One of the founders of the second Addiscombe Cycling Club was Charles Frederick Davey. His older brother Ted was a member of the Catford Cycling Club. Little is known about Ted but he raced an Ordinary bicycle at Herne Hill.
A copy of the handbook of 1909 is still in existence, plus the club badge worn by Charles Davey and one other acquired at a jumble sale in the 1980’s. The headquarters of this second club was The Alma Hotel, corner of Grant Road and Lower Addiscombe Road. The club also had country headquarters at The Railway Hotel, West Wickham, and The Speed Hut, Merstham. Country headquarters remained very popular for clubs right into the 1950’s.
By 1909 the Hon Secretary was C.L. Durant of 50 Edridge Road, Croydon. The Captain was A. Reads. Club colours were green and gold and the annual subscription 2/6d. (25p in decimal coinage).
From the handbook we learn that Wednesday evening runs would leave The Alma at 7 p.m. sharp going to, for example, Carshalton, Coulsdon Common or Merstham. Sunday morning runs departed at 9.30 a.m. for such places as Green Street Green, Reigate Hill, Chislehurst, or the Country Headquarters. Occasionally the morning ride was replaced by an all-day ride to, for example, Guildford, or an afternoon Ladies’ run, one such being “the Captain’s Surprise Run”, and at the end of May and August an all-day run was scheduled to depart at midnight for Worthing and Arundel respectively.
The second club disbanded early in 1909 through lack of officials but not before Charles Davey had won the Olympian C C 50 in the club’s name. He then joined the Vegetarian C & A C where he made a name for himself winning longer distance events and becoming a member of the English team selected to ride the 200 miles time trial at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912. Following World War 1 and service in the Royal Naval Air Service he continued his success as a long distance time triallist and record breaker and was placed third in the first Road Championship of the World held in 1921 near Copenhagen and third again in 1922 when the Championship took place in England. He turned professional in 1923, riding for the New Hudson Cycle Company and took the 24-Hour, Land’s End to London, London to Bath and Back and London to Portsmouth and Back records before ending his career at the age of 40. On his retirement from racing, he managed some of the top professional riders for Sturmey Archer Gears Ltd and opened up a small shop at 3 Lower Addiscombe Road originally selling gramophones and cycles. In 1929 the Addiscombe Cycling Club we know today was founded under his guidance.
- An Introduction to our History
- The 1883 Addiscombe Cycling Club
- The 1906 Addiscombe Cycling Club
- An Historical Background to the Road Record Associations
- A Brief Historical Background to Cycling Time Trials
- The Club’s Revival, 1929 to 1939
- The Club in Wartime, 1940 to 1946
- The Post-War Years, 1947 to 1957
- Post-War Track and Roller Racing
- The Men in Post-War Time Trials
- The Women in Post-War Time Trials
- Post-War Closed Circuit and Road Racing
- An Influx of New Riders and the Passing of a Statesman, 1958 to 1964
- The Club Heads Towards its Golden Jubilee, 1965 to 1978
- Membership Declines, 1979 to 1987
- The Arrival of the Young Mountain Bikers, 1988 to 1994
- Another Period of Declining Membership, 1995 to 1999
- New Century and a New Look for the Addiscombe, 2000 to 2006
