Betty Meakin

Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Meakin (nee Gordon) was born in 1896. We know little of Betty’s early life other than by 1922 she had met and married Henry Meakin and was a frequent visitor to the Holland Park rink in London.

Back then the National Skating Association did not recognise ladies racing as bone-fide competitions and although Meakin regularly entered local events little was made or recorded of those early efforts.

In 1923 the well-known theatre and music hall comedian, George French, donated a challenge shield to the Holland Park rink solely for the purpose of a ladies competition. A date of 22nd February 1924 was scheduled to run a half mile event and the NSA were approached to sanction it as a fully recognised competition. The Roller Committee met on 11th January prior to the event and the item was placed on the agenda. This is how the discussion was minuted:

“Ladies Racing – The Hon. Sec. reported that a ladies half mile race was being held at Holland Park Rink for a challenge shield and requested to be informed of the news of the Roller Committee with regard to this race in case the Roller Committee were approached for assistance.

It was unanimously decided that as the Roller Committee did not recognise ‘ladies racing’ they had no jurisdiction over the race or control over the entrants”.

Despite the NSA taking a negative view of ladies roller speed skating races at that time, Meakin still decided to join the Association. Not only did she have a penchant for speed skating but she also enjoyed roller (and later ice) dance competitions.

The inaugural event for the George French Challenge Shield was held under NSA rules regardless of the lack of any NSA involvement, and with an entry of some forty-five skaters it was witnessed by many spectators. This entry for the competition remains the largest entry for the trophy to date. Incidentally, it could have been even more as there was another ladies half mile event taking place at the Brixton rink at exactly the same time, but it was the Holland Park race that would get all the attention.

There were five heats of nine skaters with just each heat winner going through to the final. Meakin romped home the overall winner in the final to secure her first triumph, ahead of M.B. Law and S.Hannuell. Grace Philipson, wife of Twickenham MP Hylton Philipson, was originally due to present the medals and shield but later had to withdraw through illness and so that honour instead went to Sir Harry Brittain MP.

Despite the race being widely declared in newspaper reports as a ‘women’s championship’ this title was unofficial and certainly not recognised by the NSA. Twelve months later and Meakin was out to defend her ‘unofficial' title.

The second running of the George French Challenge Shield took place, again at Holland Park, on 18th February 1925. This time the race was part of a carnival evening at the rink that ran from 8pm to 2am the following morning. Donning her Holland Park colours once more, Meakin again made the final with five other skaters and successfully defended the shield despite her time of 1 minute 52 seconds being some four seconds slower than her winning time the previous year. Behind her was Florence Martin (St. Leonard’s - Hastings) and Nora Cotter (Holland Park). The medals were presented by the then famous actress and friend of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later HRH Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother), Dorothy Dickson, whilst George French himself presented ‘his’ shield.

On 16th March 1926 Meakin again entered the now well-known George French Challenge Shield event and once again, she would emerge victorious. This time Florence Buckingham (Alexandra Palace) would cross the line in second place whilst the previous year’s silver medallist, Florence Martin (St. Leonard’s – Hastings) had to make do with bronze. Despite winning the shield for a third consecutive year Meakin was not allowed to keep it outright as was normally the custom for such a feat. However, this was not the case for the Stanley Lupino Cup.

On 7th April, just three weeks after her third George French Challenge Shield victory, Meakin added the Stanley Lupino Cup to her list of triple triumphs. Having won this half mile handicap event also for three consecutive years, this time she was awarded the trophy outright. Skating from scratch, as she had done on the previous two occasions, Meakin beat the Alexandra Palace duo of Pullen and Buckingham to make the cup her own.

As October and a new skating season approached the Roller Committee realised that they could not ignore ladies speed skating any longer. It had maintained its popularity and on the evening of Friday 22nd October 1926 the Committee voted in favour of now taking control of all ladies skating races. They also agreed to hold a Half Mile British Championship for women and in so doing now officially recognised ladies racing for the very first time.

It was perhaps in light of this recognition that Meakin was invited to present the Benetfink Cup to Charlie Bush (Aldwych), the winner of the men’s One Mile British Championship on 25th January 1927 at Holland Park. Either way, Betty Meakin was now a roller speed skating star in her own right.

