John Allen
The man for all meetings
Click on photo for album of photos of John
John Allen, Chairman of East Midlands Cyclists' Touring Club, past President of Leicestershire and Rutland Cyclists' Touring Club and a former Councillor of the Cyclists' Touring Club died at home on the evening of Sunday, 2nd June 2019. He was always been a tireless worker on behalf of the CTC and here he recalls some of the highlights of his cycling career.
CTC meetings have always played a major part in my association with this great club of ours. I remember my very first clubrun, which was with the Charnwood section to the Flaxdressers in Ashby de la Zouch for their AGM in October 1954 . My first appearance at a DA committee meeting was not until 1956 when it convened in the Fish and Quart, Churchgate Leicester.
This was a very lively and forthright gathering with the president Bill Seager in the chair. I distinctly remember hiding behind my agenda paper when Bill was in full flow ! Thankfully I was not put off, although I was only 16 at the time, and during the ensuing 40 years I have witnessed many changes and made many friends at section, DA and council meetings.
In 1983, while I was secretary of the DA, all Midland secretaries received a call from the National Secretary, Alan Leng, pointing out that no one had yet been nominated to represent our area on the National Council. To the best of my knowledge, no one from this DA had ever served on council since the consul system ended, J .T. Masser (Nottingham) Jimmy Norman (Nottingham) Fred Williams (Birmingham) Phil Draper (Willenhall) and Jeanette Woodcock (Surrey) were all previous councillors. New boundaries had been drawn up and Division K comprised of the following DAs: Birmingham and Midland, East Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes and Leicestershire with one councillor covering the whole area.
At the time of Alan's phone call ’my duties were DA secretary, Cycle Chat editor, press officer for both the DA, and the Charnwood section, also a member of that superb team preparing for the Birthday Rides in August of the following year. I would not have been able to undertake these duties without the support of my wife Ivy, my daughter Julie (then 12) and son Ian (then 8). Our family outfit could be seen on rides most Sundays.
After consultation with my loving family it was decided I should ‘go for it’ and I sent off for a nomination paper. I took up my duties on the National Council in January 1984 and had a good start. Leicestershire DA had won the Carter Ruck trophy in 1983, this was awarded to the DA judged to be the most successful and as this was the eighties – the most successful decade in our history - I was able, with great pride, to use our own DA as a role model on my visits to other DAs.
Following this I received a national award in February 1984 for my press and publicity work - The Arthur Moss Trophy - (in memory of the late national president) which was presented to me by his widow Elsie. I also received the associated Merit Medallion which was presented to me by Ivy Thorpe the national president at that time. These were presented at the annual council headquarters ‘get together’ and I accepted them on behalf of our DA without which none of this could have happened.
For my first council meeting the family had bought a new ‘posh’ briefcase for my papers, but it soon proved to be not nearly large enough. I walked into the committee room at Church House, Westminster not really knowing what to expect. I already knew some members of the council and by 5 pm that Saturday I knew the remainder, as I had been made very welcome by everyone. I was aware beforehand of the many facets covered in the work of the CTC, but to sit on council considering the reports of the different committees and the many council papers on almost anything affecting cycling was mind blowing. There was lively debate and arguments kept in check by a resolute chair-man, Jim Bailey, with everyone having the welfare of the CTC at heart.
The council committees are appointed at the January meeting and I found myself nominated for the DAs and Events committee, on which I was to serve during my eight years on council, four of these years being as chairman. These committees meet separately to council and report back at full council meetings.
From the start, I made it my intention to attend as many DA meetings in the division as possible, this I did and became a member of each one. I missed none ofthe AGMs, although this meant attending two AGMs on one Sunday, Leicestershire in the morning and Birmingham and Midland in the afternoon! When attending council meetings in London I was able to use the excellent train service from Leicester, but was forced to use my car to get to many of the division meetings when it was just too far to cycle after work (sorry about that!). I saw many changes. The area of Birmingham and Midland was too large, stretching from north of Birmingham to south of Hereford. This has now been made into two DAs, Birmingham and Midland and Hereford and Worcester. Similarly Northants and Milton Keynes is now Northants and North Bucks. Changes were also necessary in some committees.
