Dennis Hunter (1936-2015)

Dennis started his bike riding as early as 1950 when, as a Grammar School pupil, together with some other school friends all under a legitimate age for racing, rode some massed-start races (as it was then called) on a closed circuit at Leconfield.

He was 14 years old and was good enough to get some placings. As a member of Kingston Coureurs he is probably the first local rider to win an open road race which he did in the Greenhow Road Race in May 1953 finishing alone and still a junior, paving the way for the likes of Bill Holmes and Don Wilson.

Kingston Coureurs were reckoned to be a renegade club affiliated to the BLRC (British League of Racing Cyclists) and outlawed by the RTTC (Road Time Trials Council), the NCU (National Cyclists’ Union) and the RRA (Road Records Association) who were then the major governing bodies of cycle racing.

The Coureurs rode bikes without mudguards and saddlebags, wore bright colours and they stuffed their back pockets with food and initiated the use of musettes (bonk bags); practises very much against the norm.

After persuading his brother Maurice to take up cycling they broke away from Kingston Coureurs with Adrian George, Trevor Wilkinson, Dave Tansey, Richard Wilkinson (known as Geek), Dave Baynes, Brian Hill to found the Alpha Road Club at the end of 1952, in order to organise a two-day road race. This was the famous Whitby two-day that the club inherited.

At 18 he was drafted into the RAF to do his National Service and his posting to Hemswell in Lincolnshire allowed him to continue riding his bike back and forth from home when allowed. On his demobilisation he returned to work for Hoover where he’d served his apprenticeship as a business trainee, and in 1958 he married Muriel.

Bringing up three children, Jeremy now living in India, Janice now living in Canada, and Gillian, took his interests away from cycling. I met up with him and Maurice in my local when we moved in 1972. I persuaded them to come to the Hull Thursday ride-out dinner at Mayphil café near Boothferry Bridge and afterwards to take part in the Boxing Day 10, forever a favourite social occasion for Dennis.

At the Thursday AGM early in ’73 he joined the club, together with his brother, and they were both elected to the committee, a part in which Dennis fully played until his debilitating illness.

Over the years that followed he was elected President four or five times and was given life membership for his services to the club. His enthusiasm and business acumen involved him in most of the club activities, particularly in the finances of the Bentley and Skelton sponsorship of our major road races.

He was always concerned about his fitness, and considered himself a racing man, and took part in most of the club events and local open time trials. He may not have broken records but he did win himself the Ron Kitching gold medal for completing 1000 miles in consecutive Otley 12 hour events.

Even when his strength was waning he’d ride an event to compete for the ‘lanterne rouge’. We had a little ‘training ride’, me and him, which went from Skidby, Little Weighton, Walkington, Etton, over Arras and down Flower Hill to Newbald, and up Trundlegate back to Skidby when we talked to each other in German, or French. Languages was another of his interests.

Dennis was such a very dominant character, very sharp and witty, he was a great source of amusement to us on the Wednesday rides and the trips abroad that we had.

It was sad to see his health deteriorate so rapidly, dementia can be so humbling. I trust that Dennis, my old friend, is at peace now.

Jim Sampson