Following the second meeting of the Centurions on the 4th July 1911 there was another Brighton & Back time trial which was held on the 14th – 15th of that month, the only new qualifier being T.E. Bartlett who holds the distinction of being the first member to be officially elected by his peers at a Centurion meeting held on January 30th 1912. It is interesting to note that in previous editions of this handbook, his performance was recorded as being made in the 1909 track race. It is now known that this is incorrect. In August 1912 there was another Brighton & Back time trial in which there were 3 new
qualifiers, one of them being Charles J. Culling who would later be elected as the Hon. Secretary a position he held from 1922 to 1955, an unbroken span of 33 years. 1913 was a memorable year when many different things affecting the Centurions took
place, the first being that T.E. Hammond and E.H. Neville of the Surrey Walking Club put up a trophy for the first man home in the Brighton & Back race.
In those days, in order to
compete in a Brighton & Back event, the entrant had to be enrolled as a member of the S.W.C. It was not necessary to be a first claim member. The Hammond-Neville trophy as it was called would therefore always be won by a club member.
To this day the base still
exists, but the whereabouts of the 2 foot tall nymph figurine is unknown. At a meeting of the Centurions on the 21st May, a proposal was made that a list of Centurions should be produced. It was decided that those who were qualified but had not taken up membership should be omitted from the list, but a note of their names and performances should be made. To date, a copy of these lists has regrettably never been found. In July there was a Brighton & Back race in which 9 men started. The race was held in gale force conditions with heavy rain, and so it is no wonder that only 3 finished; it is reported that all of the three were ‘well built gentlemen’ and therefore had more protection against the elements than their fellow competitors. Harold Rhodes, who had qualified the year before, won the race by more than 2 hours from the 2 new qualifiers, and so became the first holder of the Hammond-Neville trophy. In August, Harold Rhodes was elected Secretary and Treasurer to follow in the footsteps of E.R. Gillespie and T.E. Hammond.
The first edition of this handbook was
published, containing the details of Centurion numbers 1 to 54. In October there was another Brighton & Back time trial in which two new members qualified. 1914 was another memorable year for good and bad reasons. In May, the S.W.C. rescinded
their rule that competitors in the Brighton & Back time trial should be enrolled as members of their club, thus making the Brighton & Back an open event. In the race which was held in July, the magazine “Health & Strength” funded a veterans event for walkers over the age of 45, to be held in conjunction with the main race. The 4 veterans who started had a 45 minute pre-start from the main field. One veteran, George Hesketh of Lancashire, completed along with 5 newcomers from the main race, the winner being Edgar Broad by more than 2 hours. All of the new men were elected to the Centurions at a meeting held on 4th September. At that meeting, Jack Butler and H.W. Horton were elected Life Members. From simple beginnings, the Centurions now had a firm base on which to build. There were 62 registered members, and the sport of long distance walking was once again becoming popular, the only prize being membership of this exclusive society. All of this early work was to come to an abrupt halt. On August 4th war was declared – THE GREAT WAR. Centurion activities as well as most walking events were suspended for the duration. Most of the 62 Centurions were of suitable age and therefore signed up to fight for their King and Country. It is not known how many (if any) Centurions were killed in action, as a roll of honour was never kept. Of the many young men who gave their lives, there were a number of race walkers – good walkers and back markers, some of whom would have undoubtedly have become Centurions – such are the fortunes of war.
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