Jackie Bone

John ‘Jackie’ Bone was born in Milngavie, Glasgow in 1914 the eldest of six children. His father was a disabled retired serviceman. When Bone left school he trained as a heavy-work moulder and developed his cycling while earning spare cash as a cycle messenger for a local shopkeeper. He joined Glasgow United Cycling Club and in 1934 rode his first race; a novices 25-mile road event. His winning time of 1hour 8min 55sec was the fastest time returned by a Scottish novice that year.

Bone then moved to Glasgow Wheelers and in 1935 entered the West of Scotland twelve hour time trial. The riders rode along the coast with various incursions inland and finally returned on a seven mile finishing circuit in the Linwood area having completed a distance of approximately 211 miles. The event timekeepers logged each rider’s progress round the circuit. When Bone entered the finishing circuit he was so far ahead of the expected time he was directed to ride round Paisley over cobbled streets for a time before returning to the circuit to complete his 12 hours. When he finished he had set a new Scottish and British record having cycled 244¾ miles in the time; the first man to exceed an average speed of 20 mph over such lengthy period. ‘All other cycling topics this week have been subordinated by the sensational preliminary results of the West of Scotland 12 hours. Even the most enthusiastic follower was not prepared for three British records being surpassed with something to spare. Bone’s distance beats C. Holland's 1933 record by 7 miles and the Scottish record by no less than 16 miles.’[1] However, by an extraordinary coincidence later the same day an English rider finished a 12-hour event with a greater distance and thus Bone only held the British record for a few hours. However, he had proven his terrific ability.

In 1936 Curwen Clague, a member of the Isle of Man Viking Wheelers cycle club, arranged for a cycle race to take place on one circuit of the famous Isle of Man TT motor-cycle race. At this time bunched road racing in Britain was only permitted on roads closed to other users and so seldom took place. In his programme notes, the editor of The Bicycle, W. J. Mills wrote: 'It can be of incalculable value to the cause of English cycling in international races. For many years, English riders who went abroad to compete in international events, such as the world championships, were at a disadvantage owing to a lack of experience in massed start racing. There is no possible doubt that given a suitable opportunity, and acquiring the necessary technique, English riders will soon be able to hold their own with the world's best amateurs’.

The Glasgow Wheelers decided to send their new star to the event and paid the two shillings entrance fee for Bone and his costs of travelling. No doubt Bone prepared with extra training, perhaps even increasing his intake of his favourite foods of black puddings and fish and chips. Sadly, it is not known if the Isle of Man was able to a supply his preferred fuel tipple during long races – liquid custard. The 37.75 miles (60.75km) course for the Manx International Road Race took the riders from Douglas to Ramsey, then a climb of five miles to the top of Snaefell mountain at 422m before descending steeply back into Douglas. Bone was one of 81 starters. ‘Thousands of motorcycle racing fans had stayed on to watch the cycle race and a number rode alongside part of the way and one cyclist was brought down by a motorcycle and sidecar. The riders had only travelled half a mile and as the roads were not closed to other traffic they met a lorry coming the other way causing two riders to crash and further incidents brought down more riders, including a broken chain that brought ten men down.’ Bone managed to avoid the trouble and at the beginning of the climb up Snaefell he, Charles Holland of Midland C.C. and William Messer of Marlborough C.C. were 600 yards ahead of the rest of the field. At the top of the mountain they were still together. ‘They sped down at fifty miles per hour and took the corner at Craig.Ny.Bar without slackening. In sight of the finish at Governor Bridge Bone sprinted sway, but Holland swept past him. Messer then challenged, but Holland crossed the line a good length in front.’ Holland’s time was 1hour 42min 57sec, at an average speed of 22 m.p.h. He finished one length ahead of Messer with Bone three lengths behind in third place.

By riding in the Isle of Man massed start race Bone had breached the Scottish authorities ban on participating in such events and the rules stated that he therefore should be banned from racing for a period of time. However, Bone was touted as a potential rider for Britain in the 1936 Olympics to be held in Berlin and he, and others, waited to see what would be decided. ‘It will interesting to see the outcome. Only the other week a Stirlingshire club was suspended from the Association for breaking a rule on the ground that rules were rules and they had be obeyed. Yet one can hardly imagine the authorities suspending Scotland’s only Olympic hope. That being so, it would be the height inconsistency to take action against any others competing in the Dunoon race this autumn.’[2] Bone was ticked off but not suspended and on the basis of his showing in the Isle of Man race was selected as part of the British Road Race Olympic team.

