Addiscombe bike shop owner who had a record career

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Further research in the archives at Croydon Minster has revealed another local who reached Olympic heights in the last century, writes DAVID MORGAN

Star of the cycle: Charlie Davey was a world championship medalist and Olympic cyclist from Addiscombe

The 1912 Stockholm Olympics were the last games to be held before the Great War. It was also the last time gold medals were made of solid gold.

For the countries that ceased to exist after the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, this was to be their last appearance at the Olympics. This was the case with Bohemia.

For a Croydon resident, their call-up to represent Great Britain at the Stockholm Games was to be a milestone in his sporting career.

Charlie Davey was a Croydon man through and through. He was baptized on the same day as his sister Elizabeth in December 1889 in Christ Church, Sumner Road, although he had been born three years earlier in 1886. The Daveys lived at 43 Church Street in its early days, according to the 1891 document . census.

Thomas and Theodora Davey lived there with their three boys and daughter.

Baptismal Records: Charlie and sister Elizabeth were baptized on the same day

Thomas Davey was variously described in official documents as a carpenter, joiner or cabinet maker. Charlie grew up to be a cabinetmaker as well, though he would eventually open a bicycle shop.

In his early teens, Charlie enjoyed athletics and football before his brothers Edwin and Arthur encouraged him to try bicycle racing. This was on a grass track and Charlie’s first efforts produced five prizes. It was engaged! Charlie was 19 years old and would go on to have a remarkable 20 year career as a racing driver. Brother Edwin, usually known as Ted, became a member of Catford Cycling Club.

Charlie Davey first joined Addiscombe Cycling Club where he quickly established himself as a formidable competitor. However, he only stayed with them for three years as the club folded due to a lack of officials.

In 1910 Charlie Davey joined the Vegetarian Cycling and Athletic Club. The objective of the club was: “To prove, by the criterion of sports competition, that vegetarians can easily hold their own against their meat-eating counterparts.”

Charlie, on his vegetarian diet, thrived in this club. The following season, he finished third in the 12-hour event at Anerley, which qualified him to represent England at the Stockholm Olympics. He was one of six vegetarian club members selected for the team.

It would prove to be a big year for Davey. He married Eva Hawkins on 21 March 1912 at Mary Magdelene Church in Addiscombe. They made their home at 9 Nicholson Road.

The Olympics were the focus of his training that year so he could be ready for his July 7 race.

There was only one cycling event at the 1912 Olympics, the men’s time trial.

Scroll: the traditional team parade at the Olympic opening ceremony in Stockholm in 1912. The city’s velodrome had been demolished to make way for the new stadium.

There were no cycling events on the track, as Stockholm’s only cycle track had been bulldozed to allow the construction of the athletics stadium, and the authorities were not going to build another.

The race took place at Malar Lake, on a circular route around the water. It turned out to be interesting from many points of view. There were far more competitors than the organizers had anticipated, with 151 riders from 19 countries. This meant that the competition started at 2am to accommodate the large number of beginners.

There were 33 cyclists from Great Britain alone, as the cyclists represented their own country: 12 from England, 12 from Scotland and nine from Ireland.

exhausting: a contemporary account of the unique cycling race of the 1912 Olympics

The course was 196 miles long. Riders were expelled in groups rather than individually, with two minutes between each group. Davey fell just short of a medal, finishing in 11 hours, 47 minutes and 26 seconds, in 39th place.

The winner was a South African, Rudolph Lewis, in 10h 42min 39sec. Davey’s friend Fred Grubb, a future business partner, won the silver medal and England won the team silver, although Davey’s time did not count as only the top four finishers’ times were included.

When he returned from Stockholm, Davey continued with his club cycling, showing everyone how good he was. He set two Roads Records Association records in 1914: one was the run from London to Worthing and back, which he completed in 6 hours, 7 minutes and 25 seconds; the other was the 50-mile tandem race which he completed with E Paul in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 38 seconds.

