Club History

1959 - Present Day

CWMDU - Many people can't spell it, even more can't pronounce it, and more still don't know where it is!
The village really hasn't changed much in the past century, and is still really a group of cottages stretching for some 200 metres on either side of the road. Leaving Abergavenny and heading West on the A40 towards Brecon, after passing through Crickhowell, the A479 turning is approached on the right. This single carriage way road, only 12 miles long in total, takes you through some fabulous scenery, with the Black Mountains on your right, and the Brecon Beacons on your left. It passes through Talgarth and Bronllys and eventually joins the A470 Brecon to Builth Wells road at Lyswen, a well worth while trip if you can make the time to enjoy it.

Just three miles into this journey you will have arrived at Cwmdu and if you see the central Night Spot on your left you will already have missed the village!

Village Hall
Cwmdu central night spot

The above village hall was constructed in the mid 1960's and was therefore not even built when the subject of this story, Cwmdu Car Club, was originally formed.

So where was it formed?

Some of you will already have guessed what else may be in the village, - yes of course the PUB.
Now a very nice local, and out of town eating house, THE FARMERS ARMS is where it all started.

Farmers Arms

In the late Autumn of 1959, after harvest, a group of like minded locals met over some beers and formed the CWMDU JALOPY CLUB.

The first race meeting was held, very near by, on WHIT MONDAY (now spring bank holiday) 1960 at Cwmdu, then in the county of Brecknockshire. A bank holiday Monday was chosen because it was not the "done thing" to hold this type of event on a Sunday!

Looking at the nearby fields which were available it would be hard to choose one which would accommodate the pits at a modern day event, let alone the whole race meeting!

From 1960 to 1965 the Club continued to race as an independent Club, until it became a founder member of the WESTERN GRASS TRACK CAR RACING ASSOCIATION in 1966. In 1970 the BRITISH JALOPY RACING ASSOCIATION (BJRA) was formed and Cwmdu actually hosted in 1973, the last National BJRA Championships. The event that year was held at Hampton Bishop under the leadership of Mr. Don Page, one of the longest serving Cwmdu Chairmen in the Clubs history.
Some famous names collected National Championship wins with Cwmdu during the BJRA days, including C22 Don Jenkins, C44 Terry Brown, and in the ladies class C44 Heulwen Brown.

During this time the club held its monthly meetings at the Herbert Arms, on the Abergavenny - Monmouth road, (now an upmarket Italian Restaurant!), followed by the Tram Inn, just off the A465 Abergavenny - Hereford road near Allensmore, and finally the Temple Bar, Ewyas Harold, (see joining the Club), our home from 1988 to date.

Before the start of the 1974 season, NASA, as we now know it had been formed, and the Cwmdu Jalopy Club changed its name to the Cwmdu Car Club, and also became part of the WEST MIDLAND LEAGUE as we know it today.
Interestingly, the Cwmdu Car Club was probably the first, and is still amongst only a handful of NASA Clubs, not to have the word Autograss in its Club title!

Cwmdu Social Scene

Over the years the Club has had no shortage of members willing to organise all types of social events, including trips to Oakwood Leisure Park, the Isle of Wight, and Blackpool, as well as quiz nights, discos, bowling, and karting, often in conjunction with our close neighbours and fellow West Midland League members, Hereford Autograss Club.

The highlight of each year however, has to be the presentation evening, which has become known simply as The Cwmdu Dinner.

Historically this event has been held at Llansantfraidd Court Hotel, (a stones throw from the old Herbert Arms meeting point, and now a five star hotel), near Abergavenny, the Chase Hotel near Ross-On-Wye, The Paddocks at Symonds Yat, and the biggest venue of all, the Park Hall Ball Room at Wormelow.

Back in the late 80's and early 90's The Cwmdu Dinner at The Park Hall would see up to 250 members and guests being entertained by a live band, disco, and comedian or after dinner speaker, and all for less than a fiver!

Following the closure of The Park Hall the Club moved to the superb Three Counties Hotel on the outskirts of Hereford, where it still holds its annual dinner and presentation evening.

Whilst many Clubs and even leagues struggle to maintain support for their social events, The Cwmdu Car Club Dinner is still going strong, and with 162 people attending the function last year it will be going strong for many more years to come.

