Joe Weatherburn

Joseph (Joe) Frederick Weatherburn was born in Fulham on 12th December 1904. His father was an engineer and in his early years the family moved to Ealing. He was the oldest of four children and went to school at Little Ealing Elementary School.

In 1908 roller skating was enjoying a boom period and rinks were opening across the country at a vast rate of knots. Some were erected in existing buildings but many were brand new purpose built buildings. One such rink was the Walpole Hall Rink built on Bond Street in Ealing. Just four years later, however, a new craze was sweeping the country known as “picture theatres” or “electric palaces” and many roller rinks were converted into early cinemas. In 1912 Walpole Hall suffered the same fate.

They say that things are cyclical and this was also true for roller skating. A resurgence in the activity was witnessed shortly after the First World War and it was decided that Walpole Hall would revert to a roller rink. On Saturday 5th June 1920 it opened its doors once more as a rink to the public.

It was a short walk from Weatherburn’s house in Creighton Road to the rink. It’s doubtful he would have visited Walpole Hall during its first phase but when it opened in 1920 he became a regular visitor. It was a fun place to be and the rink held regular events for the local public such as carnivals, gymkhana’s and of course, races. He joined the Walpole Ealing Skating Club and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Brett, Breach, Dalpiaz and John Spry. In just a few short months he won his first race, a scratch event for the Baley Cup, using a pair of boots and skates loaned to him by Alf Bear, the Floor Manager. The boots were four sizes too big for him and had to be packed with cotton wool! He would go on and win the event a further twice in succession and get to keep the trophy outright.

Weatherburn was a diminutive individual in comparison to most others but he took to roller skating almost immediately. Still only 16 he was already making a name for himself locally. The club would hold and attend inter-club events with the likes of Catford, Norbury and Aldwych (now based at Holland Park). Despite Weatherburn being used to a small rink (Walpole Hall was 26 laps to one mile which is about 62 meters per lap) he showed he could also hold his own on much bigger rinks such as Holland Park (180 meters per lap). He was swiftly becoming a revelation.

The roller skating phenomenon was once again short lived and in 1922 the Walpole Hall rink closed for good. It was a huge blow to Weatherburn and all those at the Walpole Ealing club who wondered where they would go from here. Help was at hand, however, as the Aldwych club welcomed them with open arms. With the loss of the Aldwych rink back in 1912 the club had retained its name but moved its home to the Holland Park rink. Despite the rink being some five miles from where he lived, Weatherburn’s passion was such that the distance was a small price to pay in order for him to continue skating. The Holland Park rink became his new home and he would quickly reap the benefits.

The One Mile Championship was held on Holland Park on 8th February 1923. The race would eventually be won by Tom Wilson (Catford) but it was the youngster Weatherburn who had set the fastest time of the evening in his heat that would push Wilson all the way in the final. Weatherburn would come home in second place and receive his medal from the Duke of York (later King Edward VIII) who watched the final with interest. Two weeks later and Wilson would also win the Five Mile Championship with Weatherburn a close third. There were only two British titles to be contested in any one year and Weatherburn had placed in both.

On March 7th Weatherburn again took to the track at Holland Park and posted a time of 1 minute and 27 seconds for a half mile distance. The time was put forward to the National Skating Association (NSA) and was subsequently ratified not only as a British but also European amateur record.

A week after Weatherburn’s 19th birthday on 19th December 1923, the first ever Half Mile Championship was held at Holland Park. It was a new championship race and a new season. Benny Lee (Crescent) would win his first title but again Weatherburn was amongst the medals. Weatherburn’s performances had very much caught the eye of the NSA. In January 1924 a British team would be sent to Paris to race against teams from France and Belgium at the Velodrome d’Hiver and Weatherburn was included, but first there was the matter of the coveted Burgoyne Shield for the inter-club relay event to contend with. It was the last time the race would be held before becoming recognised as a British Relay Championship and Weatherburn was part of the Aldwych team to win the shield, but Weatherburn’s euphoria quickly turned to disaster.

On 9th January, the same night as the Burgoyne Shield event, Weatherburn had his skates stolen. Dismay soon turned to panic as a week later he was due to be setting sail for Paris with his British team-mates. He had bought the skates just a week before in readiness for the international. Luckily, the Holland Park rink was very supportive and immediately despatched two skate mechanics to Henley. Once there, Mr. Mills (who made the ‘Dexter’ skates) worked all night to manufacture another pair and manged to procure a special pair of boots to fit. Weatherburn’s first international call up was saved.

This was a time when World and European Championships were still more than a decade away from formal realisation. The event was first run in Paris in November 1922 (won by Romania) with a return event at Holland Park in January 1923, won by Great Britain. A year on and Weatherburn was selected to help Britain retain their title, which they duly did in front of an estimated 15,000 spectators. The race was a 15 miles team event where skaters amassed points throughout the race. A point would be awarded every mile to the team member who crossed the line first. The team with the best points tally were declared winners and the first crossing the line would receive a separate medal.

A few weeks later, on February 8th, Weatherburn was again on the British team sheet for the return leg at Holland Park. Again, Great Britain were victorious.

On 16th December 1924 the Burgoyne Shield was once again raced for, but for the first time it was recognised as a bona fide British Relay Championship. Skating for Aldwych, Weatherburn was once more part of the winning team.

The international event would be held just once more on 13th February 1925 at Holland Park where this time Weatherburn would be named as reserve. Weatherburn won a half mile race specifically for the reserve skaters from each nation.

