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Relays: SAAA Medley Relay 1975 – 79

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In May 1975 Glasgow District Council started a new venture:  the Glasgow Highland Gathering was held at Scotstoun with a mix of events for all age groups, for men and women, invitation events and some championship racing.   Among these races was the SAAA Medley Relay championship.   After several years of wandering around the country, and indeed three years when it was not held at all, it had come to Scotstoun.   The Victoria Park, based in Scotstoun since 1930 had been very successful in relays of all types and distances so it was a natural fit.   Unfortunately in its first year there, the medley title went to anther club from the west end of Glasgow, Garscube Harriers.   Even then it was the Garscube B team that emerged triumphant from the race in a time of  3:36.0.    It was an inglorious restart for the event.   Colin Shields in the Athletics Weekly reported as follows:

“A farcical SAAA National 1600m Medley Relay Championship was won, after an undistinguished race, by Garscube ‘B’ with only two clubs competing. More importance should be accorded to National titles by clubs such as Edinburgh Southern Harriers, Edinburgh AC, Shettleston, Victoria Park and Bellahouston etc – none of whom bothered to compete!”

Result:  1 Garscube Harriers ‘B’ 3.36.0; 2 Garscube Harriers ‘A’ 3.45.2; 3 Falkirk Victoria Harriers 3.46.4.

At the second Glasgow Gathering, in 1976   Garscube Harriers was again successful, their A team this time, in 3:38.6, from Victoria Park in second and Paisley Harriers were third.    It was a wet, windy afternoon at Scotstoun and the heavy track did not make for fast times.   There was also a clash of date with a football match at Hampden Park leading to a smaller crowd than usual and several officials calling off.   It could have been a reason to terminate the series after only two meetings but the Glasgow Council went ahead with the championship in 1977 when there was another name engraved on the trophy.   

One of Scotland’s best ever middle distance runners was running really well in the mid seventies and Frank Clement took part in the medley relay championship on 21st May, 1977.   The report in the Glasgow Herald read:  “Barely 10 minutes after having won the City of Glasgow Mile at the Glasgow Highland Games at Scotstoun, Clement was again facing the starter to run the first leg of the Scottish Medley Relay Championship  for his club, Bellahouston Harriers.   Terry Young, a most promising young half-miler from Central Region AC  with a time of 1 min 53 sec already this season was far too fresh for a jaded Clement and played a major part in bringing victory to his club in 3 min 30.7 sec – three seconds ahead of Bellahouston.”   

On 20th May, 1978, there was yet another new name on the trophy.   When Victoria Park last won the title, the man on the first leg was British international half-miler David McMeekin.   He was again in action that year.   “The new Scottish medley relay champions are East Kilbride AAC.   After David McMeekin had given Victoria Park a lead of close on 20 yards over the opening 800 metres, East Kilbride pulled back only a little on the both 200m sprints, but on the final 400m Alan Cord  tore holes in Ian Smith’s lead and just took the tape by inches, both teams clocking 3 min 34.3 sec.   

After that near miss, Victoria Park were in action the following year.   Between 1946 and 1971, the medley title had been completely dominated by Victoria Park AAC (9 wins) and Bellahouston Harriers (5) with the Edinburgh University  squad the next biggest winners (4).   But the 70’s had seen triumphs by Garscube, Central Region and East Kilbride.   The entries in 1979 included Ayrshire AAC, Clyde Valley AC, East Kilbride AAC, Garscube Harriers, Shettleston Harriers and Victoria Park AAC.    This was the day however that the old guard, as represented by the home team, re-asserted itself and Victoria Park won in a time of 3:38.2.    

The Highland Games continued into 1980 and they retained the medley relay.    This suited the runners – a regular venue, on a good track with  decent changing rooms and ease of access.   Victoria Park fought hard to retain their title but had to give best to a Glasgow University AC team from just up the road at Westerlands who won by 0.7 seconds in 3:31.2. 

Below: Entries for the Medley Relay Championship in 1979 

 

 

Relays: SAAA Medley: 1969 -1974

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The Mile Medley Relay had been contested as an official SAAA championship since 1919 but with the coming of the Empire and Commonwealth Games to Edinburgh in 1970, all track measurements were changed to metric from imperial.   It was now a 1600m medley relay and the distances were now 800m, 200m, 200m and 400m.   The first winning time would therefore be a new record.   Victoria Park had had a very good record in all relays over the years since their formation in 1930 but this team performance in 1969 must go down as one of their best ever.  I quote from the Glasgow Herald of 26th May that year.   The headline read  “Victoria Park set formidable target.”

“The winning team on Saturday in the Scottish 1600m medley relay championship had things going for them.   They knew that, no matter where the watches stopped at the finish, they would be creating a new Scottish national and all-comers record.   The meeting was the Glasgow championships at Scotstoun Showground, and the first time the race was being run over the metric distances instead of the former mile medley.   But Victoria Park were not content just to get their names first in the new record book.   They made sure a formidable target would be set.   Their quartet – Hugh Barrow, Robert Lawrie, Gordon Millar and Andrew Wood – covered the distance in 3 minutes 23.7 seconds, not only better relatively than the existing national mile medley record but more important, improving on the all-comers time of 3:25.9 that was set up in 1952 by a celebrated Jamaican team which included three of their four Olympic 4 x 400m gold medallists in Helsinki that year including Arthur Wint, Herb McKenley and George Rhoden.   

Mike McLean, the Scottish 880 yards champion gave Bellahouston a tremendous start over the 800  metres leg, leading Barrow to the change over by about half-a-dozen yards in what was officially timed at 1 min 50.3 sec.   The two sprint legs that followed kept Bellahouston still in the lead by all of 15 yards and this gave Victoria Park’s last man, Andrew Wood a chance to show just why he is Scotland’s national 440 yards champion.   He chased Ronnie Wallace of Bellahouston at incredible speed down the back straight, passed him coming out of the crown of the second bend and positively streaked up the home straight for a great victory.   His time was variously taken as something between 47 and 48 seconds but, as the athlete himself said, these times are so approximate in relays that you can’t be too specific about their validity.”

Although the Scots athletics public still loved relays, there were not as many on the programmes for the various sports meetings still in existence.   This was maybe because it was a bit difficult to organise the change-overs what with boxes to be accurately marked out and officials/judges in sufficient numbers to be found, maybe also because many of the tracks used for the sports meetings and gatherings still extant were short and it would be really difficult to have two take over zones in the same place!   Mainly of course the big show piece meetings at Ibrox, Hampden and Parkhead had ceased and the effect that that had on the whole athletics season, not just the relays, was massive.   

