Leonard Meredith - Background

Background

Meredith was born in St Pancras, London. Sources give his name at birth as Lewis Leon Meredith. However, reports in the cycling press refer to him as Leon Lewis Meredith, and friends called him Jack.

He was a mild-looking, bespectacled man who parted his hair in the centre. Cycling said:

There was something Clark Kent, the children's comic-book hero, in the make-up of Edwardian cyclist Meredith. Like Clark Kent he presented a mild, shy, bespectacled image off the bike, but once on the bike he became Superman, beating all and sundry in a devastating manner.

He was born in central London. He became interested in cycling in 1901 and made his first long ride, from London to Brighton, 80 km on badly surfaced roads. On the way he met riders from Paddington Cycling Club, neighbours in the region of London where he lived, and agreed to ride with them provided they didn't go too fast. It was Meredith, however, who set the pace and the other riders asked him to join their club. He rode his first race in the Finchley Harriers meeting on the track at Kensal Green, in north London, winning the one-mile handicap. By the end of the season he was the national tandem-paced champion over 50 miles (80 km). He finished 17 seconds outside the record and was cheered off the track.

Meredith worked for his uncle, William Boyer, a builder with a wharf on the canal in Praed Street, Paddington. Meredith cycled all over London visiting his uncle's building sites. When Meredith showed talent at racing, his uncle subsidised him. That meant he could have a full-time trainer, a masseur and that he could travel across Europe to meet the best opposition.