On 15th February 1927 the very first ladies British Championship was held. On the same evening there was also a one mile invitation scratch race for senior men, eventually won by British international and Aldwych club skater, Joe Weatherburn. However, for once the men played second fiddle to the women as that evening roller speed skating history was made.

The Roller Committee had decided on Holland Park as the venue for the first running of the Senior Ladies Half Mile British Championship and as a result the rink management offered the George French Challenge Shield as the trophy. With twelve entries for the event, Meakin stepped onto the track as the firm favourite. It was by no means a foregone conclusion, however, as she now had the likes of Brixton All Blacks top female skaters, Lou Davy and Florence Arnold to contend with.

The Brixton All Blacks were a new club and had caught the eye of many with their training and racing exploits at the Brixton rink, but by the time the race had concluded Meakin had made history. Beating Davy into second place by some twenty yards, and Arnold even further back, Meakin would become Britain’s first ever female British Champion. Her award was her beloved George French Challenge Shield. Her four consecutive victories would be equalled by only a handful of skaters, such as Winifred Davies and Pat Eason, but it would not be until Chloe Ronaldson won her fifth consecutive title in 1969 that Meakin's feat be surpassed.

(As a point of note, the engraving of the George French Shield shows the 1924-25-26-27 to be “H.J.Meakin” and not “E.A.Meakin”. Sadly, in those days it was not uncommon for a wife to be referred to by the initials of her husband. In the case of Betty Meakin her husband was Henry James Meakin, hence, in all reports, and on the shield itself, she is referred to as Mrs. H.J. Meakin. Hopefully, we can now put the record straight).

Two weeks later was the annual running of the open half mile handicap for ladies at Holland Park. The race for what was once the Stanley Lupino Cup, which now belonged to Meakin, attracted an entry of fifteen starters. Meakin, however, was not one of them. Whilst Meakin continued to speed skate intermittently she was also now focusing on roller dance. That didn’t stop her again entering the Half Mile British Championship on 12th January 1928 for one last time. Unfortunately, there was to be no fairy tale ending as Meakin failed to make the medals. Florence Arnold (Brixton All Blacks) would write her own name into the history books but for Meakin the time had come to call it a day.

Three weeks later on 7th February the Holland Park rink closed its doors for good. Meakin and Arnold gave a display of speed skating but it was the end of an era for both skater and rink and when the lights dimmed for one last time, she took off her skates and moved on to pastures new.

Meakin had also taken a keen interest in ice skating. In fact, as a member of the NSA she had taken several proficiency tests that included Roller Dance Grade 2 and 3, Roller International Style Figure Grade 3 and Ice International Style Figure Grade 2 with her Grade 1 firmly in her sights. There was obviously more than met the eye with Betty Meakin when it came to skating in all its guises.

Over the course of the next few years Meakin began to compete in ice figure skating, paired with the likes of Jack Dunn and regularly took part in ice galas. In fact, she became a well known and much respected skater and contributor on the ice dance and figure skating circuit. In 1935 she turned professional to take part in the ice revue “Marina” at Brighton. When that finished she became an instructor at the Queen’s Ice Club in West London.

It was here, in late 1936, that Meakin suffered a severe internal strain. Rather than disappoint her pupils she would often skate through the agony. Eventually she was persuaded to rest and just when it was thought she was recovering a relapse resulted in her unexpectedly requiring an emergency operation. To the shock of many Meakin never regained consciousness.

Betty Meakin passed away on 19th January 1937, aged just forty. The skating fraternity, both roller and ice, were rocked by the loss of this true skating legend. By becoming the first ever female British roller speed skating champion Meakin had paved the way for generations of young girls and women to realise their own dreams. Her pioneering spirit and determination to compete would eventually influence the Roller Committee of the NSA to officially recognise women in the sport of roller speed skating.

In the hundred years or so since female speed skating first became an official sport in Great Britain there is a list of literally thousands of names of women who have taken part in competitions, some of whom who have gone on to not only national but international success. Today, though, very few, if any, will know or have heard of Betty Meakin. Hopefully, that oversight has now been addressed as British skating legend Betty Meakin’s name proudly and rightly sits at the very top of that very long list.