One of the gatherings still held on a 400 metre track was at Dunoon where the District relays had been held over a number of years incorporated into their annual Cowal Highland Games.   And so it was that on 29th August 1970, in Dunoon, Victoria Park retained the relay title after a thrilling race against Bellahouston Harriers.   The team was depleted by the absence of Barrow, Lawrie and Millar but the replacements were David McMeekin on the 800m leg (a GB internationalist), Iggy O Muircheaetaig (an Irish international 200 and 400m runner), and Gordon Muir (a top class runner in his own right).   Add them to Andrew Wood and you had a very strong squad indeed.   They won in a time of 3:27.4 to Bellahouston’s 3:28.4.

The race was won in 1971 by Bellahouston Harriers in a time of 3:34.0, but that heralded three years when there was no national medley relay championship held at all.   That’s right – no championship in 1972 or 1973 or 1974.   A bit of a disgrace.   Maybe because a meeting was abandoned or cancelled one year it would be possible to accept a ‘no event held’ but for it to happen three years in succession reflects poorly on the governing body at the time.   The attitude to the trophy seems to reflect a growing impatience on the part of the SAAA championship organisers at the time to cater on championship day for any track race that did not simply require a starter, judges and officials.   It was not held at a specific time of the year, not that the two reported on above were at opposite ends of the competition season.   There was of course no regular venue – after many years at an unlined track in Shotts, it was at Scotstoun in May then Dunoon in August.   Had they been seeking a venue accessible to all clubs, then the Argyll peninsula would not have been high on their agenda.   It appeared that anyone bidding for it, or even prepared to host it, would get it on their programme.

That was about to change though.   Probably because the 1969 event had been so successful, the event was awarded to the Glasgow Sports Promotion Council to hold it at their Glasgow Championships and Highland Gathering at Scotstoun in May.   A good track, a decent crowd guaranteed, and easy of access from anywhere in the country.   The first of these was in 1975. 

 

   

 or cancelled in 

Relays: SAAA Medley Relay 1935 – 1939

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The available SAAA records for the championship for this period is scanty but we will put up what we have and if/when more information comes to hand, it will be added.   Over this period the relay was run at the SAAA Championships which had instituted a Friday evening session consisting mainly of heats of the sprint events.   In this context it maybe made sense for them to run the medley final since all the sprinters were already at the venue.   It meant that having run no finals the runners would be fairly fresh.   They could hardly be expected to run a relay between heat and final, and if it were held after the final then the athletes would be rather tired and in any case the relay would not be their main event of the afternoon.   But that’s reading a lot into a little information!   The point is that they were held during the evening session on Friday.

The Queen’s Park Sports on 1st June 1935 had a wonderful cast of athletes taking part, noted in the Press as possibly the best ever, and the events included an Inter-City Medley Relay.   Edinburgh defeated Glasgow in 3:35.4,   “It was curious to find Glasgow on the losing side mainly because of the failure of AD Turner and Robin Murdoch on the furlongs,   Neither the Scottish Champion nor Turner were fully fit, and poor exchanging gave Edinburgh an additional pull.”   The Glasgow team might have been better using some of the Springburn Harriers who were in action that day.   “Springburn Harriers have gathered together a very useful lot if Saturday’s meeting is any criterion.   They had a regular field day in the open events securing three firsts in the open and youths sprints, a victory in the mile and seconds in the half-mile, high jump, obstacle race and 440 yards. ”   

A week later St Peter’s AC held their eighth annual sports meeting and it was one which was well known for its relay content – they had 440 yards relay (4 x 110), 880 yards relay (4 x 220), Mile Relay (4 x 440) , two miles relay (4 x 880) and a four miles relay.   There was no place unfortunately for a medley relay.   Anyone looking for clues as to the result at the SAAA would have noted that Garscube won the 440 yards relay, Bellahouston won the 880 yards relay, Maryhill won the One Mile relay and also the Two Miles relay.   Maryhill could only finish third in the two shorter relays so there was not a lot to be gleaned there.   The Police Sports were held on 15th June and the relay race was noted as less good than in previous years.   Maryhill Harriers won in 3:41.8 from Springburn and Bellahouston,   They were reported to have “won easily.”   

As it turned out, the other clubs should maybe have taken a closer look at the Springburn squad because on Friday, 21st June at Hampden Park, they were the ones who won the SAAA Medley Relay title in 3:40.8.   This was the first time that the Friday evening session had taken place and it was voted a great success.   

The Friday night experiment was voted a great success and was repeated at the  SAAA Championships held on  26th June.   However at the Queen’s Park FC Sports of 6th June, there was a medley relay in which Glasgow with a team of CF Campbell, DA Brownlee, DM Pearson and C France, defeated Edinburgh (JC Stothard, RR Wylde, R Forman, GD Malcolm in 3 min 46.4.   Campbell and Brownlee were both Springburn Harriers with Campbell having contested a hard fought half mile against Stothard earlier in the afternoon, being beaten only by one and a half yards.   

Only two weeks later, on 20th June, the Glasgow Police Sports were held at Ibrox and of course the programme contained a medley relay.  It was the only event of the afternoon that produced a record.   The report read:  “There was one performance of the gathering demanding minute reference and that was the win of Bellahouston Harriers in the one mile medley relay race, which they won in the new Scottish record time of 3:34.2, 0.2 faster than the time put up by Glasgow University at the same sports four years ago.   It was half miler Jack Gifford who really did much to help Bellahouston achieve this performance.   He went round the half-mile at the heels of Robert Graham, always appearing to have an abundance of pace, while it seemed that the joint mile record holder (whose record was broken by SC Wooderson in Saturday’s Southern Championships),  was in front trying hard to get clear of Gifford, but the latter refused to be shaken off and became the challenger-in-chief, with the result that Bellahouston enjoyed the slight advantage of a change-over so close was the struggle; and the time for the half was 1:58.2, the sign of a record in the making. ”   The remainder of the team – G Young, J Bone and Charlie France – all did their bit and the race was won and a record set at 3.34.2.     Maryhill was second and Springburn third with the winning margin being 20 yards with a further 20 yards between second and third.  

A week later at the opening Friday night  meeting, held on 24th June. of the SAAA championships was a very similar event with Bellahouston Harriers emerging triumphant in a time of   3:41.2 The time was a full eight seconds slower than at the Police Sports but the medals were the thing at  the championships and so began a marvellous spell of SAAA titles for the Glasgow club.   

