Page 43 - Summer2016Gazette

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.