Retro picture gallery: Full throttle to fun for South Yorkshire motorbike enthusiasts

Retro contributor John Askham, who lives in Wincobank, is the vice-chairman of South Yorkshire Sidecar Club, who formed in February 1958 at a meeting of just six people at a house in Cawthorne, Barnsley.

Their first name was the Happy Wanderers Combination Club and they met in pub rooms but they later moved to premises on Anchorage Lane, Sprotbrough, near Doncaster.

The name of the club was changed to the present one around this time.

The club room was an old army searchlight battery unit barracks operated during the war. Squatters at one time lived in the hut before the SYSC members moved in and transformed it into their clubhouse.

They held regular trips and outdoor activities and hosted rallies for the Federation of Sidecar Clubs.

In the late 1970s numbers dwindled but the group decided to get out and recruit. By the time of their silver anniversary in 1983, they were able to hold a party where 83 members and ex-members filled the clubhouse.

The group now has around 40 members, said John, who added: “We still like to ride them and it’s fun. We also have regular club meetings.”

Meetings take place at 7pm on the first and third Sunday of the month at 9th Scout Group HQ, Scawsby, Doncaster DN5 8QE.

The club are celebrating their anniversary with one of their regular Easter Egg rallies at Woolley Edge Scout Camp near Barnsley. They have a collection for a nominated cause, put on a social event and have a ride out.

John said that sidecar enthusiasts come to join them from all over England and the Continent.

He added: “I’ve been a member since 1979. I’ve got a Yamaha with a Hedingham sidecar.

“I’ve been riding since I was 20.”

His sidecar passenger is his wife, Ann.