On 28th May, 1938, at the Monkland Sports, there was a medley relay held in which the favourites, Bellahouston Harriers, were beaten in the heats by Glasgow Un iversity and both defeated by Springburn Harriers in the final in a time of 3:37.8.   The final result was Springburn (Kinloch, Carson, Campbell and Waddell), first, Glasgow University second (Livingston, Young, Muir and Sinclair) and Bellahouston (Bell, Murdoch, Gifford and France) third.   Babcock & Wilcox held their annual sports in Renfrew on 11th June and they too included a medley relay but there was no mistake by the national champions this time.   Bellahouston Harriers won from Springburn Harriers in 3: 42.5 with a team of Gifford, Smith, Thomson and France.   Gifford on the half-mile and France on the final 440 yards stage were the key men in all of the Bellahouston victories in the event over many years.    The Scottish championship in 1938 was for the first time not held at the National championships but at the Glasgow Police Sports held at Hampden Park on 18th June.   The race was a really good one and led the reporter at the Glasgow Herald to say:   “Relay racing – most exhilarating of all athletic spectacles – provided the highlight at the Glasgow Police Athletic Association sports at Hampden Park on Saturday.   The feat of Bellahouston Harriers who established a new Scottish one mile relay record of 3:32.9 in winning the SAAA medley relay title for the third successive season was emphatic approval of the wisdom of the Association’s step of divorcing this event from the championship meeting proper.”    

It is not clear to me how such a decision on its success could be made after only one race.   However, Bellahouston won in a record time with a team of  Gifford, Murdoch, Smith and France, from Glasgow University  and Edinburgh University.   It as wn by three yards with ten yards separating the two University teams.  

Successful as the Herald reporter felt the divorce between the race and the national championships had been,  came 1939 they were run at the SAAA Championships on 24th June.     The Monkland Sports at Coatbridge on 27th May saw Maryhill win the event there.   “Maryhill, who included R Graham and RTH Littlejohns, the respective Scottish mile and half-mile champions, won the mile medley relay after a thrilling tussle with Springburn.   Even after Littlejohns had given his mates a useful lead at the end of the first ‘leg’ , Graham was unable to hold Campbell (Springburn) on the third leg, and it was only a magnificent finish by RR Mahlanghele which won the event for Maryhill.”   Result:  1.   Maryhill (Littlejohns, Little Graham, Mahlanghele)   2.   Springburn Harriers.  Time:   3 min 35.2.   

One meeting down –  Maryhill 1, Springburn  2.   At the Babcock Sports on 10th June, there was a medley relay on the programme and the Bellahouston team of Gifford, Nisbet, Ross and France was victorious in 3:41.8 with Springburn second.   It should be noted that the nine year old Victoria Park was already winning many medals and at this meeting won the Empire Exhibition Trophy for the club with most points overall.   The Police Sports which had hosted the SAAA Medley Relay Championships the previous year went past without a relay at all and it was on to the national championships on 24th June at Hampden.   Quality told and Bellahouston won their fourth successive championship.   Result:

  1.   Bellahouston Harriers   (Gifford, Murdoch, Bone, France)
  2.   Springburn Harriers (Kinloch, Canon, Waddell, Campbell)
  3.   Glasgow University (McGlone, Rankin, Sutherland and Wright).

 Winning time: 3:57.6

It had been a superb run by Bellahouston – four championships and two Scottish records – but let’s not forget the excellent Springburn Harriers team which contested every relay and every championship with only one set of gold medals to show for it.   How would they do after the War?   The coming team was Victoria Park from Scotstoun, Maryhill had been a good competitive team for decades and the Universities were always liable to be a threat depending on who was ‘comin up’ to the Varsity in any particular year.

 

TC Hughes

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The photograph above is of Thomas Campbell Hughes of Edinburgh Harriers who was one of the best club runners of the early 20th century.   He emigrated to America not long after the above photograph was taken and his grand daughter, Laura Bartlett, has been in touch with some information about him that is of genuine interest to  all interested in the history of Scottish distance running.   Before we look at his records as far as we can follow them, it might be worth looking at the club running scene at the time he was running.   The following paragraph is taken from Colin Shields’ centenary history of the Scottish Cross-Country Union, “Whatever the Weather”.

“Edinburgh Harriers, a larger club and one of the powers of the sport at that time also had an interesting fixture list.   It included 10 inter-club runs, with away trips including Galashiels and Glasgow, and an inter-club run and football match with Watsonians at Myreside on Christmas Day.   Club races ranged from a two and a half mile handicap to the 10 mile club championships and teams were also entered in both the Eastern and National Championships.    George McKenzie, who was to be Honorary President of the Union and gain 10 international vests for Scotland in the period 1909-14, was always an enthusiastic advocate of cross-country running.   In a newspaper interview, he said “It is distressing to see the number of young men in our public parks on a Saturday afternoon watching a football match, blue in the face and shaking with cold.   Compare them with the athletes who, with blood coursing through their veins, are enjoying healthy exercise with a harrier pack.”   He explained that on Saturday afternoons three packs – slow medium and fast – covered the laid trail through the country with beginners naturally starting with the slow pack and working their way up as they felt more capable.   “Any young man who cannot run four miles with a harriers slow pack should see a doctor at once”, said Mr McKenzie.

Recommended training was road runs twice weekly, together with the usual country run on a Saturday with a long walk at a good pace on a Sunday.   Rubbing was regarded as important and this was usually done by the club trainer.   Regarding diet it was accepted that the athlete could eat almost anything though moderation was the watchword of the athlete.   Cigarettes and alcohol were tabooed by the wise runner.”

That was the kind of environment that Hughes and others of his generation were used to and the context in which his running should be seen.   It should be noted that the times and performances were of a high standard and would not disgrace any ordinary club runner today.   

Thomas had three brothers who were also runners: two of them were also Scottish international runners.  They were RE (Robert Edgar) in 1906 when he finished sixteenth, and JD (John Dunlop) in 1911 and 1912 when he finished 33rd and thirteenth.   The three mentioned above all emigrated to the United States but the fourth, Alexander, who also ran for Edinburgh Harriers, fought in the first world war with the British forces and was killed in action.   

The fine trophy above was the Edinburgh Harriers Challenge Cup which was won by Thomas for the first time in 1901.   The National Cross-Country Championships in 1901 were held in Glasgow and TC Hughes finished third leading the Edinburgh team to second place behind Clydesdale Harriers who only defeated them by one single point.   Edinburgh was second by only one point behind Clydesdale Harriers.   The following year Hughes repeated the act.   Winning the club’s 10 mile race for the second time, he followed it with a very good run in the National at Myreside in Edinburgh where he was always up with the front runners, second at half distance, and again finishing third.   This time he was again the first Edinburgh runner to finish and again they were second team.   The man was running well and, as far as cross-country was concerned, clearly the best that Edinburgh had to offer.   But it would get better.

