Get on Your bike for Winchester’s Sporting Hero
To celebrate 2008 as both an Olympic year and Winchester’s ‘Year of Heroes’, a huge silver trophy won by one of Winchester’s former sporting heroes has gone on display in Winchester Guildhall.
The trophy, at an impressive 1.1m tall, was presented to Winchester born sportsman Frederick David Frost, commonly known as Dickie, in July 1900. It is the Carwardine Challenge Cup, the prize for a gruelling 100 mile endurance race which he had won for the 3rd time. The trophy is surmounted by a model of a silver cyclist who looks not unlike Dickie Frost himself, judging from photos of the period.
Dickie Frost developed an interest in sport at a young age and showed considerable all-round athletic ability. He won medals for running and swimming and was a prominent member of the Winchester Harriers Club.
Frost excelled as a cyclist, and entered competitive cycling events at an early age. For a considerable number of years he held several amateur cycling records and in 1898 won, within the space of a fortnight, the country's two leading cycle racing trophies and the National Championship. By the time of his retirement from cycling he had won every important amateur cycling trophy in Britain.
Upon the death of his father, Dickie Frost took over the family jewellery business at 15, The Square - now the London Camera Exchange. Although retired from serious activity in the athletic world, he devoted much of his time to fostering sport in Winchester and the county, especially for the benefit of young people. He lived throughout his life at 15, The Square and he died there at the age of 73 in October 1939.
Amanda Ford, Winchester City Council’s Sport and Recreation Manager commented, “The end of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games marks the start of the Cultural Olympiad which leads up to the London 2012 Games. In the Winchester District we are hoping that the Games will inspire people to participate in all kinds of activities from sporting to business, and from cultural to volunteering. I hope that Dickie Frost will prove an inspiration to those who come and look at this magnificent trophy.”
Cllr Patricia Stallard, the Council’s Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and Sport, said: “I hope that the coming years will see many more opportunities to tie up our history and our cultural heritage with the excitement of the Olympics. The trophy on display is a very simple but eye-catching way of doing just that. I’m delighted to see our curatorial team setting the mood for this summer’s games.”
You can see the Carwardine Cup and find out more about sporting hero Dickie Frost at the Guildhall during normal opening hours from Thursday 1 May until Tuesday 30 September.