The other team members were all English and included Holland and Messer who had beaten Bone on the Isle of Man. Bone was instructed to attend a training camp in London in advance of going to Berlin and rushed to his employers to tell them the news, and ask for the time off. Not only were they unimpressed at the news, they told him if he wanted to go there would be no job on his return. Now unemployed Bone waited to receive a voucher for the train south but although the National Cyclists’ Union were covering the expenses for the cyclists from London to Berlin, no support for the journey to London was forthcoming. In desperation Bone decided he would cycle all the way to London but having started out had second thoughts. Instead he contacted one of the large removal companies to see if they were taking a consignment to London. One said they were and agreed Bone could ride with it. However the firm was no more impressed that Bone was to ride for Britain at the Olympics than his employers had been, and only consented on the understanding that he help unload the van on its arrival in London.

What the 22-year-old Bone thought of the opening ceremony in Berlin can only be imagined. As the athletes marched into the stadium musical fanfares directed by the famous composer Richard Strauss announced the arrival of Adolf Hitler. In what would become an Olympic ritual, a lone runner arrived bearing a torch carried by relay from the site of the ancient Games in Olympia, Greece. This was all part of Germany’s propaganda that likened Nazi Germany with ancient Greece; thus symbolizing the Nazi racial myth of a superior German civilization. The British Olympic Cycle team of four raced in the 100 kilometres; a combined individual and team race with the team result computed on the sum of the team’s three best finishers. The race was ridden as a mass start for the first time in Olympic history, starting and ending in the Avus motor racing circuit. The course was an out-and-back one over relatively flat roads, and it was not difficult enough to break apart most of the peloton. There were a number of crashes during the race and a massive pile up in the final. Bone finished about a quarter of a mile behind the leaders. ‘"I’m disappointed for I have been faster than my time in training," he said afterwards. “We were sitting up part of the time. I fell twice in the last four miles. Once I was pushed off into the roadside and once I fell on the track.”' Holland managed equal fourth place but where the British team came in the team placing was never known as the timekeepers were unable to cope with the confusion of the crash 20 yards from the line and the mass of riders finishing together. All that was decided was that the French team had won. John Taylor of the Motherwell C.C. also raced in this event and one hopes that the report of his send-off in the Motherwell Times was a typo and that he did not head for Spain instead of Germany! ‘Taylor had a rousing send off by his clubmates on Wednesday at Glasgow Central Station, where he entrained the Night Scot for London on his journey to Barcelona to take part in the mass start race at the Olympiad sports in Barcelona. It is confidently expected that he will make fine show, if he is not the actual winner of this important event.’[3]

As Britain only won a single bronze medal at the Berlin Olympics some argued that the wrong riders had been selected but others thought the poor showing had a different basis: ‘As I have said before, Continental methods are vastly different to ours. The foreigners train and train again for such events as international cycle races. Our men have not this kind of organisation behind them. They are pure amateurs, and have to work for their living in between racing and training. The ruling body behind foreign cycle racing is much stricter than ours, and the members are "under orders" all the time. In England we take our men in a month or two before the international events. They only have one or two trials over courses which may be similar to those over which they will have to ride when abroad.’[4]

Yet in spite of Bone not returning with a medal he was lauded by Milngavie Town Council and a reception in his honour took place in November. ‘The Chairman said that was a great night. It was a night that would live long in their memory. When he was coming down to the hall, he was attempting to find some sort of phraseology that would suitably sum up the evening and he remembered a very old quotation from a Milngavie worthy which bore repetition. It was this: There never has been a night like this since my granny fell out of the bed.” (Laughter) That was perhaps an Irish way of putting it, but it was to him a very happy quotation, because that was a very unusual and unique gathering. It was the first time in the history of Milngavie that such a celebration had ever been held. It was not only the first time in the history Milngavie, but also in the history of Scotland, that such a celebration had been possible, and they who were privileged to take part in that function that night were deeply appreciative of the renown and the honour which Jackie Bone had brought to Milngavie. (Applause.) Mr. Jack Smith, president of the Glasgow United Cycling Club, said: “It is a pleasure to be here tonight and see our clubmate, Jacky Bone, honoured by the burgh of Milngavie, or Mulguy as we all know it. To his clubmates, Jacky was always known as Mulguy, and he has been a good advertisement for his home town, carrying the name far afield.” In making the presentation Bailie Habbick wondered if those present ever thought what breaking the 12-hours record meant. It meant this, that, starting from Milngavie, one would cycle through Glasgow on to Carlisle and back, all inside 12 hours. Most of them who had sometimes to travel to Carlisle by train were very pleased when they could have a meal on board, and they had no doubt felt they had done a pretty fair performance if they had sat in the train for 12 hours. Yet Jackie went there and back on his bicycle. (Applause.) Pointing to the solid silver tea service on the table, Bailie Habbick hoped that at some future point when Jackie and his wife sat down to have a cup of tea together he would have as much pleasure in looking on the silver as they in that hall had in presenting it.’[5]