If 1901 and 1902 were good, 1903 was even better.   There was no Challenge Cup for TC this year but there was a bigger target to aim for.   In early 1903 discussions were held by the Irish and Welsh associations regarding an international race were enthusiastically supported by Scotland despite opposition from England who held themselves apart.   Apparently they felt that an international championship would detract from their own championships.   Being English, they suggested that their own championships, open to all-comers, should incorporate the international.   When it was clear that the other countries were going ahead with it anyway, they agreed to send a team of 12 runners to the first ever international cross-country fixture.   It was to be held at Hamilton Park Racecourse in the west of Scotland on 28th March.   As one of the top Scottish runners of the day, Hughes must have been motivated by the prospect.      The season progressed and the Scottish National championship was held on 14th March at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow.   The race was won by an Irishman, PJ McCafferty running for the West of Scotland Harriers, which caused some problems, but Edinburgh won the team race handsomely from Clydesdale Harriers with Thomas in sixth place.   This ensured selection for the Scottish team to face England, Ireland and Wales two weeks later.   In this race he finished twenty first of the 40+ competitors and was one of the top six Scots from their team of 12.   The medal shown here was the winning team medal from the National of 1903.   It should maybe be pointed out that although the history books list the race as having been held at Hamilton Racecourse, it was run in the grounds of the Duke of Hamilton’s Palace.   The race started in front of the Racecourse Grandstand and after 300 yards went in to the grounds of the Duke’s estate returning to the racecourse for the finish.

In 1904 the championships were held at Whiteinch in Glasgow and Hughes second, but first in the team race.   How did this one come about?   The race was won by J Ranken of the Watsonians club with Hughes second across the line.   However Watsonians did not field a team for the team competition so Hughes was the first runner in the team competition.   First and second in the same race.   Edinburgh won the team race again.   Earlier in the year, he had won the trophy illustrated at the top of the page for the third time and was allowed to retain it.   It was a common practice at the time and many quite valuable trophies were given to runners at open meetings and at some championships.   eg Clydesdale Harriers won a gold cup at Newcastle after they had won the two miles team race in three consecutive seasons.   The trophy above is engraved Edinburgh Harriers Challenge Cup.   Presented by Mr TD Crichton”.  This run should have guaranteed him selection for the international match but whatever the reason, he did not run on the day.

There were two Hughes brothers in the Edinburgh team of 1905 – TD was second counting runner for the club over the 10 mile course when he finished in thirteenth place and RE was 33rd for the team that finished second to the West of Scotland Harriers.   It was a good omen for Robert for, although neither was to be in the international in 1905, he was to be in the team in 1906.   The National was run in both years at Scotstoun and Robert, despite not being in the first eight on the day was picked for the team.   The national  was to be held there a fortnight later.   He ran well to finish 16th and be a scoring runner for the Scottish team.   he following year, 1907, the Edinburgh Harriers squad had three of the Hughes brothers in the club squad of twelve.   The page below from the 1907 Cross-Country Championship lists the team.   The championship was held at Portobello, Edinburgh,  on 9th March.   None of the brothers was among the first eight or nine, and the club team was also out of the medals in fourth place – they did however finish two places better than their local rivals of Edinburgh Southern Harriers.   

The full programme can be seen  here

At Scotstoun in 1908 there were again no members of the family in the top ten, and this was to be the case until the championships of 1911.   The club was now being challenged in its Edinburgh base by the Edinburgh Southern and Edinburgh Northern Harriers clubs but was holding its own and keeping them at bay as far as results were concerned.   Then in 1911, JD Hughes became the third family member to gain international honours when he finished fourth in the National Championships at Pollockshaws in Glasgow.   He was the second finisher for the club and the club won the championship for the first time since 1904.   At the selection meeting on the Saturday evening his selection for the international at Newport, Monmouthshire on 25th March was confirmed.   The fixture had changed since Thomas had run in the first ever international in 1903 – France had joined the competing teams and the standard of running was higher.   The race distance however remained at ten miles.   Hughes was 33rd finisher in the race won by Jean Bouin of France.   The National Championships were back at the Scotstoun trail that the athletes knew well for the 1912 version of the event and Edinburgh Harriers were third.    JD Hughes finished tenth and was selected for the Scottish team of 12 for the international to be held at Saughton Park in Edinburgh.  He ran a much better race than before, maybe because he was running in Edinburgh rather than in Wales, maybe because of the earlier experience, and finished 13th.   The six scoring Scottish runners were all in the first 22 finishers and the team was second.  JD Hughes therefore won an international team silver medal.   

The club did not enter a team for the 1913 championships at all.   The Hughes brothers had all contributed greatly to the cross-country successes of the club and had contributed also to the Scottish cross-country team for a ten year period.   They did of course run on the track but were not as successful with no national medals or international appearances to their credit.   This is understandable because there was only the one international fixture a year which had only two men per event, and because the standard of running in the endurance events at the time was very high indeed.  If we look at the extract from the SAAA Championship programme of 1909 we will see that.

The complete programme can be seen at this link

Look at some of the names here.   Tom Jack won the Scottish 10 Miles Challenge Cup seven times between 1904 and 1911, also  won the Four Miles title and represented Scotland five times in the cross-country international.   Alex McPhee won the Scottish Four Miles title twice, won many medals for the ten miles championship , won the cross-country championship twice and had three representative appearances over the country.   Sam Stevenson won the Four Miles title twice as well as the Ten Miles, ran in the 1908 Olympics, won the cross-country championship and represented the country in the cross-country championships.   DF McNicol won the track Mile championship twice and was one of the best runners in Britain at the time.   The standard was undoubtedly high and to stand on the starting line and challenge these men was an indication of his ability.   All three brothers would have competed in track meetings from April through to September at open sports meetings, in invitation races and in championships at local, district and national levels and a trawl through the newspaper archives would be an interesting exercise.   For instance we know that TC ran in the half-mile open handicap at the meeting organised by Edinburgh Southern in May 1908 but was unplaced in the handicap.   The programme for this meeting can be found at  this link


The above profile was completed and added to the website and then ….  Mrs Bartlett, his grand daughter, came up with another medal.   This was for the North East Counties Cross-Country championships.   I contacted Archie Jenkins in Alnwick who has written two books aboput the history of athletics in the north east of England and his reply reads: 

