One of the many assets of the Willesden CC is our club’s remarkable history and heritage. It is great to see an article in an edition of the “Cyclist” magazine about the previous Willesden CC’s Club President, Jim Love.
Jim Love was in the Great Britain team for the 1948 Olympic games, which were held in London. Jim lived in Kingsbury in NW London and joined the Willesden CC at the age of 16, just around the time the war was ending. He developed rapidly as a rider and by 1948 he had earned a place on the six man GB Olympic team. He trained at the Herne Hill velodrome, commuting there on his road bike with his track bike jauntily slung over one shoulder! He described how the saddle was just behind his ear, but the major hazard he had to contend with was the trams and their tracks.
In one of the penultimate training sessions he had an off-day and was distanced by his team mates. So he was nominated as a team reserve. It is worth noting that in a previous conversation with Jim he mentioned that his boss would not initially allow him to take the day off work to attend the Olympics!
Jim is a superb ambassador for the club and is a true gentleman, just look at the positive comments about him on the club’s history page. It is wonderful to see this salute to him in the cycling press, so thank you “Cyclist” magazine and also a big thank you to Gill Reynolds who spotted their article.
Miles Back
