Page 25 - PBCOctober2022

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Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine olume 19 No.2 October 2022

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More communications were received from new member Simon Martel (Count Smaltork)……..
Dear Mr Winkle

Several years ago, I was given a copy of the ‘History of the Pickwick Bicycle Club’ compiled by the Hon
Mr. Crushton, 1905 Sirst edition. On the front free end paper is the name of the onetime owner, W.
Webb and conSirming that he was a member of the PBC.
Further, sandwiched between the pages was a monochrome photograph of a group of cyclists with an
inscription on the rear saying, ‘Pickwick B. C. Bob Willis in Centre’.
Mr Pickwick goes to France in September1888

Cycle Race results from September 1888

Please see this photograph attached. I wonder, does anyone recognise anyone in the photograph, and if
I then got a bit carried away in my search, and noted that on the same day as the Pickwick
so, perhaps we could arrive at a date and/or the venue that the photograph was taken? Also, do we
Beauvais appeared in ‘The Graphic’ -the London Times reported another arrest in connection with
know when W. Webb was a Pickwick member?
‘The Whitechapel Murders’ - aka the Jack the Ripper murders!! That puts the PBC into its historical
Yours …Count Smaltork (Simon Martel)
timeline!!
Best Wishes….Count Smorltork
This was followed by the next item:

I can offer a partial response to Count Smorltork about the photo on pp24………..
Dear Mr Winkle
As a new member (although I have been attending PBC functions for more than 10 years as a guest),
I found the myself trawling through eBay, & randomly searching “Pickwick”- and came across the sale
Robert (Bob) Willis held the soubriquet of Joseph Smiggers from 1919-1931, and he was
of an original page from ‘The Graphic’ - which seems to have been a lifestyle type weekly publication
President in 1925.
(I believe it was in print from 1869-1932). Anyway, attached is a scan of the page showing a sketch of
Charles Willis, his son, was Prince Bladud from 1925 - 1939.
‘A Tour of the Pickwick Bicycle Club in France’, with the annotation ‘Mr Pickwick goes to France to a
meeting in Beauvais’, with the Cathedral in the background. The page is dated September 15th 1888
As for W.Webb, I will leave it to our most capable soubriquet historian, the current
and on the reverse amongst other articles is a note of some cycle race results from the previous
Joseph Smiggers to comment……………………………..Editor
Saturday 8th September 1888.