Doug Weston 1929-2015
Sadly Doug passed away in 2015. We would like to thank Don Booth and Mike Radford who have provided the club with the following memories of Doug.
When Doug was a teenager he and his contemporaries could not afford cars and, as public transport was inconvenient and expensive, a bicycle was indispensable. Like many of us who enjoyed the freedom of the roads (there was very little traffic) and became adventurous, a bicycle formed an important part of one’s life. It started off as a means of getting to school or going out with your friends. Doug, like many others, wanted to travel further and got involved in cycling as a sport and a hobby.
In 1948 he joined the Gosport Cycling Club who would have organised rides around the local countryside every weekend. The camaraderie of cycling club life in those days was very appealing and the weekend rides extended into longer journeys and holidays on his bicycle.
He had not been in the club for very long and, despite the fact that there were many older members, (local cyclists will vividly remember Charlie Willoughby) he became Runs Captain, a post he held for several years. His steady riding style made him an ideal person for that post.
All club members were encouraged to race but, although there was a track at Gosport Park and regular circuit racing at Lee on Solent, Doug simply rode time trials. As he was a strong and steady rider, not surprisingly he tried long distance events including those for twelve and twenty-four hours. Whilst he did not aspire to be a champion, he derived the natural satisfaction of simply completing the longer events.
He formed a close friendship with Don Booth, a great racing man in his youth, and they were delighted when two young ladies namely Brenda and her sister Lorna, joined the Gosport Cycling Club around 1950. He and Lorna married in 1956.
Doug was apprenticed as an electrician in Portsmouth Dockyard and served all his working life either there or in stations attached to it. The application that he had to give to his job was reflected in his cycle restoration skills. He was not a great collector of veteran cycles, but those he restored for Lorna and himself were beautifully finished.
In 1984 he was a founder member of the Solent Veteran Bicycle and Tricycle Club. He attended most of their cycle events (after l994 in his wheelchair), and attended the Internationals in Holland 1995, Germany 1996, Switzerland in 1997 and France 1999.
Memories by Don Booth & Mike Radford.