Harold Earnshaw, Harry "Shake" Earnshaw, (24 September 1915 – 16 May 1985) was an English racing cyclist from

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. In 1938 he was acclaimed as the

British Best All-Rounder The British Best All-Rounder (BBAR) competition, organised by Cycling Time Trials, is an annual British cycle-racing competition. It ranks riders by the average of their average speeds in individual time trials, over 50 and and 12 hours for ...

when his three best event performances were aggregated into 399 miles at 22.627 mph. His achievements were celebrated in 1939 when

Cycling Weekly ''Cycling Weekly'' is a British cycling magazine. It is published by Future and is devoted to the sport and pastime of cycling. It used to be affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".

awarded him his own page in the

Golden Book of Cycling The ''Golden Book of Cycling'' was created in 1932 by ''Cycling'', a British cycling magazine, to celebrate "the Sport and Pastime of Cycling by recording the outstanding rides, deeds and accomplishments of cyclists, officials and administrat ...

, which is now held in 'The Pedal Club' archive.

Personal life

Harry Earnshaw lived in

Royston, South Yorkshire Royston is a suburban village within the Metropolitan borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England. Historically, the village formed part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, but was incorporated into the Metropolitan borough of Barnsley in 1 ...

and was a natural athlete and cyclist. He worked as a coal-miner from school-leaving age (c. 1930) until 1938.Curious Fox - Harry ''Shake'' Earnshaw
/ref> Harry was given the nickname "Shake" by a visiting uncle. Who after reading a popular magazine called "Fragments", within its pages were a series of cartoons featuring a sergeant-major glaring at a new recruit shouting "Before you come on parade tomorrow, Shakespeare get your hair cut." Turning to the young Harry, who had a good thick crop of dark hair, he said "Shakespeare, get your hair cut". This was adopted as his nickname and over the years, Shakespeare was shortened to "Shake" a name that stayed with him all his life."Shake", the Monckton Boys and the Hercules Professionals by Eric Auty

Career

Earnshaw started road racing in 1935 when he was 18 years old, winning his first event, 25-miles in 1 hour 18 minutes despite several delays, a fall and mechanical damage. He was renowned as a tough, resilient, uncomplaining rider, coping with mechanical and physical set-backs. In 1936 the 'Monckton Cycling Club', sponsored by

Carlton Cycles Carlton Cycles was a bicycle manufacturer based in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England. History In 1898, Fred Hanstock founded Carlton Cycles in the Nottinghamshire village of Carlton-in-Lindrick. The company relocated to nearby Worksop in 1934. ...

* of

Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located east-south-east of Sheffield, close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, on the River Ryton and not far from th ...

,ClassicLightweights, Carlton Cycles, Author: Hilary Stone
/ref> won the team section of the

and Earnshaw was fifth in the individual listing. * Although Carlton Cycles may have supplied machines on favourable terms to certain riders in the club, the rules governing amateur status were so strict that it was even forbidden to allow the makers name to be shown in any photographs of the rider. There was certainly no such thing as a sponsored club in those days. In 1938, the R.T.T.C. (Road Time Trials Council), the governing body of this branch of the sport, issued an edict prohibiting amateur racing cyclists who were staff employees of cycle manufacturers from appearing on their trade stands at the National Cycle Show. It is alleged that the ban on names being shown led to the development of certain unique frame designs (Bates, Hetchins, Baines etc.) to circumvent this. In the 1937 British Best All-Rounder, Earnshaw improved to third overall whilst Monckton C.C. again won the team prize. He also won the 'Sheffield Phoenix 25 mile Time Trial in 1 hour, 1 minute 46 seconds.Calder Clarion - History, Sheffield Phoenix
/ref> In 1938 Earnshaw won the

with the record average speed of 22.627 mph. This was reward for his victory in the Westerley 100-mile competition in a record time of 4 hours 20 minutes 48 seconds, plus two seasons best performances of 50-miles in 2 hours 4 minutes 21 seconds and 249 miles in 12 hours.

The Golden Book

Harry Earnshaw's achievements were celebrated in 1938 when

awarded him his own page in the

Later years

In his senior years he became an accomplished after dinner speaker, but later came the sad news of his multiple amputations, a decision which was made due to the clotting of the arteries in his legs, the result of which confined him to a wheelchair. Harry died on Thursday, 16 May 1985 aged 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earnshaw, Harry 1915 births 1985 deaths Cyclists from Yorkshire Sportspeople from Wakefield