Page 24 - PBCOctober2012

Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine. Volume 9 No.3 October 2012
24

By 1924 there had been an attempt to tidy up the rules with the result that, under paragraph iii ©,
it again states that the members taking part in official runs, or tours should wear the cap or button
badge of the club. (In the 1910 handbook, shall was used instead of should).
In the 1927 handbook there was an additional paragraph “for the purpose of road rides the club
may be divided into two sections, one for the north and one for the south side of the Thames and

For the 1933 handbook all references to club rides uniform and colours had been deleted, and
the only reference to uniform is in paragraph 3 (iii) b. under the subheading badge: members
taking part in official runs, or tours, should wear the cap or button badge of the club.

The last provision remained in the handbooks for 1941, 1942, 1945, and 1948. The clubroom
closed in 1951 and the next handbook in our possession after that date is for 1955, wherein there
is another change in the rules as follows:

“Badge and Uniform. Members taking part in cycle runs or tours should wear the official club
uniform: straw hats with black and gold band, and cap badge.” It is not known to what cap badge
the rule refers. Reference in 2012 to our oldest member (Barry Brandon) showed that he was
unaware of any cap badge that was in existence. The club had silver button hole badges made
with a hallmark of 1941, but they showed a boneshaker in the middle of the badge, compared
with the figure of Samuel Pickwick in the current badges.
Rule 3. (li)( b). Continues in the 1957, 1962 and 1966 handbooks. The handbook for 1976
changes in that, instead of cap badge, it states lapel badge, and that continued in the 1984 and
1991 handbooks. Although for many years the club did not organise cycle runs or tours.

With effect from1980 we were invited to join the Benson Veteran Cycle Club on their annual rides.
In 1992 the club, through Bailie Mac Something (John Morris) organised a weekend in France to
commemorate the trip to France made by the club in 1889 and recorded both in the Press and
an etching as, Mr Pickwick goes to France.

The 1995 handbook contains a further amendment.
“Badge and uniform” members taking part in all club events shall wear the official club uniform:
straw hat with black and gold band, black and gold tie and lapel badge. Here again, according
to our oldest member, members had been recommended, or advised, to wear the straw hat with
black and gold bands. Hopefully some of our old Minute books exist which can explain when the
changes of rules came into effect.

Compare the headgear and uniforms on the two photos on the next page. They are the Easter
Tours of 1886 and 1900. Note that many of the caps in the latter photograph show the club
badge sewn into the front.

Mr.Brooks