History

Welcome to the OFFICIAL website of the 59 Club,

a motorcycle club also known as The Fifty-Nine Club and 'the 9' with its roots in the United Kingdom.

The Club today follows its long-standing tradition of welcoming all riders on all types and styles of bikes, that is the reason the club started, so everybody had somewhere to go. There is no probationary period, no presidents, just leaders appointed by the directors who have been running the club for decades, but members are generally attracted by our roots with rock and roll, ton-ups, rockers and the cafe racers.

We have a recognised badge, not a patch, it is a trademarked design, but as we have a huge history and a famous name, it is often abused and appropriated by groups all over the world who wish to ride on the decades of hard work and love that it has taken us to keep the club active, meaning that all true members have a membership number held on file at the London HQ (there is a membership page above), if a member isn't registered there, then they are NOT a member of the 59 Club.

The 59 Club started as a church-based youth club founded in Hackney Wick on 2 April 1959, in the East End of London. In 1962, after a visit by Father Bill to the Ace Cafe, a motorcycle section was established in Hackney, the motorcycle section soon outgrew the youth club.

Club nights took place once a week on Saturday evenings at the Eton Mission, where there was ample parking and a large hall with table tennis, billiards, a juke box and a coffee bar. Motorcycle staff writer Mike Evans in 1963 reported: "Ably managed by the Rev. Bill Shergold, the club is affectionately known by London riders as 'The Vic's Caff'!".

Father Bill remained chairman until he passed in 2009.

Club is staffed and managed by unpaid volunteers and helpers, many of whom have done so since the Sixties.

Adopted in the 1960’s by Britain’s motorcycling youth, initially in the London area, the 59 Club badge soon became an icon of a youth culture that has continued to this day – the Rockers! Remember the only genuine regalia is produced in London the rest is Fake!

With a history and roots that includes with rock n’ roll, the 59 has evolved through the years to be an internationally renowned motorcycle club, with its headquarters in Plaistow, East London.

The Club started originally as a youth club at the Eton Mission in Hackney Wick, London in 1959 and was led by the Reverend John Oates. Later, keen motorcyclist, Father William Shergold decided to hold a church service for motorcyclists in 1962.

He eventually plucked up courage to visit The Ace Cafe on the North Circular Road to hand out leaflets about the service. He had an immense reaction. The church was full of 'Rockers'. Even some of their bikes were brought into the church to be blessed. As this had never been heard of before, the press had a field day! A motorcycle section was added to the youth club and became so popular that it overtook the club and premises. Hence The 59 Club was born.

Father Bill moved to Paddington in North-West London and the Club moved with him, even though the premises were much larger, the Club was full to bursting every night. Father Bill, Father Graham Hullett (who ran the club for some years after Bill went alongside Mike 'Cowboy' Cook paid youth worker) and a large work force of volunteers were then needed to run the Club.

Again, the Club moved, this time to Hackney, and Father Bill moved on to start the 69 Club in Dover. 59 Club carried on under the mantle of Mike Cook for many years with voluntary Club Leaders (as they were known) to help him.

Over the years, it has been a privilege for many members to have Father Bill marry them, others have been christened by him. Undoubtedly a gentleman, Bill was always ready and willing to officiate at these events and this is just one more reason why he is, and has always been, held in the highest esteem by everyone who knew him. Due to lack of council funding, after running the club for many years, Mike Cook retired, this coincided with the Club's lease on the building expiring, so the Club moved yet again, this time to Plaistow in East London.

Father Bill was involved in the club until he sadly passed away in 2009, we celebrated his life with a service at St Martin in the fields Trafalgar Sqaure Mike Cook is still involved with the Club,a regular visitor to TT and for many years motorcycling vicar, Father Scott Anderson, was on the management team, workforce now is a lot smaller and are all hard-working volunteers who are committed to keeping the Club up and running team now have been doing so since 1992 and some members who attend each week have been involved since the 60's.

1992 to the present:

Personal view by Dick Bennett

Hi to all you 59ers both young and old, my name is Dick Bennett and some of you may know me. I have been a member of the 59 Club since 1969 and involved in helping to run the club since the early 70’s. Having attended some of the great rock and roll dances in the late 60’s, I used to turn up on my BSA 650 Super Rocket and race to Chelsea Bridge.

I am still involved now, when most people in the club have modern superbikes, but some also have classic bikes for those special occasions, so l feel able to put my personal view of how the club has evolved over the years in this potted history. I own a 64 Bonneville that comes out on special occasions.

