark T-shirt, stands with a somewhat severe look. There is a wicker basket on the back of the motorcycle, crouched behind can be made out the shoulders and one outstretched arm of someone ion a black leather jacket.
Basket-headed man helps with loading!
The blue and yellow Wasp outfit rear-on to a dark blue van with the back door raised wide open and a ramp down. A shirtless man in the van doorway and another (in a red T-shirt) behind the outfit look to be discussing exactly how to load things up!
Off home for the Wasp. (Bit of a tight squeeze!)