“The North East Cross Country Association Championships were first held in the 1894/85 season and this certainly is one of their silver medals, either individual or team. The 3 badges on the medal depict the original flags of Northumberland, Durham and Cleveland (not sure if it was called Cleveland then, certainly the Teesside region). The association covered the area from the Tweed to the Tees.
I myself have many of the medals, which have now changed design to the NECAA (North East Counties Athletics Association). The medal now depicts the region with NECAA added. This took place in the 80s, but the term NE Cross Country Association was still in use until 2001 and then incorporated the women’s association, although there had been joint championships since the early 1990s.
As is often the case the original medal was more eye catching. “

He followed this with:

“I think there could be the following link with Hughes and the North East of England. For whatever reason the family may have lived in the Gateshead area in the 1890s. I would imagine the silver medal is a junior team medal. In 1895/96 T Hughes (Gateshead Congers, Gateshead Congregational Church Harriers, who eventually folded in the late 1959s/ early 60s) won the NECCCA junior championship. Elswick H won the team, so possibly the Congers were second. The following year Hughes retained his junior title now competing for Gateshead St Mary’s, the future Gateshead H. Elswick again won the team title, so St Mary’s may have been runner up. “

Mrs Bartlett felt that the family could have been living in England at that earlier point.   I contacted Arnold Black, Scottish athletics historian, who said: ” I was looking up for info on JD Hughes and discovered he was born in England in 1892. ”   And as we know already, the two were brothers.   Their sudden appearance as very good runners in Edinburgh is probably explained by their running in England before a move to the Capital.   The search for information goes on.   

 

All three emigrated.   It was Scottish athletics’ loss.

 

….

 

 

 

 

Relays: SAAA Medley Relay 1948 – 1958

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The medley relay remained a very popular event after the war and many sports and athletic meetings had it in their programme.  There were inter-club races,  there were medleys for senior men, senior women,  junior men, inter-area, inter-city, inter-works relays and various others.   Then there were the SAAA Championship events that the crowds had flocked to see.   Unfortunately, the new governing body did not want to have them at the SAAA track and field championships.   They were farmed out all over the place – to Helenvale for the Transport Sports on a midweek evening, to the Police Sports at Ibrox, to Shotts Highland Games, and to the Junior Championships.   They were run on proper tracks – but also on narrow tracks with no lane markings.   The way they were shuffled around was nothing short of a disgrace.   The current situation is that there is no official list of dates or venues  of these championship events.   What is noted here is what I have been able to dig up from the internet, from old ranking lists and back numbers of newspapers.   Apologies for the gaps which will be filled as the information becomes available.   

1948’s SAAA Junior Championships were held at New Meadowbank which pleased just about everybody who had been to the 1947 version at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock.   Both senior relays, 4 x 110 yards and the medley (800, 200, 200, 400) were contested – the 4 x 110 being won by Edinburgh University from Victoria Park and Shettleston in 43.8 seconds.   The winning team was AT Bruce, St C Taylor, JL Hunter and DD MacKenzie.  

For the longer one, James Logan commented on the medley relay for ‘The Scots Athlete’ “In the Mile Medley Relay J Smart confirmed his position as Scottish champion by laying the foundation of Edinburgh Southern Harriers victory with a fast ‘half’ and the other members of the team carried on the good work.   The time 3 minutes 36.8 seconds was first-class as this event was run in a rain storm.”   The winning team was J Smart, HW Mercer, J Thomson and J Crow.   Victoria Park was second and Glasgow University third.  

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The medley relay championship in 1949 was moved to Helenvale Park and held on on 27th June.   It was a Wednesday evening and the occasion was the Glasgow Transport Sports and was notable because a new record for the event was set by the winnng Glasgow University AC team (T Begg, RM Ward, JPH Paton and DK Gracie) of 3:31.7 which was 1.2 seconds inside the time set by Bellahouston in 1938. 

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They were back at the  SAAA Junior championships when they were held at New Meadowbank on 8th July in 1950 and both sprint and medley relays were held in the course of the afternoon.   The medley relay was won by a good Glasgow University team of T Begg, RM Ward, R Dow and DK Gracie in 3:32.4 and Edinburgh University won the 440 yards relay in 43.4 seconds.

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New Meadowbank was the venue on 7th July, 1951, the SAAA Junior Championships the occasion, when the medley relay, along with the 4 x 110 yards was contested.   Victoria Park’s team of W Jack, R Quinn, W Kennedy and W Christie (pictured above) won the shorter race from Garscube Harriers and Edinburgh University in 45 seconds.  This was the start of something big.   It was the start of a series of relay triumphs that is unlikely, even 60 years later, to be beaten.  Nine wins in succession and ten out of eleven.   Astonishing.

In the longer race, the Scotstoun team had to give best to Edinburgh Southern Harriers who won in 3 minutes 31.7 seconds with a team of J Smart, J Pearson, J Hardmuir (?) and J Crowe.   Victoria Park was second and Glasgow University third. 

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The medley relay plus the sprint relay were back again at Helenvale on 12th July, 1952 and incorporated into the SAAA Junior track and field championships.   Both were won by the same club – Victoria Park AAC from Scotstoun on the other side of Glasgow.   In the 4 x 110 their squad was G McDonald, R Quinn, N Wilson and R Whitelock and they won in 44.2 seconds from Garscube Harriers in second and Shettleston Harriers third.   In the Mile Medley, their squad consisted of F Sime, R Quinn, R Whitelock and R Mill.   They won from Garscube Harriers in second and Bellahouston in 3 minutes 36.8 seconds.

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The senior relays were again held at the Scottish Junior Track and Field Championships on 4th July 1953, but this time at Westerlands in Glasgow and both sprint and medley relays went to Victoria Park AAC.   In the 4 x 110 yards the team was M Wilson, R Whitelock, H Quinn and R Quinn and they defeated Heriot’s  AC and Shettleston Harriers in a time of 44 seconds dead.   In the Medley relay, JS Hamilton, R Whitelock, H Quinn and R Quinn defeated Bellahouston Harriers and Maryhill Harriers in a time of 3 minutes 33.9 seconds.   

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The medley relay was held for the third time at the SAAA Junior Championships in 1954 at Westerlands with Victoria Park determined to hold on to their two senior relay titles.   This they did with some style.   Read this from the Glasgow Herald:  “A feature of the meeting was the dual success of Victoria Park AAC in the 4 x 110 yards and medley relays.   They have thus won all five championship relays , a record which cannot be beaten and probably never be equalled.”   

