The Interviews

THE INTERVIEWS

#1 - John Mullane is a former British and European roller speed skating champion, now residing in Adelaide, Australia. Here he is interviewed at the Birmingham Wheels Park on 9th April 2011.

#2 - Bob Halford was one of Britain's most successful skaters in the 1940's who went on to be an official and later the national team manager. Here you can see him interviewed at his home in Great Dunmow on 15th May 2011.

#3 - John Folley is indeed a real British skating legend. He was the last British skater to win a World title and the only British skater to win separate World and European titles. Here he is interviewed at his home in West Sussex on 25th June 2011.

#4 - Mick McGeough competed for Great Britain over 3 decades. A multiple World Medallist, European Champion and British Champion he also managed the national team in the 1980's. Here he talks about his skating days from his home in Hertfordshire on 8th October 2011.

#5 - Danny Kelly was one of just 3 post war British World Champions at roller speed skating. He won the 1000 metres knock-out in Nantes, France in 1963. Here he is interviewed at his home in Rhyl on 23rd October 2011.

#6 - Pat and Leo Eason were arguably the most successful speed skating husband and wife team for more than 3 decades. Leo was World Champion in 1963 and Pat was a multiple world and European medallist. Here they are being interviewed at their home in Birmingham on 3rd December 2011.

#7 - Les Woodley was undoubtedly "the man to beat" in the 1950's and 60's. Not only was he a World medallist but his tally of 12 British titles was recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records for more than 20 years. Here he is being interviewed at his home in Birmingham on 22nd January 2012.

#8 - Denis Hill was one of Britain's top skaters in the 1940's and 50's. A multiple world medallist and British Champion he was one of the youngest skaters to represent Great Britain at a senior level. Here he is interviewed at his home in Pinner on 11th March 2012.

#9 - Don Brown was one of the most successful British speed skaters of his generation. In the 1940's he was in a class of his own. He emigrated to New Zealand in the 1950's but returned to spend a brief period as national team manager. Here he is interviewed at his home in Landkey, Somerset on 11th April 2012.

#10 - Ricky May was one of the 1960's most talented speed skaters. A British Champion, World Record holder and World medallist he was part of the elite when Britain was a force to be reckoned with. Here he is being interviewed at his home in Birmingham on 20th April 2012.

#11 - "Silver" Bill Sharman was a successful world and European medallist in the 1960's. Here he is interviewed at his home in Chew Stoke, Bristol - 22nd July 2012

#12 - Ian Ashby is a multiple British Champion, national team member and at one point the unofficial world record holder over 300 metres. Here he is being interviewed shortly before emigrating to Australia at his home in Sutton Coldfield on 26th August 2012.

#13 - Graham Stead was one of Britain's elite speed skaters in the 1950's. A British Champion he was also a World medallist in Barcelona in 1956. Here he is being interviewed at his home in Ash Green, Coventry on 17th February 2013.

#14 - Pat Barnett was a multiple World Record holder and multiple World medallist throughout the 1960's. A recipient of the Vandervell Trophy she is seen here being interviewed at her North London home on 28th April 2013.

#15 - Pat Feetham was a stalwart of British speed skating in the 1970's and 80's. A British Champion, European Champion and World medallist Pat went on to support the administration of the sport including taking on the role of national team manager. Here he is interviewed in Stevenage on 15th August 2014.

#16 - Pat Kirkham was a pioneer of British women's speed skating when in 1953 she made up one third of the first ever British women's team at a World Championship, just missing out on a medal. Here she is being interviewed at her home in Birmingham on 22nd March 2015.

#17 - Kathy Smith was a multiple British Champion and European medallist in roller speed skating, but more than that she was a full time mother who juggled her sport with her family life and did both successfully. Here, Kathy and her husband, George, talk about her skating career at their home in Milton Keynes on 14th May 2016.

#18 - Very few people in the roller speed skating world will not have heard the name Chloe Ronaldson. Winning a record number of senior female British titles as well as numerous World and European medals, she is undoubtedly one of the most widely recognised figures within our sport. Here, Chloe is interviewed at her London home on 11th September 2016.

#19 - Jimmy Reed is one of the most important figures in British speed skating. In the 1930's he was a class apart from the others. He was the first to get called up to represent Great Britain at a bone fide European Championships in 1936 and came away with gold. Interviewed at Huntingdon on 3rd December 2017 his daughter, Gladys Byrne, tells the story of not just his skating career but the hardships he endured to make sure that his family were looked after.

#20 - Ashley Harlow enjoyed an all too brief but extremely successful sating career in the 1980's. A triple Junior European Champion and a senior international aged just 15 years he certainly lit up the track whenever he stepped onto it. Here he talks about those days and his reasons for stopping at such a young age - interviewed at his home in Gillingham on 19th September 2021.

#21 - The late Eddie Stumbke was an elite speed skater of the 1930's before becoming a successful British international at roller hockey. Here, his son Jeff talks about his father's skating history and his record breaking successes. Interviewed in Woodford Green on 5th December 2022.

#22 - John Downing was a wonderkid in the late 1970's and early 1980's. He was a protoge of World Champion Leo Eason and had won his first Senior British title aged just 16. Despite this he fell out of love with the sport after a short period and believed that the lack of facilities meant he wouldn't be able to achieve his dreams. For the first time in 40 years he tells his story when interviewed in Birmingham on 22nd August 2023.

#23 - Probably the most influential and arguably successful British roller speed skater of a generation and a global ambassador for the sport, here John Fry (senior) talks about his early days within the sport and how almost five decades later he becomes a bearer of the Olympic torch. Interviewed here at his home in Castle Bromwich on 11th January 2024.

#24 - Andrew Newton was one of an elite band of skaters that could be considered a lost generation within the sport. He quickly rose to prominence in his teens and was selected to represent the senior national team still aged 16, however, just 2 years later he would walk away from the sport. Here he explains some of those reasons. Interviewed here at his home in Upwell, Cambridgeshire on 11th January 2024.