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Barbara Gray helped found the Derby Scooter Club in the 1950s. Here she recalls the fun she had riding round the countryside in her leathers.

Derby Scooter Club was formed by Sheila Minnion, who was a schoolteacher. My late husband, George, and I were at the first meeting.

There was just a small group of us to start with, but we soon grew in numbers.

We met at the Greyhound pub, in Village Street, Old Normanton, on Friday evenings, to plan our outings for the following Sunday.

Members of Derby Scooter Club outside the Greyhound pub in Village Street, Old Normanton, Derby, in 1957

"We would ride six in a group, with a leader and a tail rider. If someone broke down, then the tail would wait with them until help arrived.

One day, it was our turn to be the last bike and we towed a couple all the way from Burnaston to Alvaston. We went very slowly with me holding the tow rope with both hands behind my back. What a long journey that was!

Twice we took the scooters to tour France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. Few people went abroad in those days and I would go into the kitchen of the B&Bs we stopped in and point to what we wanted for supper as no-one could speak the language. One place we stopped in wouldn't take any money because they were so pleased to have English people as guests.

We had a German Bella scooter. There were only three of them in the club; all the rest were Vespas and Lambrettas.

But I learned to ride solo on a BSA Bantam, at the RAC training ground on the corner of Nottingham Road and Raynesway. I wasn't allowed on a public road until I could handle it properly, which I think would be a good thing for young people today, because they don't appreciate the power they've got.

It was a happy time and we made many friends. My grandchildren think it funny to look at photos of grandma in black leathers, riding a bike.

Do you remember the Derby Scooter Club? Why not write about it by clicking the ‘discussion’ link at the top of this article and adding your memories?

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County:  Derbyshire

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