Marguerite Wilson (1918–1972) was a record-breaking cyclist from

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

. In 1939 she broke the

Land's End to John o' Groats Land's End to John o' Groats is the traversal of the whole length of the island of Great Britain between two extremities, in the southwest and northeast. The traditional distance by road is and takes most cyclists 10 to 14 days; the record ...

and records. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

stopped her efforts in 1941 she held every Women's Road Records Association (R.R.A.) bicycle record. For her achievements she was celebrated 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 ...

and received the Bidlake Memorial Prize.

Career

Wilson started racing in 1935, when she was 17.The Bicycle, UK, 5 March 1941, p11 She broke three records riding as an amateur in 1938. Then in 1939 she turned professional and broke 11 records (including two of her own from 1938). The pinnacle of her year was completing the ''End to End'' ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2 d 22 h 52 min, continuing to complete the 1,000 miles in a record 3 d 11 h 44 min. When

stopped her efforts in 1941 she held all 16 Women's R.R.A. bicycle records. In her career she won over 50 medals and trophies, including the

Frederick Thomas Bidlake Frederick Thomas Bidlake (13 March 1867 – 17 September 1933) was an English racing cyclist of the late 19th century, who became one of the most notable administrators of British road bicycle racing during the early 20th century. The annual Bidl ...

Memorial Plaque for her End-to-End record.

Palmarès

;1935 :21/07/1935, 10 Mile Solo Record — 29 min 14 sCycle Time Trials — South DC — Records
/ref> ;1936 :26/07/1936, 10 Mile Solo Record — 28 min 54 s :05/09/1936, 10 Mile Solo Record — 28 min 02 s ;1937 :06/06/1937, 10 Mile Solo Record — 27 min 57 s ;1938 :19/06/1938, 10 Mile Solo Record — 27 min 15 s ;1939 :29/08/1939–2/09/1939, Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2 d 22 h 52 min :29/08/1939–2/09/1939, 1,000 miles in 3 d 11 h 44 min

Honours

In 1939 she received the annual Bidlake Memorial Prize that has been awarded from 1934 until the present in honour of

. Her citation says:

Marguerite Wilson for her bicycle records, Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2 d 22 h 52 min and 1,000 miles in 3 d 11 h 44 min accomplished in one ride, 29th August – 2nd September 1939.Bidlake Memorial Recipients — 1939 — Marguerite Wilson
/ref>

On 30 April 1947 her achievements were celebrated in the

Personal life

Marguerite Wilson was a stewardess for

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...

( B.O.A.C) in 1948, working

Short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

Flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

s from the Marine Airway terminal,

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

.British Pathe library 1249.07 , Airways Girl (1:08:21:00 - 1:09:29:00) 05/07/1948 - 14 images (and 68 second film clip) of Marguerite Wilson as B.O.A.C. stewardess and track cyclist.

References

External links

Website devoted to Marguerite Wilson

British Pathe library 1249.07 , Airways Girl (1:08:21:00 - 1:09:29:00) 05/07/1948 - 14 images (and 68 second film clip) of Marguerite Wilson as B.O.A.C. stewardess and track cyclist.

Picture of Marguerite Wilson in ''Spoke. The Magazine of Meridian CC'' (pdf)

Image of Marguerite Wilson's page in The Golden Book of Cycling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Marguerite 1918 births 1972 deaths English female cyclists Sportspeople from Bournemouth Ultra-distance cyclists