members present were not all in agreement, Mr. James Aldred was not elected a Centurion. James Aldred never did qualify, or perhaps never tried again? At the next meeting, held in April, the secretary, Chas Culling, stated that he intended to propose that all applications for election to the Centurions must be made within 3 months of the qualifying performance and be accompanied by all relevant evidence. The James Aldred affair was finally laid to rest at a meeting held on 3rd July 1937, when it was unanimously agreed that C99 should not be awarded to any Centurion, but should be left out of the numbering. This decision was confirmed at the next meeting held in October 1937. Whilst the Aldred affair was going on, as 1937 followed an Olympic Year, Surrey Walking Club promoted another Brighton & Back. Of the 17 starters, 11 were to complete the full journey, 8 of them becoming new Centurions.
The winner was Jonnie Henderson of the
Sussex Walking Club. He was later to become a founder member of Steyning A.C. Of the 3 existing Centurions, both A.F. Spicer C76 and J. Prior C92, completed their hat-tricks, becoming the 3rd and 4th Centurions to achieve this feat. Of the 119 pre-war Centurions, only 4 others were to achieve the hat-trick or better. The 4 were A.D. McSweeney C94 (3), T. W. Richardson C100 (6) J. O’Neill C102 (3) and G. Hall C107 (8). In July 1938, a new handbook was produced which included a foreword and short history
of the Centurions, which had been compiled by E.H. Neville and E.C. Wray. At this meeting the chairman suggested that the time was ripe for another 24 hour race in London, the last being held in September 1909 – 29 years ago. Because the Centurions are not a promoting body, the secretary was requested to write to the Stock Exchange A.C., to see if they would promote the event in 1939 with assistance from the Centurions. This matter was considered by the Stock Exchange A.C. but was decided against in January 1939. A sub committee was formed to consider the proposed 24 hour track race, but all to no avail, for soon the world would once again be at war. Prior to the war, of the 119 listed Centurions, 9 had passed away, the majority of those remaining still being relatively young men, but only a few were young enough to serve their King and Country.
The War Years
At the outset of war, long distance competitions were naturally suspended, as were most other walking events. At a meeting in December 1939, the secretary reported that owing to the blackout etc., he did not call the October quarterly meeting, but it was decided that the Centurions should carry on as best as possible. Meetings were held on a fairly regular basis, but unfortunately one of the regular announcements at these meetings would be the report of the death of yet another Centurion. One such report was made at a meeting in January 1941, when it was announced that H.W. Horton C5, and his wife were killed by an enemy bomb, a direct hit on their home in Walworth, South London. In October 1941, A.D. McSweeney C94, published the first issue of Race Walking Record in an attempt to keep people abreast of the walking scene in the limited conditions. The Race Walking Record is still in publication today and is the oldest athletics magazine in regular circulation.
In May 1942, it was
proposed that the chairman at Centurion meetings should be in order of seniority (by age), therefore E.C. Wray C9, took the chair from E.H. Neville C7. It had always been an unwritten rule that the lowest numbered Centurion should be chairman. This proposal was rescinded at the next meeting in favour of the unwritten rule. In October 1943, J.E. Fowler-Dixon Centurion C1, passed away at the age of 93. His death was reported in the press at the time, but was not reported to the Centurions until their next
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