WS Breingan, W Kennedy, A Archibald and R Quinn won the sprint relay in 44.5 seconds, and T Begg, Breingan, JA Herron and R Quinn took the medley in 3:37.5.

Whitelock, Quinn, ? , Henson

The events had been successfully held at the Junior Championships.   Well organised, on good tracks that were accessible – so they were moved to one of the biggest meetings in the country.   Glasgow Police Sports a Ibrox in 1955 were held a week earlier than usual and probably as a consequence, none of the University teams took part  because it was the date of the Universities Championships.   The winners of the medley were again  Victoria Park AAC whose team of D Henson, JV Hamilton, A Archibald and R Quinn recorded 3 minutes 32.5 seconds.   The club’s sprinters, needless to say – they were a class apart in the 1950’s –  took the 4 x 110 yards again.   This was the fourth time in succession that they had taken the medley title but their record in the shorter sprint relay was incredible – they first won it in 1951 and they won it every year from then until 1959, missed a year when Glasgow University won it, then went on to win again in 1961!   10 wins in 11 years. 

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June 9th, 1956 at the Glasgow Police Sports, held at Ibrox, was the date of another victory for a University team – between the wars the university teams from Edinburgh and Glasgow were key players in the event and were still a force to be reckoned with after the second war.   Their victory was largely due to the running of JV Paterson who ran the fastest half mile of his career.   Their time of 3:50.5 was not a record since CAR Dennis, who ran the last stage, was not a Scotsman; it could only be recorded as a championship best performance.  Victoria Park was second and Bellahouston Harriers third.

The 1957 Medley relay was held at the Glasgow Police Sports for the third time, again at Ibrox Park,  on 15th June.   Edinburgh University won the title from Bellahouston Harriers.   There was some controversy about the result which had been hinted at the year before:

“In winning the Scottish one mile medley relay championship Edinburgh University put up new record figures of 3 minutes 27.2 seconds.   The foundation of their success was laid by JV Paterson who returned the fast time of 1 min 52.4 sec for the half mile.    The students time will not be accepted as a national record for CAR Dennis is not Scottish.   Bellahouston Harriers whose team clocked 3 min 30,2 sec and beat Glasgow University’s previous best time of 3 min 31.7 will be the new record holders.”

The result:

1.   Edinburgh University AC (JV Paterson, RA Robertson, I Sutherland  and CAR Dennis);

2.   Bellahouston Harriers (DL Fraser, P McPherson, GR Fleck and KA Fleck)

3.   Shettleston Harriers.

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Relays: SAAA Medley Relay 1959 – 68

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The Victoria Park medley relay team after the AAA’s championships at Kirkby in 1957

The relay had been farmed out to the Shotts Highland Games held on the first Saturday in September in 1959.   It was an unfortunate date and venue for the event and looked more like a desire to get the event away from the national championship in June.   Why so?  Well, the time of year was not one where the warm weather needed for good championship standard racing would be very likely.   Nor was the choice of venue one that would maximise spectator numbers: Shotts was always a good meeting and one that was well supported by runners from the central belt and often from the north of England but very difficult for athletes from such places as Dundee, Aberdeen, and so on to get to.   The track was a narrow one where getting more than three teams to run in lanes would be virtually impossible, the consistency of the track was variable and it sloped won in the back straight and up in the home straight.  But Shotts had always been a popular meeting and it had for some time featured a medley relay.   In 1957 it had been won by a Glasgow University team ed off by Scottish half mile champion J Boyd and in 1958 the winners were a well balanced Clydesdale Harriers team of Bobby Clark, John Aird, George Rodger and Bill Purdie.  

 

lThe first national championship there was held on 5th September, 1959, and the winners were Shettleston Harriers.   Given a substantial lead by Graham Everett, the team also had to runners who had been members of the club team that had been runners up in the AAA junior sprint relay championship.   The result was a win for the Glasgow club in 3:41.2 from Edinburgh Southern Harriers and Victoria Park AAC.   

It was, however, held on 3rd September, 1960, and the reigning champions, Shettleston did not run.   The race was won by Edinburgh Southern Harriers whose lead runner over the half mile was Kenny Ballantyne  who handed over a five yard advantage from Bellahouston Harriers and Victoria Park which the remaining team members –  RD Cockburn,   J Togher and C Watson – were able to maintain.   The winning time was 3 minutes 36.2 seconds.   It was not much faster than when they had previously won it in 1948 (3:36.8) and slower than the best pre-war time of 3:32.9 run by Bellahouston Harriers in 1938.   

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Southern were back the following year (1961) when the relay was held again at Shotts and faced fairly strong opposition.   The report in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ read as follows:   “One of the closest races at Shotts Highland Games held at Hannah Park was the Scottish Mile Medley Relay championship.   Bellahouston Harriers won by two yards in the good time of 3 minutes 38.8 but their success was by no means assured until the final lap.   With Bellahouston third and 12 yards behind the leaders,  Ayr Seaforth AC, at the three-quarter mile mark,  young R Greig  made such good progress that he overtook and beat the runners ahead of him including JR Boyd (Ayr) the holder of the half-mile record.   Some watches showed that young Greig had returned his personal best time of 50.3.”   The order at the finish was 1.   Bellahouston Harriers (J Currie, R Rae, R Steele, R Greig);  2.   Edinburgh Southern Harriers; 3rd  Ayr Seaforth AC.

Jim McLatchie

Number 7 in the Ayr Seaforth vest

There were many outstanding athletes at Shotts in 1962 including WM Campbell, JP McLatchie, John Anderson and JJ Hillen (of Saltwell), Hugh Barrow, JP McLatchie and many more when the Medley Relay Championships were again held at Hannah Park.   Victoria Park AAC had won the event in four consecutive years between 1952 and 1956.   The club were generally good relay runners with SAAA titles in all varieties – 4 x 100, 4 x 440 and medley.   This year they had a very good team out led off by the prodigious young Hug Barrow against strong tams from Ayr Seaforth and Bellahouston.   On the first stage McLatchie beat Barrow home and Ayr led the field until the final quarter-mile stage when A Ballantyne caught and passed the very good young Ayrshire runner JC Stewart who was the reigning Junior 440 yards champion.   Finishing order was Victoria Park from Ayr Seaforth with Bellahouston Harriers third.   Winning time was 3 minutes 34 seconds.   

