A plea for help!
The Elswick-Hopper book I am writing will include as much Falcon material as
I can gather. One of the most interesting aspects of the Falcon years is the
significant part that Ernie Clements played in sponsoring the Falcon racing
teams from the early 1960s (or earlier). I believe Falcon (then part of
Coventry Eagle) was the first company to sponsor a Majorca training camp in
1965 - attended by Tom Simpson, though he was not riding, due to a skiing
accident. The US champion, Tim Kelly, was also there and trainers included
Tommy Godwin, Billy Holmes and Brian Robinson. All I have on the Falcon
teams is that John Perks rode for them in 1960 and Albert Hitchen in 1964
and that in 1990 it had become Falcon-Banana. Google has proved of little
help and the company is not terribly interested in its history, so, is there
anyone with a time-line on Falcon racing teams or with any leads on
information? (I have a lot of 1950s Cycling mags, but nothing from the 60s,
perhaps gives you a clue as to how my interest wavered when I hit 1960 with
my BSA B31? Teleforks, rigid backend, single cylinder and lousy electrics.)
In anticipation and with a promise of acknowledgement,
Nigel Land
North Lincolnshire
UK