Departures of note

Cyril Cartwright, a miner from Dukinfield, Cheshire, won the 4,000m pursuit at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand, defeating Russell Mockridge, who would later ride the Tour de France. The five-week ship journey to the Games forced him to improvise his training: he rode a stationary roller on the deck, holding on with one hand to steady himself against the rolling waves. When the sea was calm he positioned the rollers fore and aft; in rough weather he moved them across the ship behind a bulkhead for shelter. He recalled the captain's blunt welcome on the return voyage: 'I've locked those rollers of yours in the hold for the voyage home. You were nothing but a nuisance on the way here but we don't want to have to put up with it on the way back.'

Before Auckland, Cartwright had already made his mark in British cycling. In 1948 he won the national 25-mile time trial championship, becoming one of the first riders in the country to break the hour for the distance, with a national record of 59 minutes 18 seconds. He also held British records for five miles and 30 miles. In 1949 he finished second in the world amateur pursuit championship in Copenhagen.

His preparation for the Empire Games included a punishing weekend ride from Manchester to London and back, taking 13 hours southbound and 11 hours northbound, to build fitness before the long sea voyage. In the final against Mockridge, he started weakly and trailed by 25 yards after two laps, but then settled into a steady pace and gradually reeled his opponent in. By three-quarter distance, Mockridge was struggling so badly that he abandoned the race 50 yards behind. Cartwright took the gold medal and also received a certificate for the fastest time ridden in New Zealand.

He stopped racing after he was not selected for the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki. He died on 29 September 2015 in Pistyll, Wales, at the age of 91.