the new handbook. The Watts brothers, Bob C838 and Ken C859, explained that research was still going on but due to a lack of personal information from existing Centurions, the compendium project would have to be put on hold for a while, although much of the information already gathered would be included in the revised handbook. Another matter the Watts brothers had agreed to deal with was the new plinth for the “Sunday Dispatch” trophy. As Centurions were now solvent, thanks to the generous nature of the members, this project could now go ahead. Although the financial situation had now been stabilised, there was no knowing how long the situation would last with major items in the offing. It was decided that the money in the benevolent fund, which had hardly ever been used, should be transferred to the general account. All enquiries in respect of the Prior salver had now been exhausted, it was agreed that the matter should now be dropped - but not forgotten. On the positive side, the “Unicorn Trophy” for the winner of the Bristol 100 had been returned by the last winner, Derek Harrison C466. Trevor Chorley C435 of the former Bristol Club agreed that it should become the property of the Centurions and could be awarded to the first lady to finish the annual 100. The meeting closed with a discussion of the future of qualifying events. 1997 had been


earmarked for a 24 hour record attempt on a new track at Ware, Hertfordshire. It was thought that an event in the Midland area could be staged for 1998, and as 1999 would mark the centenary of Surrey Walking Club, they would be promoting a special event. The year 2000 would see the coming of the new millennium, and as there were proposals in hand for a new facility to celebrate it at Greenwich, there might be a chance of staging a race on the site. Following a suggestion from Piet Jansens C389 that the British Centurions should hold an annual reunion similar to the one held by the Dutch, a questionnaire was sent to the members with the Christmas letter to gauge their opinions. The response was generally favourable and that it should be kept simple. The officers set up a sub-committee which decided that as there had not been any such function since the 75th anniversary in 1986, it should be a formal affair. The venue chosen was the splendid setting of the R.A.F. Club in London’s Piccadilly and it would take place on September 27th 1997. For the first time in eight years there was no British representative in the Paris-Colmar race,


that is not to say that the Centurions were not represented. Alexsey Radionov C901 finished 2nd in the mens race and Marleen Radder-Willems C783 won the ladies race from Chalons- sur-Marne to Colmar, the first Centurion victory in the toughest event in sport! The viability of the track race at Ware, had, for some time, been in doubt. A final decision was made and the event took place on the weekend of 19th-20th July. 25 walkers started the race, 23 of them being existing Centurions. The 2 non Centurions failed to reach 100 miles, and so for the first time in history there were no new qualifiers. 11 passed the 100 mile mark and went on for the full 24 hours as did 3 others who failed to reach the 100. With a new definition of walking being rigorously applied for the first few hours, two walkers failed to meet the criteria and were subsequently disqualified. The star of the show was undoubtedly Sandra Brown who took the lead at 3 hours and from then on was never headed. This was her first undisputed win, unlike the joint victory with her husband at Leicester in 1992. She broke her own records at 100 miles, in 19 hours 27 minutes 15 seconds, and at 24 hours with a distance of 121 miles 59 yards, (194.785 km) plus others en route. The first man, some 2 miles behind Sandra was Per Kleis Pederson C800 who had flown over for the race after finishing the 4 day Nijmegen marches. A week earlier he had walked the length of his country, Denmark. Martin Fisher C788 joined the list of those with 10 or more completions. Another outstanding performance was that of Eric Horwill C390. This was his first 100 mile completion since first qualifying in 1966, the longest recorded span between successful attempts! In addition to gaining this dubious distinction, he was selected to represent Great


49


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