Alf Holland

Alf Holland and his two brothers Charles and Jack were all cyclists in the 1930s, with Charles being the most successful, appearing in two Olympics and winning a bronze medal with the 4,000 metres pursuit team at Los Angeles in 1932.

The siblings regularly competed against each other in local and national championships, and in the National 25-miles Championship at Coventry the month before the 1936 Olympics, the youngest of the brothers, Jack, surprisingly captured the title. He was overlooked, however, for the road race squad for the Berlin Games, but Charles and Alf (albeit as a non-travelling reserve) were selected. The three brothers regularly helped their club, Midland Cycling and Athletics Club, win the team prize at many championship events. Just after the 1936 Olympics, it was with a touch of irony that Alf was ordered to pay four shillings costs (about 0,23€) … for riding his bike without lights!