Page 43 - Summer2016Gazette
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Feature  41
        Blackheath Harriers in the 1930s






                                I Came across an interesting   Sydney missed the 1938
          Looking through old issues   1936 letter from Sydney who   Empire games which were in
          of  the Gazette a past   wrote to the Club members   Australia. You had to sail there
          president has discovered   thanking them for paying for   and back in those days which
          some interesting little gems   his coach Albert Hill (himself   took about 6 weeks each way.
          of  club history. The 1930s   a top International Athlete   Why did he miss them? He
          was a promising decade   and double Olympic Gold   had his Law finals to sit. At
                                Medallist) to go to Berlin
                                                        that time he was anticipating
          for a club which seemed   where he managed to stay in   doing the 800/1500 double at
          destined to fade away only   the Athletes Village and was   the 1940 Olympics in Tokyo.
          ten years before. It was the   “very useful”. Sydney referred   His World Mile Record at
          time for emerging taltents   to this as a great oversight by   Motspur Park was on the first
          such as Ernie Page and   the AAA. Also stated what   day of the Football season.
                                a wonderful experience the
          Sydney Wooderson who   Berlin Olympics were.  A lot of money had been
                                                        put into staging this meeting
          came to dominate that era.   Albert Hill used to write in the   and there was nervousness
          There were however other   Gazette on training. The bit that   about the size of the crowd
          lesser lights such as Ronald   stood out was as follows: “One   that would turn up. It all
          Philo who became Club   run a week, which is the amount   worked out OK with, at that
          Captain in 1937 and   undertaken by a big majority of   time, the best ever attendance
          John Poole who was also   the members, is hopeless and   for a meeting at that venue.
                                                        Legendary Past President,
                                will get you nowhere”. In 1930,
          a steeplechaser and Cross   track training for the Club under   Tom Crafter, was there. He
          Country man, scoring twice   Albert took place at Battersea   had also witnessed W G
          in the National team and   Park!              George’s World mile record
          achieving a best of  58th
          place. There was also
          L D Butler who was in the
          London Empire Games
          of  1934 (BH President at
          the time was Chair of  the
          Entertainments Committee
          for those Games).
          But what else do the 1930
          Gazettes contain?






                                Sydney Wooderson (raised centre) after setting the World Mile Record at Motspur
                                Park gust 1937.
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