Club History is well documented in regard to the 60’s, when Father Bill Shergold fired things up, but little has been written down about the club from the 90’s to the present day. This is all the more incredible when you realise that it has done many things, has moved to new locations and has added another 12,000 members.

I am proud to say we still sit down on club nights; with the same mates I was drinking coffee with at the club 35 years ago, burn up to Chelsea bridge no longer happens, just as well we would all be locked up for driving like that now!

Not just one or two, but many of the guys and girls who still attend the club who were there in the 60’s and 70’s and have never stopped coming down, with all the newer members eager to listen to some of the old ‘war stories’ from these guys.

We are the people that kept the club open when it was not fashionable, and when people knock the club (rare but it does happen) remember without people like us, the 59 Club would be but a distant & lost memory.

Although the 70’s and 80’s were the era of coloured leathers, flares and disco, the hardcore of us still attended rock and roll events, but we all had to evolve to keep the club going, so tried to organise events that would appeal to the younger motorcyclists of the day bond that held all this together was a common interest in motorbikes, so as always, it did not matter what creed or background you came from, we were happy that, as in the original aims of the club, ALL who ride had a place to go and just chill out with no dress codes and very few rules.

The Bombshell:

From the 60's until the early 90’s the club had been funded by council grants, so it meant all costs such as rent, insurance, heating, lighting, maintenance and including Mike’s pay had been financed by Hackney. Two things were about to happen to the club that almost shut it down in the early 90’s, firstly all grants were withdrawn to the majority of organisations like us, and secondly, our lease was about to expire on the Yorkton Street premises. The result of this was that we could no longer pay Mike, so like some other major contributors to the club in the past, sadly we had to see him go.

Mike Cook still sits on the Council of Management to this day, and he currently still attends club events lack of cash to keep the club going was now becoming critical as the current premises cost a huge amount to insure and heat, and on just these two items of expenditure, the incomings were falling short of out goings by several hundred pounds a week, we were in serious financial difficulties. This, tied to the fact that our lease was about to expire, made us act quickly.

The then Council of Management, who were basically the Board of Directors of the 59 Club charity had decided that the club had really had its day and with all the problems looming, should consider winding up. However, they had reckoned without the hard-core 59ers. We had a meeting amongst ourselves following which, the other leaders and members sent Gary Hall and I to speak to Father Bill and convince him that we would and could carry on in a voluntary basis, even if some changes would have to be made.

We had been lucky enough to have had Yorkton Street for a peppercorn rent for 20 years, in return we prevented the church, which was attached to the Club building, from being vandalised and kept the building in good order.

Unfortunately, whoever had originally signed the lease on behalf of the club had agreed on vacating the premises in its original condition, although luckily, they did not invoke this. Due to the costs of running this huge building though, even if the lease had been extended, we could not have stayed. The structure of the Council of Management then changed to include an increased number of club leaders who attended the club regularly.

The Search:

We started looking for new premises. We looked at many old church buildings which were either unsuitable or derelict and became despondent as it was looking more and more as if we would have to give up, then out of the blue one of our long-standing members, Micky Hammond, mentioned that his mother was church warden at the Memorial Baptist church in Plaistow and said they may have somewhere suitable.

Well, as a church-based club, I suppose it is ok to get the occasional miracle and this was it, the top floor of the Church was to be our new home. Nothing would ever match Hackney, but with the more reasonable rent we had to pay for the new premises, the club could survive well into the foreseeable future.

59 Plaistow through the Nineties and beyond:

59 Club at Plaistow was, and still is, manned entirely by unpaid volunteers, a bit of a change from the old days, when one way or another it formed part of the day jobs of some of the leaders and committee personnel, was now a case of survive (also change) or cease to be.

A lot of the old school members of the 59 ceased to be around even more so than after the move from Paddington to Hackney and apart from the hard-core of people who ran the club such as myself, Gary, Sandra, Pete, Geoff, Del and some others, most of the membership were new to the club. We changed the way the club worked and started to attend the places where motorcyclists like to go.

We became regulars at the BMF Rally in Peterborough, The Ace Brighton Burn Up, the Hop Farm in Kent, as well other events with a sort of mobile Road Show, where we supplied tea and coffee (not to mention Sandra’s famous bread pudding) to all our members from our new Hospitality Tent. This tent also gives members and guests somewhere to chill out and leave their belongings.

