I knew Mo from the 1950s when we were both young members of the Wigmore CC, and he became a life-long friend. He was a very good time trialist, roadman and track rider, and also a very good clubman. He also did well at running, before coming back to cycling later.
One of his first trophies was the Wigmore Junior Massed Start (Road Race) Champion’s Cup awarded to him in 1956. Two years later he won the club’s 12 Hour Challenge Trophy with 233.645 miles in the KCA ‘12’ (5th place).
The next year Mo was riding for the Sittingbourne CC and in 1960, when I was on national service, he was in a very strong Sittingbourne team with Terry Hulme and Brian Hampton. They won many team awards, and Mo was KCA Senior Best All Rounder. It was his best season of racing. He won the KCA ‘100’ with 4.18.39, the fastest time on the trophy then and he won it by nearly 9 minutes. But he did a faster ‘100’ that year, 4.14.41, I am not sure of the course, and he gained a good placing in the BBAR.
In that year Mo won the Folkestone ‘25’ with 59.23, I think at Chilham. He also won the Medway Wheelers Roy Enfield Memorial ‘50’ with 2.2.38, Terry Hulme was second and Brian Hampton third counter with 2.09.07, another team win. In third place was Ken Craven, Crescent Wheelers with 2.3.29, Ken was hardly ever beaten when he raced in Kent. He was a good friend of the Wigmore. When racing in Kent he and Roy Savery used to stay with Pete Milner at his home in Bredhurst. They often joined the Wigmore club runs when they were racing down this way or sometimes they just rode down from East London to go on our runs.
In 1963 Mo came back to the Wigmore. He won the Len Chambers 25 Mile Cup in 1963 (1:00:01), 1965 (1:00:47) and 1966 (58:11), the R A Burns 50 Mile Cup in 1963, 1965 and 1966, and the Fairyland 100 Cup in 1965 and 1966. He was the winner of the B.A.R. (Best All-Rounder) Cup – Senior in 1963, 1965 and 1966. He also set place-to-place solo and tandem records for the Gillingham (Will Adams Memorial) to Canterbury and back.
In 1971 the Wigmore won the KCA BAR team. Our team was John Booty, Roger Travers and Mo. He recorded 222.683 miles in the ‘12’. The next year Mo was selected to ride for the South East District in the National 100 kilometres 4up Championship. The other team members were Dave Bedford, John Booty and Rod Kennison. They finished 4th , their time was 2.21.17. The Hounslow and District were winners, 2.07.52.
Mo did many road and circuit races, including Brands Hatch, and also track racing, but he broke a collar bone in a grass track race. After 1972 Mo stopped racing and began running. In a marathon he did a time of 2.42, showing he always had great stamina.
In his 50s Mo returned to cycling. He became a member of the VTTA. He didn’t race any more, but he did a lot of long rides still. He went to Wednesday Wobblers and he won the Wigmore Tourist Shield (for a noteworthy tour, audax or sportive ride) in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Mo passed away on 4 December 2023 after a long illness. I wish to offer my deepest condolences to his family and friends, especially his daughter Andrea and son Steve on losing their father and also their mother Shirley, who passed away on 24 August. They lost both their parents less than four months apart.
Clin Maisey, Wigmore CC.