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7th September 1963, saw the Shotts Highland Games host the medley relay championships for men and women once again but this time, it was pointed out by the Press that the defending champions Victoria Park had turned out a weakened team because their leading half-milers were engaged elsewhere.   After coming so near to winning in 1962. the Ayr Seaforth team made no mistake this time round.   They led throughout and defeated Bellahouston Harriers by three yards in 3 minutes 38 seconds – four whole seconds slower than the VP team of the previous year.   Their team consisted of J Davidson, C Stewart, R McCrindle and R Billson.   Bellahouston were second and the Edinburgh team of Octavians was third.   

In 1964, the title was won by the Glasgow University team that was really flying high and with a team containing Brian Scobie and Ming Campbell won the title for the first time since 1950.   It was a slightly different scenario in 1965.     On another wet afternoon in Shotts – the weather over the years had not been kind to the meeting – the University squad of Scobie, Campbell, McGeoch and Barclay Kennedy had to give best to the Bellahouston Harriers team.   Mike McLean was the lead off runner for the Harriers and was 20 yards plus upon Scobie at the end of the half-mile stage.    H Robertson, W Robertson and Hugh Baillie maintained the lead and the University had lost the title.   They won by 25 yards with Dumbarton AAC third.   

In 1966, once it was known that Scotttish 440 yards champion Hugh Baillie was not running for Bellahouston the club was regarded as joint favourite with Edinburgh’s Octavians club.   W Robertson, normally a 220 yards runner, stepped up to the quarter mile leg and the club won from Octavians and Edinburgh AC.   The winning time was 3:32.1 and the team was composed of M McLean, J Williams, W Carmichael and W Robertson.   

In 1967,  Baillie was back in the team and maybe wished he weren’t.   I quote the report in the ‘Glasgow Herald’.

“One Scottish title was settled – and in the most frustrating manner possible for the former holders, Bellahouston.   Victoria Park, having been second in the AAA’s Championships earlier in the year, were favourites even without the services of P Hepburn, one of their 220y runners.   An unconvincing first leg (880 yards) by WH Barrow left Victoria Park with only a slight lead, and as the last leg (440 yards) was about to begin, they had at most a yard in hand over Bellahouston, although – enough we thought, for H Baillie (Bellahouston) to catch RT Laurie.   In a scrambled changeover, however, Baillie was knocked prostrate on the track by an incoming opponent, Laurie was gone, unaware of his rival’s bad luck, and he raced home a clear winner.

The blame really rests with an association which can award the holding of a national event to a meeting whose track has no lane markings, and is approximately 17 feet wide instead of at least 24. “

The final result was first, Victoria Park AAC in 3:4.8 with a team of WH Barrow, A Wood, J Duguid and RT Laurie from Edinburgh AC in 3:36.8 and Bellahouston in 3:37.3.   

Whoever was responsible for Baillie’s tumble, The outcome for Shotts Highland Games was a bad one.   This was the last year that the SAAA One Mile Medley Relay was held at Hannah Park.   Complain as the reporter might, it was the longest period since the War that the relay had been held at the one venue – nine championship races in all.      The 1968 relay was won by Bellahouston in a time of 3:37.8 to give them three championships in four years – it might so easily have been four in four.

1968 was also the last year in which the medley relay was an imperial mile distance: with the Empire and Commonwealth Games coming in 1970, all track distances became metric.   The medley relay was now a 1600m event and the first was won by the quartet at the top of the page in 1969.

 

 

 

Relays: SAAA Medley Relay 1930 – 1934

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Tom Riddell, Shettleston

Maryhill and Edinburgh University AC might have swapped the title for the first 11 years of its running, but they were only to win it once each in the ten years from 1930 to the outbreak of war in 1939.  

The SAAA championships were held on the last Saturday in June but one week earlier, on 20th June 1930, there was an invitation relay at the Glasgow Police Sports at Ibrox which gave the main contenders a chance to test their team against the opposition.   Glasgow University, Maryhill Harriers, Shettleston Harriers and Edinburgh Harriers were all n the starting line, and all had their top men out.  The race went to Glasgow University whose team of N Morison, JL Smith, R Murdoch and I Borland was too good for their Edinburgh equivalents, represented by HC Maingay, RA Howson, FP Reid and GM Wells, winning by five yards in 3 minutes 39 3/5th seconds.   Maryhill Harriers were third.   The headline on the article reporting the race was “Borland’s Great Effort in Relay Race”, and the report said:

“The best running of Crawford and Borland on Saturday was accomplished in the mile relay race, one of the most interesting events, by the way, of the season.   Crawford, running one of the furlongs for Shettleston, exhibited all his wonted smoothness of action, and he was much better here than in his heat in the sprint where he appeared to have some trouble opening up.   The intervening week however should see him properly tuned up for the Championships.  

The disappointment of the race was HC Maingay.   Either he was under form or he under estimated the finishing powers of J Hood, the Shettleston runner, for he was content to remain in the ruck until the finishing straight,  and when he did go out he was unable to peg back Hood’s lead, being beaten by almost five yards.   Maingay’s big swinging stride demands plenty of room, and had he gone into the lead right away there would have been a different story to tell.   He was obviously cramped, moving away from the head of his field.   Hood’s time for the half mile was 2 min 2 sec, and only last week at the St Peter’s meeting Maingay was returned as doing 1 min 55 1/5th sec.   The Glasgow University’s winning time was 3 min 38 3/5th sec – 1 3/5th sec outside the record created by Edinburgh University at the same meeting last year.”

The same four clubs contested the national championships but with a much different result.   Shettleston switched Hood from the 880y opening stage to the 440y last leg, and ran Tom Riddell on the first stage against Maingay and Calderwood.   Maingay had won the half mile but on the half mile leg of the medley relay he had to give best to Riddell and Shettleston went on to win the event for the first time and break the duopoly of Edinburgh UAC and Maryhill Harriers.   They won by 12 yards in a time of 3 minutes 45 seconds from Edinburgh with Maryhill third and Glasgow University fourth.  