On Saturday 29 May 1937 Bone was in London to take part in the main race that formed part of the Sunday Pictorial's National Cycling Festival at Alexandra Palace. ‘Ten thousand tanned, thrilled and happy cycle fans who visited Alexandra Palace yesterday roared when Jessie Matthews, the famous actress and singer walked on the stage. Backstage, Jessie Matthews, beautiful in an eggshell blue frock and a large brown hat, was telling me, "Weren't the cycle stunts' marvellous? Thank heavens I don't have to earn my living that way! All the cycling I do is between pictures—just to keep fit."’[6] The weather had been perfect for the international cycle ball, a type of sport that the Sunday Pictorial introduced to England and after Heinrich Compes, the world champion trick cyclist demonstrated the daring stunts the mass-start road race began. However, the local roads were far from suitable. ‘Soon after the start the competitors had a taste of cobbled roads, complete with tramlines, then about three hundred yards of pot-holes, a hairpin bend, and then a half-mile downhill a blind corner on a loose gravel surface. At the bottom there was a very sharp hairpin bend, which necessitated the competitors slowing down almost to a complete standstill in order to negotiate it successfully. It was here and on the previous' hairpin that the majority of crashes took place. The final stretch was then all uphill, with more tramlines, but much better surfaced. Having had to slow down so much for the hairpin, this hill had, therefore, virtually to be climbed from a standing start. Bone confounded the theorists using a fixed gear and dropping change-speed gear merchants on the hill. Once on his own Bone gained steadily each lap and it was on the big hill with his big gear - compared with the three-speed men who changed down - that his superiority was shown to the utmost.[7] His winning time was 55min. 46sec. As the first ever regular high-definition television service had been launched by the BBC the previous November and was based at Alexandra Palace, fifteen minutes coverage of the race was transmitted to the few television set owners in London. Thus, the first cyclist to win a televised event was a Scot. This was doubly  appropriate for it was the Scotsman, John Logie Baird, who invented television and in his early experiments to create a working television system Baird used bicycle lamps.

Following Bone’s success in the Isle of Man in 1936, the Glasgow Wheelers decided to send four riders to the race the following year. In addition to Bone the club sent Donald Morrison, Jimmy Brinkins and William Milne. As a warm up the week before travelling, the foursome set a new Scottish record in the Scottish Competition 100 Miles with an aggregate time of 14hours 16min 17 sec. At the Isle of Man they were among the sixty-seven riders that set off in another bunch start from Douglas in glorious weather. ‘Thousands of spectators lined the vantage points round the course. The start from the grandstand was witnessed by a large crowd, among whom was the Governor of the Island, and the spectacle of all the riders sweeping down Bray Hill caused great excitement.’[8] That year there were fewer crashes although Brinkins had to abandon. One competitor damaged his bicycle in a spill, but borrowed a machine from a spectator and carried on. Having to climb Snaefell twice took its toll on most, but Bone and Morrison were riding well and took the front along with Jack Farncourt from Yorkshire. Morrison broke clear and was then overtaken by Bone, but in the final sprint Farncourt took first place in a time of 3hrs 28min 43sec, with Bone second and Morrison third so the Glasgow Wheelers took the team prize. Rediffusion, the earliest form of cable radio, that usually simply rebroadcast BBC programmes, carried live commentary on part of the race: ‘Between 1.50pm and 5pm programmes will be interrupted for commentaries on the Manx International TT Cycle Race’. Sadly, the service was unavailable in Scotland. Also it is likely that the majority of those whose radios received the Rediffusion service were disconcerted when they switched on for the scheduled organ concert to hear a cycling commentary.

In 1938 Bone continued his string of successes and was the only Scottish rider selected as one of the four British amateurs to compete in the World Championships at Valkenburg in Holland. It was run over 170 miles but Bone retired after 50 miles and the best placed of the three British riders who finished was John Farncourt who came fifteenth.

As Bone disappears from newspaper reports of cycling events from 1939 to 1944 he may have served in the armed services although nothing has been traced. In August 1944 he raced in the 800 yards open race at the St. Meehan’s Athletic Club annual sports meeting held at Lennoxtown Playing Field. ‘The cycling was represented by no less than three Scottish champions and leading track men. including Jackie Bone, Glasgow Wheelers; Alexander Hendry, Glasgow Wheelers, three times Scottish champion and at present the fastest cyclist Great Britain; and Jimmy Binkins. Both Bone and Binkins qualified in their heats, but their great efforts could not hold back the younger school. Alex. Hendry put up a grand show, and a crash in the half-mile compelled him to run into the spectators, otherwise there might have been a different result in the race. Thrills among the cycle races were many and great credit must due to them for the risks they ran on such narrow track.’[9]

Perhaps seeing that he was unlikely to return to winning form, Bone decided to retire that year. He continued to have links with cycling, acting as a judge at road races. In 1952 he appeared as the ‘star attraction’ at a sports exhibition in Kirkintilloch.  He died in 1983.

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