Cheltenham Vespa Club

Brief History of Cheltenham Vespa Club

The Cheltenham Vespa Club was formed in 1954 and registered as Branch 59 of the Vespa Club of Britain in early 1955. David Pullman, who unfortunately died some years ago, was the driving force in the early days and the club members met at his flat in Montpellier. Later the club moved the the nearby by Bar BQ Coffee Bar, run by Mike Luckman, this became the official meeting place. As membership increased, the club then moved its HQ to the cellar underneath the coffee bar which the members renovated and decorated. During the 1960's after the demise of the Vespa Club, the Bar BQ became one of the areas leading music venues for jazz & rock bands. Today the premises is known as Wesley Barrel, a leading furniture shop.

The Gloucestershire Echo of 14 April 1980, heralded the reformation of the CVC, with an article entitled "Cheltenham Scooter Club Purrs Back to Life". It read:
"After some 13 years the scooter is re-emerging as a popular form of transport, helped by the "Mod" craze and the enormous rise in petrol prices. Scooter sales have continued to rise and a predictable step is the formation of many regional scooter clubs. The Cheltenham area is no exception to this trend. Jon Eliston from Leckhampton, who in 1978 won the national Vespa/Phillips Championship, Dave Beadnell-Smith a successful scooter racing enthusiast and Dave Hawkins from Prestbury whose main interest is in restoring veteran and vintage Vespas, have decided to reform the Cheltenham Branch of the Vespa Club of Britain. Already club membership has risen to around 40 and new names are being added to the register every day. Plans are well in hand for a range of summer activities which following the first organised run to Bourton-on-the-Water this Sunday, will include a continental style "ScootKhana" in August featuring a skill ride and a veteran and vintage concourse show. It is hoped the event will attract Vespa/Phillips Championship status so it can be added to the nationwide championship calendar. In September some of the members will be visiting Neuss in Germany for a continental rally."

During the 1980's and 1990's the club continued to prosper and nearly every year organised a Vespa Championship Rally for the Vespa Club of Britain at various locations in and around Cheltenham. The Cheltenham Vespa Club as well as being a club in its own right now forms part of the Cheltenham and District Scooter Club.

For more information on the Vespa Club of Britain For local information,

contact: Dave Hawkins. Tel: 01242 244011 or e.mail at: DAVEANDMARILYN@prestbury41.fsnet.co.uk