After the outbreak of war, Davey served in the new Royal Naval Air Service, based in the Orkneys. He survived his time in the forces and was quickly back in the saddle when he returned to civilian life.

Among the many dangers to racing cyclists on England’s roads a century ago were stings. Taking off and changing a wheel took precious time. Davey invented a quick release system that allowed riders to change wheels much faster than before. This new release mechanism was included in the bicycles built by Grubb and Allin. Davey had put up capital for Grubb so that it could resume production after the war. Grubb and Allin’s workshop was on Whitehorse Lane.

When the next Olympics were held, in Antwerp in 1920, Davey was 34, but still a formidable competitor. The British Olympic Association named Davey as a reserve for the cycling team. He had to travel to Harwich, where the team was to sail to the Hook of Holland. As soon as the whole team arrived and was on board, Davey left and traveled to attend a club event.

Annual Dinner: Charlie Davey was a major figure in Croydon cycling, helping to revive Addiscombe CC

He was subsequently selected for the British team at the inaugural World Amateur Road Race in 1921 in Copenhagen. Davey pedaled to a bronze medal behind champion Gunnar Skold of Sweden. At 35, Davey had reached the world stage.

He confirmed this status the following year by winning another bronze at the World Amateur Road Race, held that year in Liverpool. Great Britain won a number of medals that year.

In the following year, 1923, an important decision was made. Davey turned pro. This was late in his career at 36, but he signed for the New Hudson Bicycle Company and rode with them for four years.

During that time he set records for riding from Land’s End to London, London to Bath and back, London to Portsmouth and back, as well as 24-hour records. Charlie Davey was certainly a rider with stamina as his 24 hour record was set at 402 miles. Not bad for a hard day’s work!

In 1924, Davey took part in the 24-hour Bol D’Or cycling race in France. Held at the Buffalo Velodrome in Paris, the riders were paced by a tandem. Davey performed well to finish sixth.

Once he turned pro, Davey was no longer able to compete in amateur racing. Instead, he turned to training and managing riders, as well as being a high official time trialist.

Davey also made sure that Croydon’s club cyclists were well looked after. In 1929 Davey organized a meeting to revive the Addiscombe Cycling Club. In an ad placed in Cycling magazine of 11 January 1929, announced that Charlie Davy would conduct a meeting in the Dorcas Rooms, Clyde Hall, Addiscombe, on 15 January, with a view to Addiscombe CC becoming viable again. At the meeting Davey was declared president and the club became an integral part of the local sporting scene.

Honorary Career: Charlie Davey’s entrance The Golden Book of Cycling

As a local newspaper reported, Davey was keen to promote the social side of the cycling club as well as the racing. In January 1930 he organized the first annual Addiscombe Club dinner at the Café Royal in the North End. A “funny talk” was given by Mr. Bartleet, president of the Belle Vue Cycling Club. Not to be outdone, Davey, also chairman of the host club, provided the musical entertainment being described as “a consummate tenor”. Was there no end to his talents?

Even at the age of 47, in 1934, Davey made another attempt to break the 24-hour record, but was forced to abandon the effort after 130 miles due to scorching weather.

In 1959 and now 70, Charlie Davey was rewarded for a lifetime of achievement by receiving an entry into The Golden Book of Cycling. It was a glowing tribute that marked a lifetime of racing, coaching, managing and officiating in the sport. He was said to have an unrivaled knowledge of the long distance record attempt routes and his organization and officiating brought a huge degree of professionalism to each event.

Charlie Davey died in 1964 at Beckenham Hospital after living for many years on Lower Addiscombe Road above his shop selling bicycles and gramophones and leaving a sporting legacy that deserves to be remembered and celebrated in this Olympic year.

• David Morgan is a former headmaster from Croydon, now Voluntary Education Officer at Croydon Minster, who provides illustrated tours or talks about the history surrounding the church for local community groups.

If you would like a group tour of Croydon Minster or would like to book a school visit, call the Ministry Office on 020 688 8104 or go to the website www.croydonminster.org and use the contact page

Some previous articles by David Morgan:

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