Ken Ryall had a shop in near Twickenham West London for many years. In the 50s/60s he imported Raxar clothing from Belgium. My late club mate Bill Bradley was supplied with free shorts with the brand on the leg. As an amateur Bill was obliged to amend this to RA AR. Needless to say every potential customer could identify the brand so Ken was happy. Ken was the driver of the team car when Tom Simpson died on Ventoux. Alex Taylor, the manager and Harry Hall the mechanic were also in the car. Yesterday at the Pedal Club luncheon I was sat next to Doug Collins a member of the Twickenham CC for nearly sixty years. Doug could have given me chapter and verse on Ken Ryall, maybe next time. Pete Ryall was no relation as he was from "up north", Yorkshire, I think. Great Britain (and Ireland) had a team of twelve in the 1961 Tour and most, including Pete Ryall, were out of their depth and abandoned or missed the time limit in the first few days. Ray Green, Brighton, England
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