Throughout 1925 and 1926 he was again amongst the British Championship medals but despite his domestic and international successes an individual title still eluded him. The 1926 Championships were held on other rinks around London as opposed to Holland Park which had been the preferred venue for some time.  The Half Mile at Forest Gate, the One Mile at Kingston and the Five Mile at Cricklewood. Weatherburn would medal in the One Mile and Five Mile showing that he wasn’t just competitive on Holland Park.

1927 was to be a defining year for Weatherburn. On 13th January he won his first British Championship, the Half Mile on the Alexandra Palace rink. He followed this up with a bronze medal in the One Mile and Five Mile and a victory in the Relay Championship. He now had his British title that he so craved. On 3rd January 1928 he became the first ever skater to retain his Half Mile title when he just beat Harold Lee (Unattached) back on Holland Park. Two weeks later he would help Aldwych retain the Burgoyne Shield and then in April he would help the club secure a 1-2-3 in the Five Mile Championship behind John Spry and Alec McLagan. Soon afterwards the Holland Park rink would close and Weatherburn and the Aldwych club would once again be looking for a new home.

Weatherburn remained with the Aldwych club but the closing of Holland Park had once again disrupted the team and training facilities were now very limited. Many of the skaters tried their hand at ice skating and found that they were quite proficient at it. Weatherburn also had a go, however, he preferred to focus on his roller skating. He wasn't bad at football either, playing for Ealing Green Football Club whenever time allowed. With Holland Park gone the club became nomadic although the use of Alexandra Palace as a training venue tended to be the favoured rink.

1929 and another two silver British Championship medals (Half Mile and Five Mile) behind a new star of British roller speed skating, Jimmy Reed (Alexandra Palace). It was also an important year for him personally as on 20th July he married his fiancée, Katherine Hughes. A year later would see a trip outside of London for the British Championships for the first time and resulted in Weatherburn taking bronze in the Half Mile at the Birmingham Embassy. The eventual winner was his team-mate Alec McLagan (father of legendary musician Ian “Mac” McLagan of Small Faces and Faces fame). This would be followed up by a second place in the British Relay Championships at Alexandra Palace a month later. Such was the friendship between the Weatherburns and the McLagans that the Weatherburn family would eventually buy the house next-door but one from the McLagans in Taunton Avenue, Hounslow.

In 1931 Weatherburn had been competing for over a decade but this was to be arguably his most successful year. On Valentine’s Day Weatherburn raced and won the Half Mile British Championship at the Boulevard Rink in Leicester. Two weeks later he was crowned the new Five Mile Champion at the Alexandra Palace. It was to be his last British title and in fact, his last individual British Championship medal. In 1931 and 1932 he helped the Aldwych club give the dominant Alexandra Palace club a run for their money in the Relay Championship but on both occasions would have to settle for second place.

Weatherburn was now 28 and his glory years were behind him. That said, he still continued to race, albeit less frequently, but was also considering what came next. In 1933 he finally achieved his NSA Gold Speed Test (as wells achieving a Bronze Speed Test on ice), but by 1934 he had stopped competing entirely. He did make one last “guest appearance” as a favour for fellow official, George Lord. Under instruction from the NSA, Lord had set up a series of four events whose proceeds would go towards the King George Jubilee Trust Fund. Weatherburn entered all four events and at the third event on 16th November 1935, he took to the Pier Pavilion at Herne Bay and rolled back the years by finishing third in the half mile race. The following week the last round was held at the Alexandra Palace. Weatherburn again competed but didn’t make any impact. After the race he took his skates off and never raced competitively again.

Back in 1931 Weatherburn’s father, John, had joined the Roller Speed Committee. He was always around to lend a hand to young Joe and had decided that he wouldn’t mind helping to administer the sport. In 1935 Weatherburn Junior joined him. Although Weatherburn Senior would step aside in 1952, Weatherburn Junior would continue to be a familiar sight in and around a rink.

Both Weatherburns continued to officiate but the outbreak of the Second World War meant that any thoughts of skating were put on hold.

After the war skating resumed, albeit sporadically at first, but by 1948 World Championships had resumed. In 1949 a British team was selected for both the World Road Championships in Ferrara, Italy and World Track Championships in Lisbon, Portugal. Weatherburn put his name forward as Team Manager both events. His knowledge and experience was invaluable in helping the likes of Don Brown, Denis Hill, Bob Halford and Jackie Reeves. Brown and Hill would win multiple medals in Lisbon and also win the relay event.

There were no international events in 1950 but again in 1951 Weatherburn put himself forward to take the British team to Monfalcone, Italy for the World Road Championships. Hill would again come away with a medal but it was to be Weatherburn’s last outing as Team Manager.

Weatherburn was a stalwart for the sport in Great Britain all through the 1940’s and 1950’s. He was the Roller Speed Committee representative on the NSA Council from 1949 to 1958 and also became an international judge in 1955. In 1961, after more than forty years in the sport, Weatherburn called it a day. Times were rapidly changing and he recognised that the sport needed new blood for it to continue and prosper. He had done more than his fair share in supporting the sport he loved, now it was time for others to take over.

Joe Weatherburn passed away on 25th May 1985 in Hounslow where he lived. He burst onto the roller speed skating scene in his teens and was rewarded with a place on the British team when it was still in its infancy. He rubbed shoulders with royalty (and musical royalty) and dedicated more than forty years of his life to competing in and administering a sport he loved with a passion. He was a small man with a huge energy. Joseph Frederick Weatherburn was and will always be a British skating legend in every sense of the word.