Cwmdu Racing Scene

Very much like the majority of clubs, Cwmdu moved around in the early days, before track maintenance became a priority, and raced at venues around Abergavenny, Brecon, Hereford, and Hay-On-Wye, as well as the infamous Pontypinna Track at Vowchurch in the heart of the golden valley.

Modern day club officials, country-wide, who struggle to balance the books and to encourage members to attend work-parties, will be interested to know back in those days Cwmdu Car Club employed a gentlemen by the name of Jack Griffiths, (the uncle of 80's and 90's Cwmdu Superstar Ed - The Bull - Lloyd), to erect the safety fences, including the supply of posts, wire rope, etc. Help was always given by the club members, but how many modern day Clubs could afford to go down this route - or is it inevitable that we will all eventually, if only partly, have to adopt this system again in the future?

And so to The Ovals, Lyonshall, Kington, Cwmdu's race venue since the start of the 1989 season and now surely one of the longest established Autograss Race Tracks in the country.

The Ovals, (by the way that really is the name of the farm!) has been continuously developed over the years, and now boasts both Armco and Haras fencing around the entire circuit. Add to that the huge pits area and the availability of adjacent fields, and it soon becomes clear why the Club can hold not only 1 day league points meetings, and host the 2 day West Midland Open, but organise and run successfully, with space to spare, a British Autograss Series Round with approx 500 competitors taking part.

Today's Cwmdu Car Club has just over 100 quality members, so future success at National level is never too far around the corner. The Club committee is well established and experienced, the Chairman himself having tasted National success before taking on a more sedentary role!

The list below shows all the Men's National Champions from the Cwmdu Car Club since the first NASA Nationals held in 1974. Well done to you all - the Club are rightly proud of you.

Cwmdu Men's National Champions

1975	C100	Malcolm Pritchard	Class 5
1976	C40	Steve Holmes	Class 4
1980	C24	Graham Davies	Class 3
1980	C1	Mick Morgan	Class 10
1981	C1	Mick Morgan	Class 10
1983	C100	Malcolm Pritchard	Class 10
1984	C1	Mick Morgan	Class 10
1987	C888	Peter Williams	Class 7
1988	C63	Ian Harvey	Class 2
1988	C031	Ian Jones	Class 5
1989	C63	Ian Harvey	Class 2
1990	C6	Peter Collins	Class 9
1991	C41	Paul Gillard	Class 2
1992	C5	Paul Jones	Class 5
1992	C200	Austin Jones	Class 10
1994 2009	C41 C10	Ian Harvey Steve Mills	Class 2 Class 8

* 1992 - C5 - Paul Jones - Champion of Champions *

Cwmdu Ladies and Juniors National Champions

Not forgetting the Ladies and Juniors National Championships, which were first held in 1984. The Club is very proud of all our Lady and Junior competitors, and especially so of the following winners:

1984	C86	Jill Lloyd	Class 7
1985	C1	Jeanette Morgan	Class 10
1988	C86	Jill Lloyd	Class 7
1993	C031	Sandra Bagley	Class 5
1993	C200	Sandra Bagley	Class 10
1995	C87	Mark Lloyd	Junior Saloons
2005 2007 2008	C31 C31 C12	Sandra Bagley Sandra Bagley Penny Smith	Class 5 Class 5 Class 3

* 2005 - C31 - Sandra Bagley - Champion of Champions *

2007 - C31 - Sandra Bagley - Champion of Champions

2008 - C31 - Sandra Jones - Champion of Champions

Cwmdu Car Club Special Feature

Ken Hammond

Known simply as C all the 1's
Ken in his Ford Thunderbird powered class 10

Below is an article taken from the second edition of Jalopy Racing News, August 1969.

