|
Theresa Wallach
Theresa Wallach (30 April 1909 – 30 April 1999) was an adventure motorcyclist, engineer, mechanic and author. In 1935 with another experienced motorcyclist named Florence Blenkiron, she rode a 600 cc single-cylinder Panther motorcycle complete with sidecar and trailer, from London to Cape Town, South Africa, crossing the Sahara desert, reportedly without a compass. Wallach was the first Vice President of the Women's International Motorcycle Association, and was inaugurated into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2003. Early life Born at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, Wallach took her first engine apart on her bedroom floor aged 18. In 1928 she won a scholarship to study engineering at Northampton Polytechnic Institute (now known as City, University of London) and was for some time the only woman engineering student on her course. In 1929 she joined the staff at British Thomson-Houston Co Ltd, Willsden and in the same year she became a member of the Women's Engineering Society, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florence Blenkiron
Florence Margaret Charlotte Blenkiron (later ''Kingaby'', also ''Margaret Kingaby'') (24 April 1904 – 4 March 1991) was the first woman to win a gold medal for reaching over 100 mph on a motorcycle at Brooklands race track. With Theresa Wallach, she crossed the Sahara by 600cc Panther motorcycle, sidecar and trailer from London to Cape Town in 1934-5, making the return journey on her own in 1935-6. Early life Florence Margaret Charlotte Blenkiron was born in Harmby, Yorkshire to John Blenkiron and Mary (née Ainsley Atkinson). She had one older brother, John William Amiby Blenkiron (b.1900). Her father was grocer's assistant in 1901 census but by 1911 the family were living in Ellerton Abbey, Marrick, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, where the extended Blenkiron family had lived for generations. In 1911 her father was listed as living on private means. Early working life Blenkiron became Secretary to Robert Hadfield, owner of Hadfield's Steel Foundry in Sheffield, o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |