21/04/2026
1939 ISDT, Also known as "The Great Escape" (thanks to Speedtrack Tales and Mark Gardiner for details of the event).
PT 1: Preparation and selection.
In 1939, the British Royal Army sent three, three-man teams from the Royal Tank Corps to the International Six Days Trial in N**i-occupied Salzburg, aiming to prove their military motorcycling capability following a poor 1938 ISDT performance. While Germany used the event as propaganda to legitimize the Anschluss of Austria, the British riders faced the high-stakes pressure of competing in the heart of the Third Reich just before the invasion of Poland. This event served as a critical test of mechanized readiness for the impending war.
In June, Col. C.V. Bennett assembled a dozen crack riders. They were to spend the summer at Aldershot, a sprawling English military base, in full-time preparation for the Six Days. Their goal was nothing less than to win the Hühnlein Trophy, which was the award presented to the top military team. Over 11 weeks, the soldiers would train and be tested, then riders would be selected to go to Salzburg.
Bennett leaned on the manufacturers of the Army’s motorcycles (BSA, Norton, and Matchless) for support. Each firm agreed to prepare works machines for the trial, and provide a factory service representative.
The team’s daily routine at Aldershot began with calisthenics and swimming. Then there was riding practice on sand, grass, and gravel. They were tested on everything from changing tires and cables to assembling carburetors and clutches. Daily "trials" of up to 200 miles often lasted until late in the afternoon. In the evening, each rider returned to his quarters with his machine, where he performed his own maintenance. Bikes were presented for inspection at 8:30 the next morning and the cycle began again.
Factory experts gave workshops on setup and service, and a technician from Dunlop taught them the fastest way to change a tire. In July, the Army lads were invited to the Bagshot Heath scrambles track, where they watched a special committee of the Auto-Cycle Union, the FIM affiliate, select elite civilian riders for the British Trophy and Vase teams.
The Army brought in the country’s top scrambles riders as visiting coaches. They booked Brooklands and Donington for high-speed practice. Bennett was taking his job seriously; at the end of the month, the team was inspected by Major-General H.R.S. Massy, no less than the Director of Military Training.
On August 8, Britain’s future leader, Winston Churchill, spoke on American radio. A hush had fallen over Europe, he said. “It is the hush of suspense, and in many lands it is the hush of fear.” British competitors debated the wisdom of traveling into N**i territory at a time when war seemed so imminent.
At Aldershot, there was suspense too, as Bennett selected the riders for Salzburg. They were:
Lt. J.F. Riley, Sgt.-Major B. Mackay, Sgt. F.M. Rist, Sgt. J.T. Dalby, Sgt. O. Davies, Cpl. A.C. Doyle, Cpl. G. M. Berry,
B.Q.M.S. E. Smith and Pvt. J.L. Wood.
Towards mid-August, the team set out on their competition machines towards Salzburg, in order to get practice on "continental" roads. They were accompanied by a loose convoy of more than 50 civilian competitors (making up the Trophy and Vase teams, as well as club and manufacturers’ teams.)
Most of the British arrived a few days early. Salzburg’s streets were decked with N**i regalia — decoration for the music festival, and because Hi**er himself had established a summer base 15 minutes away at Berchtesgaden. One night at the opera, the crowd spent as much time with its opera glasses trained on the balconies as they did towards the stage; Herr Hi**er was in the house.
The event was put on by the Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrkorps. The NSKK was an official paramilitary arm of the N**i Party. There were so many uniforms in evidence at the Six Days check-in — both amongst the competitors and the organizers — that some of the civilian riders wondered, was the ISDT still a civilian event with one military trophy, or had it become a military event, with a few civilian classes? Dozens of riders had been entered by the NSKK, Luftwaffe, and SS.
Next up: Part 2, Day 1 and the start of the 1939 ISDT.
