West Surrey District Association Colours

Colours

The original colours of West Surrey DA were black, silver and royal blue, decided at a DA meeting held in 1928, the DA having been inaugurated earlier that year.  The proposal was made by Gladys Gray, who married Bill Inder in 1932.  In "Sixty Years On" it is noted that most other alternative colours had already been used by other DAs.

Bar Badges

In "Sixty Years On" most pre-1980 references to DA badges are to bar badges:
  • In 1931 Miss Gray chose a new design for the DA bar badges.
  • In 1938 four dozen bar badges were ordered.
  • In 1943 new bar badges could not be ordered because of war circumstances.
  • In 1948 the possibility of a DA badge was considered.
  • In 1949 DA bar badges were ordered.
  • In 1952 the DA bar badge design was amended.
  • Finally, in 1961, "Woking Section had a large stock of bar badges and as a sales drive had little success, those remaining were eventually given as prizes."
That last statement might be a slight simplification, because I bought a bar badge after I joined the DA in 1974.  I have a vague memory that it was the last one in stock.  Anyway, that is the one you see at the top of this page.  Bar badges were designed to accompany a CTC badge, although of course they could be worn on their own.  They had largely fallen out of use by the late seventies, if not before.
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The Present DA Badge

In 1979 Harold Coleman proposed that we have a new badge and invited members to submit designs.  Several people submitted one or a few designs, some of them in the DA colours of black, silver and royal blue.  All were considered, and Simon Doughty's design with the Surrey oak leaf in green was adjudged to be the best.  A year later the project came to fruition -- the badges went on sale.

A DA Jersey, and New DA Colours

Two years later a DA jersey was under consideration, using the same colours as the new DA badge, on the grounds that a design incorporating them would be more conspicuous on the road both by day and by night than one using the current DA colours.

White is the most conspicuous colour at night, while bright red or orange is best in full daylight, with yellow being a good all round compromise.  Considering solely conspicuity, black and royal blue are poor choices.  In those days, members did more night riding.  Sunday runs ended at tea, booked for 4:30 in winter, so the ride home was in the dark.  Audax UK was only a few years old, and several DA members were enthusiasts.  Parts of the longer randonnées were bound to be ridden in darkness, often on 'A' roads because that made night-time navigation easier.  Also, there were weekly Thursday night rides all year round, and while the older members would ride to the pub in conventional clothing, the younger ones who had conspicuous jerseys would wear them.

Accordingly, at the AGM at Addlestone in November 1982, Simon Doughty moved "It is proposed that the D.A. colours be changed to green, white, and gold, in keeping with the D.A. badge."  The motion was passed, Simon Doughty produced a jersey design, and in the January 1983 Newsletter Harold Coleman wrote:  "Have you seen the new DA jerseys in their colourful white, green and yellow?  They are very attractive and certainly show up on the road.  Simon Doughty is prepared to order some in January (price approx £10)."  Also, the new DA badge had certainly proved popular, because in the same Newsletter Harold wrote:  "The first 100 badges are nearly all gone and a further supply has been ordered."

In the May 1983 Newsletter Harold wrote:  "In the present copy of Cycletouring there is an entry form for the NATIONAL 400km over July 23/24th - fill it in and join the 'West Surrey Team'.  The massed DA jerseys should look terrific and show up well through both day and night."
 
The first design.  Clive Richardson photographed by Chris Juden one glorious mid-November day on the Passo dell' Aprica in the Italian Alps, used for the cover of the October/November 1988 issue of "Cycletouring".

In 1985 more jerseys needed to be ordered, Dave Butler found a new supplier, but then ran into problems.
 

The Second Design of DA Jersey

Then, in 1987:  "At last we have found a new supplier of club jerseys.  The colours are unchanged (ie green, white and gold) but the stripes will be vertical.  Jerseys will be available with long or short sleeves and optional lettering on the back.  Thanks to Marguerite Statham for arranging this (not as easy as you might think)."

Furthermore:  "To sew on the front of your jersey and jacket, saddle-bag etc. we can supply a cloth version of the DA badge, about 2½" diameter, at £2.25 each."

In the next issue of the magazine:  "The new DA jersey has been spotted, in fact it's hard to miss being mostly bright yellow with green and white side panels and striped ribbing."

Marguerite dealt with repeat orders for these jerseys and badges up to 1995, then in January 1996 it was announced that Helen Juden had taken over the responsibility.
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The two Chris J's at the head of a club run in the Chilterns, April 2001.
Custom knitted version for Matthew Juden.

A New Design?

In the July 2000 magazine it was announced that the DA committee had agreed that a new cycling top for West Surrey DA was a good idea, and asked members to submit designs.  This cannot have produced much response, because in the July 2002 magazine appears:  "SMARTEN UP, YOU LOT.  Committee member Peter Clint has resurrected the idea of providing new club shirts for West Surrey CTC, mentioning how envious he was at the stylish team apparel worn by groups of cyclists in Belgium.  So the search is on again for someone to come up with an eye-catching design which will be so impressive that our regular riders will buy them up in droves."

This was followed in the October issue with a one-page article by Peter Clint entitled 'Rag, Tag & Bobtail' which might be summarised as contrasting the very professional appearance of German cycling club groups with the motley garb of the West Surrey.  His sarcasm provoked two letters to the editor in the next issue, saying that we are a collection of individuals and proud of it, that our shared love of cycling does not necessarily extend to identical styles of dress, and that uniforms should be left to the Germans who love them.

Abandoning DA Colours, and the Third Jersey Design

Peter stuck to his guns.   In November 2002 at the AGM a motion was passed deleting the DA colours from the DA rules, so that the new design would not be constrained.  At the 2003 AGM Peter presented the proposed design and samples of fabrics, and sought members' orders.  The first batch arrived in the summer of 2004 to adorn the backs of a substantial number of our regular riders.
 
From left to right:  David and Libia Jupe, Richard Ellis, Geoff Smith (jun), Don Jones, Geoff Smith (sen), Peter Clint, Jean Tedder, Bob Mcleod, Peter Marvell, Edwina Roberts.

Note that the design incorporates a printed version of the embroidered cloth DA badge, and it turns out that we did not need to delete the DA colours from the DA rules after all.  Continuity is a good thing.

Page author:  Chris Jeggo.  Last revised:  27 January 2005.  W. Surrey DA History & Archives home page . . DA History .