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Thursday 13 March 2014

Raleigh history

Some of you might have attended various talks on bike history that were held in 2012 at the University of Nottingham campus that is built on the site of the old Raleigh factory. Following on from the talks, a new website has been created here.

The blurb from the site says "The website creators have interviewed fifty four people who have a connection with the factory, the large majority having worked there. These interviews, most of which are available as audio recordings but some as short films, present a comprehensive overview of what it was like to work and play at The Raleigh. With over fifteen hours of material to listen to and to watch, and with new material being uploaded at regular intervals, this site is an incredibly valuable resource, committed to preserving and recording the memories of those who worked for one of Nottingham's most iconic companies."


Added by Les Sims at 20.15 on Thurs 13th March
I'm not sure what make my trike was but here is a picture of me on it.

This photo was taken in our garden at Sunny Hill during WW2, evidenced by the Anderson Air Raid Shelter in the neighbour's garden and the "Dig for Victory" cabbages in our garden.  I seem to recall that we produced more protein in the form of caterpillars than we ever did in cabbage leaves.
You don't see kids on three wheelers these days, nor kids in double breasted suits either!
I soon graduated to a second hand two wheeler on which I rode to Gayton Avenue School at Littleover every day.
There were very few private cars on the roads in those days.  Quite a few military vehicles though, and  such things as bread, milk, and coal were delivered on horse drawn carts.  Those were the days!

3 comments:

Longranger said...

My first cycle, that I remember, was the red version of this trike. It did quite a few miles on the local main road. Aye, them were t'days.

Ian said...

Apparently it is called a "Raleigh Winkie".

The Raleigh website was launched this evening at a special event and with extensive publicity. It now seems to have been overloaded and broken! I'd suggest trying to view it on another day.

littleranger said...

Love the suit and the cycle. Is the badge a Junior Ranger badge? The looks suggests you knew you were destined to become a great cyclist (or a great something)!