The ‘highs’ the ‘lows’ the successes and the problems, they were all there as they are anywhere else. But the ‘highs’ for me included the two sponsored rides in aid of the British Lung Foundation. These were joint rides with the CTC, starting from the NEC and going into the Forest of Arden, supported by all the DAs and raising many hundreds of pounds for this worthy cause. All four of the DAs were involved in organising various Birthday Rides during this time and many people I met became and remain very good friends. Their dedication to the CTC was paramount. The ‘lows’? Somehow I don’t seem able to recall these although, the whingers may have found a small spot in my memories.
I remember with fondness several of those people who made my life richer by their acquaintance and who have sadly died. I still enjoy the company of many others that I can see when out ‘up the road'. I stood down after eight years due to pressure of work, but it was with much regret that I did so.
During the eighties the Leicestershire DA was so vibrant that I gave a talk on our activities at the DAs conference held in London during 1984. I fervently hope that we can recapture those philosophies and attitudes for our centenary year and for the start of our next I00 years serving cycling.
John also provided us with his recollections of touring in the 1950s in his "Whitwick Wheels to Wainwright's Walks" article in Cycle Chat.A Tribute to John Allen
By Morgan Reynolds
Bretby Crematorium, near Burton on Trent, was the setting for family and many, many friends to say ‘Goodbye’ to cycling stalwart John Allen, from Stanton under Bardon and very well known throughout the East Midlands and beyond.
John’s wife, Ivy, daughter Julie, son Ian and grandchildren Hannah and Adam arranged a beautiful service. Funeral celebrant, Caroline Warne presented the service in a lovely, sincere manner, relating to the family. Opening with John’s childhood in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, subsequent schooling and his five year Engineering Apprenticeship at Pegsons of Coalville, then on to Berridges in Leicester. John worked at Glenborough Engineering in Glenfield for a number of years before moving to Coalville Technical College in 1971, where he worked for 24 years. In 1995, John took early retirement but continued to work part-time until 2013 when ill health forced him to finish work at South Leicestershire College.
John’s main interests included vintage buses and railways. However, anything CYCLING was the real passion for him and his family, wholly involved with the Charnwood Section of the Cyclists Touring Club (which older brother Phil had formed in 1952) and coupled with Leicestershire District Association of the C.T.C.
Very active and always heavily involved with the committee side of things, John gave vast amounts of time and energy to local and national issues. Serving as C.T.C National Councillor for eight years representing our East Midlands Region and, as testified by the many friends in their colourful cycling shirts, were a large proportion of the congregation at Bretby, from Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Northants and Leicestershire – all Cyclists Touring Club/Cycling UK members. Evidence of how highly regarded John was in our cycling world.
Among his many awards for services to Cycling was the Alfred Moss Memorial Cup and Medallion in 1984, just about the highest award one can get from the CTC National Office. Not many people knew that – John was a modest, quiet man, one of the Gentlemen of Life.
From 2013, John suffered health problems, necessitating several operations and spells in the Leicester hospitals. All these he bore with his usual quiet manner, continuing to be at the forefront of Leicestershire and East Midlands activities. The annual Meriden Memorial service in May was one of his pleasures and priorities – to have been unable to attend this year through illness must have been hard to face.
Charnwood Group and Leicestershire have lost a real stalwart in John – he would have loved the overhead show of cycle wheels as the funeral entered the crematorium.
Since December last year, we have lost Howard Naylor and, more recently, Keith Lakin. In the loss of John, the core of our groups are severely depleted. All three families are very close, as evidenced by attendance at Bretby. These three, over the years, have been the rock of Leicestershire Touring Cyclists, their shoes will be impossible to fill.
Those of us left behind have many treasured memories of John Allen. Folk like him are rare, and perhaps come along once in a lifetime. Our sincere condolences to Ivy, Julie, Ian, Hannah and Adam.
It has been a privilege to have known you John!