Ray(Mond) HICKS

Three weeks after his 17th birthday in 1934, Ray Hicks showed his potential as a serious cyclist when he won a 1-mile handicap race at Chichester, Sussex. Before the year was out, he had emulated that performance with victories in both 1- and half-mile events. The following year, Hicks won both the NCU London Centre and Southern Counties 1,000-metre sprint titles. In 1936, he was beaten in the final of the NCU One Mile Grass Track Championship by the crack rider Dennis Horn but won the Polytechnic Club’s 1,000-metre time trial and was second, with Bob Meller, in the NCU National Tandem Championship at Herne Hill. After winning the Olympic sprint trial, Hicks was selected for the sprint and time trial at the Berlin Olympics. The following year he competed in the sprint at the World Championships in København, but chances of a medal were ruled out when he was involved in a training accident the day before the start of the sprint. He still bravely competed, having lost three nails off his heavily bandaged right hand, a lot of skin from one of his thighs, and suffered ankle injuries. In 1938 Hicks took part in the British Empire Games at Sydney, and on this occasion, won a silver medal behind fellow Englishman William Maxfield in the 10-mile track scratch event. He also took part in the sprint and track time trial.