Pelican wrote: ↑Fri Oct 25, 2019 11:38 am
Please consider case closed.
Nope!!!
I posted a short series about Rear Admiral Arbuthnut in the 'Pussers Bikers' thread of the WNSF .... will attempt to uncover it, and link it on here. However here is another Arbuthnot Trophy of equal or more interest to me....
The story behind the Arbuthnot Trophy
14th December 2016
The Arbuthnot Trial is an annual reliability trial for British vintage and classic motorcycles. David Wright explains how this event commemorates a naval officer who died during the battle of Jutland over 100 years ago.
The present-day event incorporates ‘the ambience of the 1920s era’ with the emphasis on rigid machines, although later classics are acceptable. Competition off-roaders rub shoulders with ‘colonial’ models (the latter being built for the road) and suitable sections are provided for each sort.
‘The Arbuthnot is not supposed to be a Sunday afternoon stroll,’ say the organisers, ‘but a hard day’s ride which will leave competitors tired but satisfied they have achieved a tough goal… In 1928, the riders did two laps of a very similar course on tracks not so well established, on comparatively crude machines.’
When spectators opened their programmes at the 1908 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy meeting,
many would have looked twice at entry number 24. It showed a captain of the Royal Navy as down to ride a Triumph. Not only was it unusual to have a serving sea captain engaging in motorcycle racing, but those who understood the niceties of British life recognised that he held the title of baronet, for his entry read Captain Sir RK Arbuthnot, Bt. However, what those watching could not have known was that the heroic deeds of this man, both on and off two-wheels, would see his name endure in the world of motorcycling for a century and more.
Coming from a distinguished family, Robert Keith Arbuthnot entered the navy as a midshipman of 13, progressed in rank and survived a catastrophe on HMS Royal Sovereign in 1901 when a heavy gun exploded at the breech, killing six and leaving him as one of 20 with serious injuries.
How and when he developed an interest in motorcycles is not known, but at the comparatively old age of 44 he joined fellow entrants at historic Tynwald Hill, St Johns on the Isle of Man, for the start of the 1908 TT. This was only the second running of the event and it was scheduled for 10 laps of a 15½ mile course on the west of the Island. This ‘Short Course’ was used from 1907-1910, before the 37¾ mile Mountain Course was adopted for the TT in 1911.
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After laying dormant on a shelf at ACU headquarters for some 45 years, the Arbuthnot Trophy was returned to competition in 1982 as the premier award in a trial for old style rigid-framed motorcycles. Run over a course of nearly 80 miles in the Salisbury area, much of which was over tracks, it was a successful attempt to re-enact the type of long-distance Trial that was popular between the two world wars.
Having re-established itself, the Arbuthnot Trophy Trial continues to run on an annual basis and entry is no longer restricted to members of the Senior Service (as the Royal Navy calls itself). It is now open to anyone with a suitably old bike who wants a good ride over reasonable off-road going.
Relatively little is made of the origin and history surrounding the Arbuthnot title at the present event, but it would be nice to think that at some time during their day’s sport, current participants spare a thought for the former TT rider and war hero who gave his life for his country and his name to their trial.
ARBUTHNOT-TROPHY-595x1243.jpg
Full article can be read in the
RealClassic where another seven images can be viewed.