The Police Sports in 1931, held on 20th June at Ibrox before a crowd of 15000 spectators, again held an invitation relay in which the Maryhill Harriers team of Calderwood, Hamilton, Turner and P Dolan won by 20 yards from Shettleston Harriers, Glasgow University and Dublin Metropolitan Guards in a time of 3 minutes 40 seconds.   Came the championship the following week and there were some significant changes in personnel.   Maryhill ran D McBride in place of Hamilton, and Shettleston ran sprinter Crawford who hadn’t run the week before, and J Hood, who had won the half mile, on the 440 yards leg of the relay.  Going in to the race, Tom Riddell had won the mile easily (by 30 yards) and James Hood had won the half mile by inches from Wells (EUAC) and Calderwood.  The Glasgow Herald report read:

“James Crawford did not defend his title in the 100 yards, but he turned out for Shettleston in the relay.   He was obviously far from his best, but with Riddell returning 2 min 1 3-5th sec in the half mile sector, and Hood running the quarter in 52 sec, the champions stalled off Maryhill’s challenge.   This was one of the best relay races seen in the championships, the margin between the two teams never large, and the issue in doubt until the last few yards.   The time – 3 min 40 1-5th sec – has only once been bettered in the championships, and that by Edinburgh University in 1922.”

R Graham

In 1932 the report on the Glasgow Police Sports at Ibrox on 18th June began 

“If it were for nothing else than the fact that it produced the finest relay race seen in Scotland for many years, the Glasgow Police meeting held on Saturday must be written down as one of the most successful in a long series extending back for almost half a century.   It is a coincidence that the existing native relay record of 3 min 37 sec  was made by the Edinburgh University team at the same meeting three years ago and that new figures should have been set up at the Police meeting again and also by a students team, this time from Glasgow.   There was some criticism on the last occasion of admitting the Edinburgh performance as a native record on the grounds that RL Howland, an Englishman, was a member of the team.   There can be none this time, for N Morison, M Stone, I Murdoch and IM Borland , the winning quartette on Saturday, are all Scottish born.

“After the opening half mile sector of the race, a new record was always in prospect, and it was no surprise that the time, 3 min 34 3-5th sec,  2 2-5th sec faster than the old time,  was announced.   This represented excellent racing on the part of all four students, and also by all four Maryhill men, as the national champions finished only inches behind the winners and well inside the record also.   Figures on the record book are there, they say, for all to read, but what will matter to Saturday’s twenty thousand spectators is not so much the time, excellent though it is, but the memory of a magnificent race by both teams redolent of the highest courage.

“So evenly were both teams matched that the decision was in doubt from the time the half=milers started racing seriously, 300 yards from the first changeover, until the tape was broken.   Where all did well it is possibly dangerous to to select individuals for special mention, but it is an undoubted fact that the two men who contributed most to the excellence  of the race as a spectacle were Neil Morison in the half mile and FW Brown in the quarter.   Morison has been well known as a miler for the past few seasons, and has recorded many good performances over that distance, but few, even among his Westerlands admirers realised that he could get the half mile under even time as he did on Saturday.  Nor was it expected of Brown, already regarded as a sprinter, would concede Ian Borland three yards over a quarter and come very near to springing the surprise of the season.   Yet both things happened with the result that the race was intensely exciting.”

What a build up to the SAAA Championship the following Saturday!   The facts of the result: 

1,   Glasgow University (Morison, Stone, Murdoch and Borland)  2.   Maryhill Harriers (Calderwood, McBride, Turner and Brown)  3.   Springburn Harriers   

In the championships, an experimental holding of the heats for the sprints on the Friday night was declared a great success and the racing in the short sprints of the highest quality – but there was no reporting of the relay with only the result being given.   This was possibly because of the absence of a strong Glasgow University team despite the fact that all of their men from the previous week were competing.    In their absence, Maryhill Harriers won with a team of Calderwood, McBride, Hamilton and Brown in a time of 3 min 37 sec.   Second was Shettleston Harriers (Riddell, Kennedly, McLaughlin and Buchan) and third Springburn Harriers (Scott, Carson, McKee and Keill).   A very weak Glasgow University team was noted as having ‘also competed’.   This was Maryhill Harriers’ sixth victory in the event.

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In 1933 the Glasgow Herald report on the Police Sports Meeting was headlined ‘EXCITING RELAY AT POLICE SPORTS MEETING’.   15,000 spectators were present on what was described as a cold, blustery windy day with showers of rain to see what was a good day’s athletics.   The report on the medley relay went on –

“The outstanding feature of the afternoon, as last year, was the Mile Relay and although the time recorded by the Glasgow Police team was slower than the record of 3 min 34 3-5th sec set up by Glasgow University a year ago, conditions were much worse on Saturday.   As a race it was the keenest relay seen on a Scottish track for many years, and the three teams that finished first, second and third were so evenly balanced that interest was maintained from the pistol to the tape.   Each of the three teams led in turn, Glasgow Police at the first changeover, Maryhill at the end of the first quarter, Glasgow University at the final change over and the Police came in again at the finish to win by a bare two yards from the students.

“In the half-mile sector run in 2 min 3 sec J Scott had the measure of WH Calderwood who has yet to find his best form.   The furlongs provided some good running.   AD Turner and Robin Murdoch ran impressively.   Murdoch, called upon to concede PW Brown three yards, overhauled his man and led him a yard at the change over.   SE McKinnon, the ex-Shettleston man now with the Police, also ran excellently against the wind and it was this that gave R Davie his chance in the quarter mile.   

Davie is running better than ever and much more consistently, and on this showing must possess an excellent chance of winning over this distance at the Scottish championships.   He defeated both NM Glen, the inter-University champion, and R Graham after being behind at the final change over.   He was unofficially timed as being slightly under 50 sec.   Glen ran  a good race but despite the fact that he spiked himself at the first bend, a wound that necessitated three stitches when he went to the Western Infirmary afterwards for treatment.   The toll that his recent operation has taken on his strength was noticeable in R Graham’s running.   He was with Davie and Glen until 200 yards from the tape but failed to last home.”

The result   1.   Glasgow Police (J Scott, M Shaw, SE McKinnon and R Davie)   3 min 40 1-5th sec;   2.   Glasgow University (N Morison, I Borland, R Murdoch and NM Glen);   3.   Maryhill Harriers  (WH Calderwood, AD Turner, PW Brown and R Graham).   Won by two yards.

Edinburgh University AC won the SAAA Championships in 3 min 37 2-5th sec.    It is a bit ironic that at a time when the public were avid relay enthusiasts and when the events were hotly contested by the clubs, the national championships were scantily reported upon.  In 1933 neither the Glasgow Herald nor the Scotsman reported this event at the championships and we have only the results available.   These are as follows:

  1.   Edinburgh University AC     GA Smith, SE Martin, RA Howieson, RB Wylde   3 min 37 2-5th sec   Won by three yards
  2.   Shettleston Harriers   TM Riddell,  J McRoberts, W Kennedy, J Hood
  3.   Glasgow Police AC       J Scott, M Shaw, E McKinnon, R Davie

Maryhill Harriers, the holders did not compete.