This took the club out to people who would not know us, and we gained many members both from home and abroad.

Although we were Rockers at heart and attended the Rockers Reunion events at Battersea and Reading, the people who went were older guys, and whilst it was great to see all of our club mates, it could not at that time survive on nostalgia (although thank goodness, in recent years there has been a massive revival in the Rockers movement).

The club also became more family orientated and has seen whole families and generations grow up with the club, with member’s sons and daughters becoming our new young members. It is interesting to note that although the 59 Club was almost revered by the Rockers at places like the Rockers Reunion, where the club always has a stand and runs the raffle, sadly we never saw these riders attend the Plaistow premises to keep things alive.

The membership went from strength to strength with the Reverend Scott Anderson came on board as our new Chairman, our link to the church remained as strong as always & Father Bill became our President until his passing in 2009.
We still hold Rock and Roll dances at the club to this day, with live music and sound sytem with a special Christmas Tinsel & Turkey buffet/dance around February each year which is always well attended by members from across Europe as well as regulars.

2010 - ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS

The First of our major Church celebrations which we have built on, it was our 50th anniversary and Father Bills remembrance service. A huge service with a large attendance

2018 September 2018, the club opened a new meeting location at the first parish of Bill Shergold in All Saints Church, Hanwell, West London.

2019 - ST PAULS

We celebrated the club at St Paul's Cathedral another great landmark, 60TH Anniversary of the general 59 club.We were honoured to be at this world famous cathedral. Father Bill would have been proud. Father Sergiy Diduk, an avid motorcyclist and the priest of All Saints, was our chairman from October 2018 until 2023 and was our church figurehead until retirement from the C of E this Year. He is still on the committee. Father Scott has hung up his 59 responsibilities but not his jacket as he is still active within the club

2022 - WESTMINSTER ABBEY

Father Sergiy organised probably the most fantastic and famous venue for the 59 club blessing of the bikes at Westminster Abbey, we were even on TV our 60th anniversary of the motorcycle club section (Video here).

In addition, we split from the Ace café in April they ran our memberships and sold our regalia for many years, Thanks to Angelo Lebrato our membership man the club has gone from strength to strength since the split hence our ability to do more charitable stuff with the members money and not line the pockets of commercial enterprise. We will always be linked to the Ace through history but commercially we now have no connection.

The biggest tragedy was losing Derrick Rowe Treasurer and long time member.in a road accident just after TT 2023.

Overseas:

The overseas membership has just grown over the years, and we have sections in France, Switzerland, Italy, Malaysia and the US, also individual members in many other places around the globe.

I have many friends amongst them and every one is a member of the One and Only Original 59 Club in Plaistow, this pulls together the goal of all us Rockers and helps to keep the club going, so that you can pop along even after not attending for some years but still feel welcome and a part of it straight away.

These are sections that meet in various countries, proviso being that all section members are up to date members of the London club and that membership is not exclusive to those who meet in sections in that country.

N.B. The international sections are not individual clubs in their own right but are purely members of the London club.

The 59 Club takes its ethos from the church where all are welcome, there is and never has been a probationary period to join, no dress code or motorcycle type exclusions, indeed all are welcome who share an interest in the club and its traditions, that is the very reason the club started. This has always been the way the club has functioned and will continue to do so into the future.
We are not associated with, or ever have been associated with any patch or 1% clubs.

There are some ‘so called’ 59 Club sections using the club badge who have no membership of the main London club, and as such are NOT part of the 59. Australia for instance has no links to the 59 club.

Any genuine member will have a 5-digit membership held on File at the London HQ.

We have kept the club going for 50 years relying on this and unpaid leaders, the same goes for imitation regalia, only regalia purchased through the 9 is genuine.

No-one has any rights to use the club insignia, without consent other than the 59 Club based in the London, UK, who have registered trademarks and is a registered charity.

Highs and lows:

The club has gone through its fair share of highs and lows, just a few years ago we had an electrical fire that threatened to shut all of the Plaistow premises, the whole property was rewired by club members led by Pete, that's how a club should work! The stories of the people that have kept the 59 running show their commitment to the club and would fill a book on their own.

Roll of Honour:

Dick and Yvonne Bennett

Dick and Yvonne have been involved with the club since 1969 doing our best to keep the ethos of the club alive, all of which I could not have done without the support of my wife who has also served as treasurer for the club, we have organised many 59 TT BBQ’s and helped organise and support almost every club function, Father Bill performed our marriage ceremony many years ago and Christened our daughter so we are a true 59 family.

