Jock West—a giant from the golden era

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Eamonn Townsend

Jock West—a giant from the golden era

Post by Eamonn Townsend »

It wasn’t exactly the proudest moment of Jock West’s to find himself on the victors dais at the 1939 TT awards presentation when winner Schorsh Meier gave the Nazi salute and Jock stood there, mute, wearing the BMW team outfit including the swastika. There were to be many highs and lows in his 95 years; the sporting world will remember this tough, world class road racer, the manufacturing side of the immediate post-war years for his dedication, his drive and energy.

The hilarious side was trying to convince his parents that the enormous black eye was the result of contact with a cricket ball, whereas he had ridden at Crystal Palace and crashed. Bearing in mind that in BMCRC’s 1934 hundred miler at Brooklands he finished second on a 350cc Triumph in under one hour making the fastest time regardless of class his was a constant search for speed. Hilarious is hardly the description for his streamlining in reverse brainchild—whether before or after Brooklands is not known—but he thought his size affected the performance of the Triumph so had a conical fairing made for attachment just behind the saddle. The appendage was open-fronted and at the first test run it filled with air (Motor Cycling’s Dennis May reported) ” imprisoning the prodigious West slipstream, and the Triumph went into a sort of cyclic wobble, with about half a parish between alternating slews to port and starboard”. Sufficient to say at the Hutchinson 100 later that year he took four second places on a works Triumph.

He learnt his craft competing in the fearsome Knatts Valley hill climb often against the likes of Harold Daniell. It was at this time he campaigned the Hartified alcohol-burning 500 side valve of Len Hartley, good for 90mph raced, officially and unofficially; the latter meant waiting for a fast motorist then beating them up and passing a mortified stranger. Road racing proper started with the 1931 Manx GP on an Ariel, falling off in practice when belt and braces sheared only to have the bike blow up in the race. Next year he finished 20th.

John MilnWest lived at Walmer near Deal in Kent. Tall, well-built and possessing both a good sense of humour as well as a set of bushy eyebrows, in later years he was a familiar figure on his annual pilgrimage to the TT.

Jock’s TT career covered the years 1933 to 1948 when he rode both 7R into 13th place but retired on the Porcupine. His racing times was littered with experiences that would have beaten lesser men. The 1934 Senior was memorable for seven showings of the black flag, a damaged hip, severed braces and a wigging from Stewards who relented to allow him to continue. His 1936 ride on a works Vincent almost ended when the chain broke at Signpost corner. Undeterred Jock pushed in getting 8th position. Gaining a works BMW for the 1937 TT unfortunately with a leaking tank replicated his previous year’s finishing method this pushing the one and three-quarter miles from Cronk-ny-Mona to finish 6th. He won the 1937 Ulster GP—the world’s fastest road race—at 91.64mph and a year later took the winning speed to 93.98 getting wheelspin at 125mph down the seven-mile long, bumpy straight in heavy rain, clocking fastest lap at 98.9mph after Daniell, Frith, Ginger Woods had retired or crashed. Many years after he would go hot and cold at the memory. Teamed with Schorsh Meier on their supercharged works BMW’s in the 1939 TT he rode to orders taking second place, their race speeds being 89.38mph and 88.22mph.

That Nazi episode must have rankled; at a celebratory 50-year dinner in Douglas in 1989, journalist Roger Willis noticed a distinct coolness between the former team mates . War brought an RAF career, ending as wing commander receiving the OBE in the 1946 Honours List. Discharged in December 1945 within hours on that day he was at his desk as sales manager at Associated Motor Cycles in Plumstead a role he interpreted as both riding and managing. Among other activities He won the senior race at Chinay,
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