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Ernie Mills and Charlie Roberts By
Bill Paul
Ernie
would give most people a helping hand if he could whether it was at sport, work
or private life and there was one occasion I remember when he helped me. I was
working at Claude Butler's Cycles at the time and I mentioned to him that I
wanted to change my job and he said he might be able to get me fixed up at the
place where he was working and would I like him to speak to his manager and I
agreed and it was not long before I was working on the same bench as Ernie. He
went out of his way to help me with the job, something I have never forgotten
and I noticed he was the same with anyone else who had a bit of trouble with
their work.
If
Ernie thought he was right over anything he would stick it out until he could
prove he was right or get what he thought was due to him. He told me about one
incident when he was working at Creeds Engineers LTD, the factory which was on
the comer of Cherry Orchard Road and Addiscombe Road. He did not get on very
well with the foreman of his section, they often had a good row and one morning
they had a very big bust up which finished with Ernie getting the sack. As he
was packing his belongings up which included some tools he had made for himself
the foreman came along to him and told him that he could not take the tools he
had made as they were not his as he had made them in the firm's time and he
would not give him a pass to take them out of the factory. But Ernie had other
ideas. He went into hiding just down the road from the factory where he could
see the entrance and waited until he saw the foreman leave to go to his dinner
and then he came out of hiding and back into the factory. The gatekeeper did not
know Ernie did not work there anymore and being dinner time he took no notice of
him. Ernie went back to his bench and collected all the tools he was told to
leave behind, put them in his bag and out past the gatekeeper again and down the
road and home satisfied he had got what was due him!
Ernie
and myself never fell out with each other about the way we had ridden when we
were riding, except on one occasion and that was when we wanted everything to go
just right. About ten days after we had broken the 100 mile tandem competition
record we made an attempt on the 1/4 mile flying start tandem record, one of the
fastest records on the books. At that time Herne Hill track was three and a half
laps to the mile (I understand it has been altered now) So that meant we would
complete a lap for the 1/4 mile. At times Ernie would try and be a comedian,
something which he was not very good at, in fact, he was more like a schoolboy,
and got on people’s nerves, and this was a time when we did not want any
messing about. Charley Davey was making all the arrangements with the officials
and so as we would get as much help from the wind, not that there was much
blowing, we were going to start on the line two stations past the usual
finishing line at the end of the home straight and finish one line past the
usual finishing line. All the time Charley was telling us these arrangements
Ernie was still messing about. When Charley had finished telling us I said to
him "you know, he has not taken anything in about what you have just told
us” and he replied, 'Yes, he has, that’s his way. He's a proper card, he
will be straight." We then made our attempt and rode two or three laps to
get up speed and started at the right line and as we went round the banking at
the end of the back straight I felt we were really flying and I can almost feel
it now, what a thrill it was, and I had great hopes of us beating that record, a
record that had stood for 33 years and was made in the late 1800's by a pair
named Pears and Pitman. But it was not long before I had my hopes dashed: when
we got to the usual finishing line at the end of the home straight Ernie sat up
and stopped pushing!!! As I kept going he said to me, "Aren't you going to
stop” and I replied, "Not until we get to the finishing line!" But
by that time it was much too late to do anything about it as we were well past
the line we should have finished on. When the timekeeper announced the time we
had done and that we had equaled the record I really let fly at Ernie and also
at Charley. I am sure If Ernie had not sat up and stopped pushing when he did we
would have beaten that record, and after beating the 100 mile record a few days
earlier it would have been a real feather in our cap. We were soon pals again,
but I still cannot help feeling what a great disappointment that was, at least
it was for me.
The
first time I met Charley Roberts was on the Brighton Road just past Horley.
While I was riding home from work, I noticed this cyclist coming towards me
waving his hand and calling out to me so I stopped and he did to saying to me
that he wanted to join the Addiscombe CC and did I think he would be able to do
so? At that time I had never heard of C Roberts but I told him who to get in
touch with and they would send him an application form or he could go up to the
Club room and would be able to join there. When I left him I thought what a shy
and timid sort of chap and he went out of my mind as I had often been asked by a
few chaps about joining the Addiscombe and I never knew if they had joined or
not as I did not know their names to know them if they had joined. But it was
not long before I found out who the young chap was who had stopped me on the
Brighton Road, that he had joined the Club and also realised he was going to be
one who was going to do some fast times.
I
did not get to know Charley as well as I did Ernie as I did not know him as long
as I did Ernie and he was away in the RAF for quite a long time. I would like to
confirm what Eddie said in the Sept/Oct issue about the Norwood Paragon
"50": yes, we were first, second and third and I remember it as if it
was the fist time I got below 2:10.00. The three of us won more team races but
not by being first second and third, I believe Charley won his first
"25" he rode in and also his first "50" and his first 100
,that is if my memory still serves me right.
I
hope you have not got bored with what I have written, but remember I was
threatened in a previous Gazette or else I would get my arm twisted, and that
hurts!
Bye,
bye till next time, Bill Paul
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