THE HISTORY of the
MIDDLESBROUGH & DISTRICT MOTOR CLUB
PART 1
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THE HISTORY
OF THE
MIDDLESBROUGH & DISTRICT MOTOR CLUB
PREFACE
Researched by:-
ALFRED VICTOR BUTTRESS
Elected Hon. Secretary January
25th. 1923.
The initiative to write the history of the Middlesbrough & District Motor Club was
engendered by a request of Messrs J.Grayson and I.R.Pragnell, Research Team
Leaders, Sports & Pastimes, of the Department of Engineering of the County
Borough of Teesside.
In first attempting to extract the details of Sporting Events it was borne upon me that
it would be just as easy as to write the whole historical record rather than just extract
winners of Sporting Events and as a first attempt I decided to divide the records into
three parts - General, Social and Sporting. However, I had not gone far with this idea
when it became apparent that by so dividing the history, the overall picture would be
lost and after further research I decided to narrate the events year by year under the
appropriate date and in this connection I have been unable to find the Minutes of
meetings held prior to 1912 and have referred to a book of press cuttings and
photographs which was compiled by the late Geoff. W. Liddle and presented to the
Club following his death.
The dates of some of these events have had to be guessed. I have been impressed
by the number of prominent citizens who were members of the Club prior to the First
World War. We have for instance the following Mayors of Middlesbrough all of whom
seem to have taken some pant or evinced interest in the Club.
viz: Charles Dorman (Dorman Long & Co.) 1903, H. Forbes, 1904, A. Mattison, 1912,
Stanley Sadler 1922/3, Egerton Price (builder of the Cleveland Precision Motorcycle
ridden by Freddy Dixon in the 1912 T,T.Race) 1938. Whilst as will be seen the Club
has always made representation to safeguard the rights and privileges of its members
and to take action where advisable affecting their rights, which is part of the objects of
the Club in its Rules.
