Tom Sheard
From ManxWiki
Tom Sheard (6 January 1889–10 August 1954) was the first Manxman to win the Isle of Man TT races. He first won the Junior race in 1922 on an AJS and then won the Senior race the following year on a Douglas machine. His brother Alan was Secretary and Manager of the IOM Railway and Road Services.
Contents |
1923 Douglas Motorcycle
His winning Douglas motorcycle was on display at the Manx Museum during the 2007 TT centenary celebrations and attracted a huge interest. A picture can be found on the BBC website when they reported on the ‘Manx Museum looks back 100 years’.
It is hoped that his presently static winning Douglas motorcycle may be ‘animated’ by the centenary of the TT Mountain Course in 2011.
T M Sheard – The Modest Manxman
His granddaughter has published a book on his lifetime which includes unique family memorabilia and is packed with detailed exploits of his racing years. http://www.tomsheard.4t.com. The book was compiled so that his achievements, which are already in the history books, are not forgotten.
TT Results
1913 Senior 6th Rudge 1914 Senior 30th Rudge 1920 Junior Retired AJS 1921 Junior 3rd AJS 1921 Senior 9th Sunbeam 1922 Junior 1st AJS 1923 Junior Retired AJS 1923 Senior 1st Douglas 1924 Senior Retired New Hudson 1925 Junior 19th Douglas 1925 Senior 14th New Hudson
Isle of Man stamp
In 1975, he had the honour of appearing on the Isle of Man 5½p stamp.
Manx Motor Cycle Club
Tom also received the highest honour that the Manx Motor Cycle Club is able to bestow, which was to make him an honorary member of the Club for winning the TT and ‘proving that in motorcycling a Manxman is the premier rider of the world’.
First passenger flight from the Isle of Man to Blackpool
In 1929, Tom was invited to travel on the first passenger flight between the Isle of Man and Blackpool aboard the ‘Youth of Britain’, a 12 seater Giant de Havilland Moth, with Sir Alan Cobham KBE piloting. The flight took 50 minutes at an average speed of 96mph and was the first to land on the new aerodrome at Stanley Park.
Tom Sheard Obituary
At the time of his death, Tom was the first man of any nationality to win TTs in successive years and the third man to win a second time. Despite his retiring nature, he was highly respected among TT riders.
He remains the only Manxman to have won a Junior TT race and a Senior TT race.
