| Brian
Waller 4th July 1935-13th June 2013.
Joined De Laune
Cycling Club 16th October 1956.
Time trial Secretary 1961.
General Secretary 1962-1968, 1970, 1975-76.
Chairman 1977-80.
Gold Badge of Honour in 1969.
Life Member (awarded for services to club, as
opposed 50 years membership).
I have known Brian for the best part of 55 years,
and whilst he has not been an active member for some
time, he always made the effort to attend the
Newnham Service, and with Barbara, come to our BBQ
held in conjunction with the Max Dods’ (Brian’s very
good friend) Memorial run, when he felt up to it,
for he has had Leukaemia for some years and had his
ups and downs.
Brian rode time trials for quite a few years and
is best described as a middle marker with, from
memory, a 1.02 as his fastest ‘25’. He was
consistent and could be relied on as a third counter
in Team Races.
I did a couple of short tours with Brian, along
with Jack Young, one in the Hawkhurst area and
another around Swanage. But one of my best memories
is going to a “100” on the Wimborne course (P2),
Bournemouth Arrow or Jubilee Wheelers event, which
we rode together on several occasions. This time we
went in his bubble car, complete with roof rack.
Unfortunately, the roof rack was not purpose built
for his bubble car, so Brian handed me two ends of a
rope which he had attached to either end of the
rack, and he told me to watch out for the bikes and
if I saw them in my front view to pull the back
rope, and vice versa. It wasn’t so bad going, but
coming home after riding the “100’ was no fun, I can
assure you.
However, the following year I got my own back and
we went in my old Ford Prefect. All was well going
down, but on the way back there was a noticeable
lack of power and when we reached Putney Hill, Brian
had to get out, to lighten the load, and push the
car to the top. The car, (according to the
mechanic), had 2 seized pistons, one good one, and
one that went up and down when it felt like it.
Happy Days and Fond Memories.
Malcolm Adams
17 June 2013 |