Gary and Sandra Hall

Like ourselves, Gary and Sandra have been coming to the club since the 60’s, and again have been helping to run it for all that time. Sandra has organised countless events and parties. They are at the true heart of the club.

Sandras Bread Pud is renowned by anyone who attends our events. Gary has given up many months of his time helping to maintain both Hackney and Plaistow using his skills as a master builder. Moreover, Gary is our ambassador and always welcomes new members when they arrive. Fact is, they are lucky if they can get away, most people who have visited the 59 always remember him and his warm welcome.

This again is the same guy I used to race from the 59 at Paddington to Chelsea Bridge when he had a much-coveted Norton factory production racer with the original document from Norton to show it would do 130 mph, although Park Lane was probably not the best place to check its performance!

Sandra has looked after the memberships for many years and now still sorts out any issues or old membership numbers. She also is always organising events, anyone who sees our road show will meet her as she is the organiser of that & of course the Tinsel and Turkey party after Xmas. She has the (difficult and demanding) job of organising Gary who is amongst other things our road show driver. These two have given endless hours to running the club and it would be a poorer place without them.
They are both on the Council of Management.

Derrick Rowe RIP

Derrick "Del" Rowe looked after the club finances and ensured that our accounts were correct and available for Companies House which as a registered charity we are required to do, Del was another long-standing helper at the 59 who has been around for years since the 70’s. Every penny we get from members is accounted to both Companies house and the Charty Commision. This is why we worry when people use the 59 Club name without consulting us or getting permission, as a guise for raising funds no matter how worthy a cause they may be for.

Geoff Hurley

Geoff is always around too open and has been coming to the club for years. A regular attendee who when needed is there to give a hand, Geoff is also a regular at High Beech where motorcyclists meet at the weekend.

Derek Hooper (BBC Del)

Derek introduced me to the club; I first went with him when I was just 15 on the back of his bike.In fact, in the film of 1969, it’s us, at the beginning on his Honda! He also took me down to Brighton in the sixties to meet our friends the Mods!!! Derek has helped the club with many things over the years, from left of centre jobs such as providing a rather large generator when the wiring burnt out thus enabling us to still open the club. Derek is a 59er through and through and is always ready to defend the club against its detractors.

Brian Hepburn RIP

Brian was our long suffering accountant who had been around as long as Father Bill and and gave the club much sage advice and help.

He kept us on the straight and narrow, making sure we comply with the charity rules. We still use his company even though he has passed.

Sandra Thomson

Sandra is the club secretary she sorts out AGM along with lots of other bits and pieces. Again she has been helping the club in the background for many years.

Terry Batt

Terry has supplied the live rock and roll music for as long as I can remember, (particularly since Hackney) they al do it for the love of the club. With his great band the Sunrayz. Our events would be nowhere near as good without these guys, and we really appreciate the way they have supported us for many years. There have been many more people I have not mentioned who keep the club going and thanks to them for all their help.

Pete Ellis

Thanks to Pete Ellis who joined in the mid 60’s on his Triumph and who for most of that time has attended and helped to run the club (his picture is featured elsewhere on this site showing him when he was a tad younger). He gave up many weeks of his time to completely rewire the 59 Club at Plaistow and the Swift Centre to enable the scouts and theatre groups to continue using this resource.

I remember Pete grinding the centre stand away on his Trident on the IOM, also forcing some chap almost off the road to offer him a babies dummy as an award for his poor driving (all of course in his younger days!).

This is the same guy who opened the club on time twice a week for many years and without his help we would have had difficulty surviving. I have known Pete for around 45 years, and he probably knows as much about the club as anyone, he is one of the original Rockers. Due to his Health, he no longer attends and is greatly missed.

Ace Cafe London , Mark and Linda Wilsmore

Over the years we have formed a strong relationship with Mark and Linda, Linda works in the back room sorting out our Link mag (both are long-standing members) and our history is very linked with the cafe, They are and continue to be strong supporters. This sort of Camaraderie is what keeps the spirit of both the 59 and the Ace alive. It is very easy to criticise from the outside but it’s the hard work of a few that keeps this all so strong.

Christian Riou

Without who's help in constructing this website we would have been really stuck. Chrstian Riou like a true 59er gave up his time to help get this web page to you (the member).

Angelo Lebrato

Angelo is the the one taking care of the members data-base, shop order and the international sections and in addition to that, also answering most of your emails and calls.