Cyril Peacock
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cyril Francis Peacock (19 July 1929 – 31 December 1992) was a British amateur racing cyclist who was world champion in 1954.Sports123, http://sports123.com/tcy/mw-spra.html He was also national sprint champion in 1952, 1953 and 1954 and was the
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
champion in 1954.


Biography


Adolescence

Cyril Peacock took up cycle-racing when he was 15 and working as a scientific surgical instrument maker.The Bicycle, UK, 1 April 1953, p21 in south London. He met a friend, Charlie Whitbourn, who suggested he join the Kingston Road Club. He was a member for two years before he rode his first race. His first track, or
velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...
, race was at
Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...
, west of London, on 22 June 1947. He came third. That September he won his first race, the National Cyclists' Union junior medal competition at
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
, central London. He joined the army for compulsory
national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
at the end of the year and spent two years as a physical training instructor but did not ride a bike. Until then he had raced on the track on a road bike stripped of brakes and gears. He bought his first true track machine from money saved while with the Army.


Early career

Peacock rejoined Kingston Road Club and rode the 1951 national sprint championship, where he was beaten in the quarterfinal by Lloyd Binch of Nottingham. The news magazine ''The Bicycle'' wrote: "The last meeting of 1951, the NCU Meeting of Champions, provided a first-class sensation. In the Robbialac Bowl sprint, he was in a disputed finish with Jan Hijselendoorn of Holland, who almost fell on Peacock as they reached the line. Peacock lost the decision - but he gained a lot of admiration." In 1952, by then a member of the
Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The name is of Anglo-Saxon ori ...
Bicycle Club in south London and on 5 July won the British sprint championship, at
Herne Hill Herne Hill () is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the London ...
velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...
. That brought selection for Britain in the Olympic Games in
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
; he came fourth of 27 behind Enzo Sacchi of Italy, Lionel Cox of Australia and Werner Putzenheim of Germany. In 1953 he won the £1,000 International Champion of Champions sprint, again at
Herne Hill Herne Hill () is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the London ...
velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...
, on
Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...
1953; he was the first Englishman to win it He also beat the French champion, André Beyney, in France. Peacock won the national championship again in 1953 and 1954, the Robbialac Bowl in 1952, 1953 and 1954, and the Champion of Champions sprint again in 1953. In 1954 he won the world championship in
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, Germany, beating John Tressider of Australia and Roger Gaignard of France. Another Briton, Reg Harris, won the professional championship. They were the last British winners before
Chris Hoy Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy (born 23 March 1976) is a former Track cycling, track cyclist and racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympics, Great Britain at the Olympic Games, Olympic and World Championships and Scot ...
in 2008. Peacock and Harris featured on Player's
cigarette cards Cigarette cards are trading cards issued by tobacco manufacturers to stiffen cigarette packaging and advertise cigarette brands. Between 1875 and the 1940s, cigarette companies often included collectible cards with their packages of cigarettes ...
in 1957. He represented
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and won a
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...
in the Track 1000m Match Sprint at the
1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, from 30 July to 7 August 1954. This was the fifth edition of the event that would eventually become known as the Commonwealth Games, the second post-war G ...
in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, Canada.


Professional

Peacock became a professional for
Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
in January 1955 . In March he was awarded the Bidlake Memorial Plaque for service to cycling .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peacock, Cyril Francis 1929 births 1992 deaths English male cyclists British male cyclists People from Fulham Sportspeople from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Olympic cyclists for Great Britain Cyclists at the 1952 Summer Olympics UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) English track cyclists British track cyclists Cyclists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Military personnel from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham 20th-century British Army personnel British Army soldiers 20th-century English sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in cycling