A History of the Rally

Bob Humble, 93 years young, recently answered a question that has been taxing the brains of the current members of the National Road Rally committee for some considerable time. When was the first Rally held? They had known from a photograph in a newspaper report of the final control at Rhyl in North Wales dated 1935 that huge crowds had turned out to see the riders arrive, but when the first Rally was held remained a mystery apparently buried in the mists of time. In 2006 Bob helped at the Gainsborough Control managed by his daughter Jean Witting, husband Stuart and their family along with fellow members of the Scunthorpe Motorcycling Club – then in their 28th year as control organisers. Although he could have gone home to bed early, Bob stayed until the control closed at mid-night. “Not bad for a 92 year old!” said Jean.

Jean knowing of the Committee’s interest in the history of the Rally, whilst sorting some of her Dad’s papers excitedly discovered details of the 1939 National Rally that her father and his cousin and great friend Bill Millburn had entered together. The programme detailed the 891 competitors, including Bill riding his BSA registration number JM 3321 with allotted rally number 411, whilst Bob was 784 mounted on his beloved 600cc Panther that he’d bought new in 1937 from London dealer George Clark.  Although Bob’s Control Card has been lost, Bill Millburn’s son Keith managed all these 68 years later to find his Dad’s card. As Bob insists they rode together, we know that they rode 429 miles each and visited 14 of the 120 controls in that year’s rally. They began their arduous ride at Kendal, rode north to Carlisle and into Scotland and then back to Berwick-upon-Tweed and south via Newcastle, Thirsk, Nottingham and Derby to the final control at Donington Circuit. Remember, that was on bikes that often needed a bit of tender loving care from a knowledgeable rider mechanic to keep them going and where the roads were far more primitive than they are today. The breadth of the rally was huge with controls as far apart as Penzance and Hawick in Scotland and Margate and Bangor in North Wales. Truly a National Rally! Perusing the list of controls it appears that virtually all were located at motorcycle dealers or garages where no doubt local enthusiasts would have come to cheer on their favourite riders and provide excellent advertising for the firms involved.