Race Fans Information Corner
Top of the poll for this edition is C.1111, Ken Hammond. Ken who is 35 years old, lives in Whitney-On-Wye and started Jalopy driving nine years ago. Ken is a partner in a motor transport firm called Royal Oak Transport, Llangorse. He is a fitter mechanic, built and designed his Ford Thunderbird Jalopy and has had more than average success with his car. Ken won the Welsh Championship last year and also the West Midland Class Championship. A very likable character, he takes everything in his stride, but for all you young lasses Ken has recently been taken into custody and starts a life sentence on 20^th September this year. Yes folks, Ken is getting wed. May we take this opportunity in wishing him and his betrothed all the very best for the future. It has not always been a bed of roses for Ken, he has worked hard all his life and like many other transport owners he is particularly pushed for time in this day and age, so you won't be seeing much of Ken on the track until all his fleet of wagons have passed the Ministry plating test, so once again Ken here's wishing you and yours all the very best for the future.

Well you can work out from the facts above that Ken joined Cwmdu in 1960, just after the club was formed, and has held a full racing licence every year from then until now.

Ken was with out doubt one of the early stars of Cwmdu, but his involvement was not only on the race track. At one monthly meeting, and the club with very few members and no money, it was deemed too risky to run a race meeting, until a small group of dedicated Cwmdu racers pledged Â£10 each to cover the possibility of a financial disaster. Bear in mind this was more than a weeks wage for most of them, but the gamble paid off and the rest is history!

Ken would surely have tasted even more on track success had he not dedicated a great deal of time to travel far and wide, meeting officials of grass track racing clubs throughout the country.

In 1973 a committee was set up to pull all the areas of the country together to form one body. The committee consisted of:-

Chairman	Harold Fowler (Glos League Chairman)
Vice Chairman	Ken Hammond (Cwmdu)
Treasurer	Eleanor Hammond (Cwmdu)
Secretary	Peggy Heekes (From the now defunct Pershore & District Club)

Meetings were held at The Rising Sun in Monmouth, (then a central meeting point for the existing grass track car racing clubs), but it was on the way to another meeting, travelling from Hereford to Worcester, that Ken and Roy Sanger (Hereford Club Member) thought up the name Autograss, a mixture of Autocross and Grass track racing.

From that moment the National Autograss Sport Association was born, and in 1974 the first NASA National Championships were run by the Gloucestershire League at Stratford-on-Avon.

To this day Ken is still an active member of Cwmdu Car Club, and is also the President of the West Midland League. His enthusiasm for our Sport has never diminished, and his experience, knowledge, help and advice, are second to none.

Thank you Ken for being a member of Cwmdu Car Club for so many years, and we hope for many more to come.

1960 - Eleanor Hammond with Ken's First Allard based side valve V8

1968 - Ken's Thunderbird V8 Engined Special Leading Forest Of Dean Star Rod Ryder

Approx 1970 - The Last of the front engined C1111 Cars (Oldsmobile V8)

Cwmdu Archive Photos

Below is a photo and article taken from Jalopy Racing News, autumn 1971.

Photo Showing Club Members in 1971

Club Parade
Focus on Cwmdu
Well, in the photograph you can see virtually all the members of the Cwmdu Jalopy Club, so it doesn't take a mathematical genius to know there isn't many of them. Still, its quality not quantity that counts.
The Cwmdu Club has been going for many many years now and was formed back in 1959. Their first race meeting was held on Whit Monday, 1960, and they've raced every Whit Monday since (barring weather).
Featured in the centre of the photo is one of the oldest members of the Club, being Mr. Fred Holmes, who is father to and mechanics for Steve Holmes C40. Then comes the youngest member, Robert (Master Jalopy) Hammond, along with mum Eleanor and dear old dad Ken (Mr. Jalopy) Hammond. The Chairman of the Club, Don Page, is immediately in front.
Also in the photo are some really top drivers, Don Page, Steve Holmes, Andy Taylor, Doug Brown, "Bomber" Harris, Tony Beaumont, Carol Beaumont, Ken Hammond, Heolwen Brown, Terry Brown-need I say more! As I said quality!
(Incidentally Cwmdu is the name of a village near Abergavenny).

Photo (left to right):
Mrs Page, Carol Beaumont, Heolwen Brown, Doug Brown, Heather Taylor, Andy Taylor, Terry Brown, Steve Holmes, Tony Beaumont, Fred Holmes, Clive Davies, Eleanor Hammond, "Bomber" Harris. In the background Don Page's sons.

1964 - Allard based V8 as campaigned so successfully by Ken Hammond and others.