Dean Forest Rally

Les Hobbs remembers what he can about the rally in 1973 and 1974.

The Dean Forest, or Forest Of Dean as most people referred to it, was held in the winter after Christmas I think. I believe it was organized by Cheltenham and Cossacks MCC

and a name that springs to mind is Andy Stephens, but I think there was some sort of falling out and Andy later ran a rally at Staverton Airfield which may have been the Sprocket Rally and also the Airport Rally. Can anybody confirm or amend this as the beer has taken a lot of my memories away.

I attended two, 1973 and 1974. Both were held on Forestry Commission ground. There was a wooden building that was used as a reception and one year, 1973 I think, the weather was so bad they let some of us sleep inside.

The following year there was a fair bit of trouble when a group of "hells angels" tried to gate crash the rally and the organisers had to telephone for the police to eject them. These prats (no not the police) hung around and re-emerged after most of us had gone back to our tents leaving just a few people around the remains of the bonfire. A fight broke out in which one ralliest was hospitalised.

These "hells angels" were chased into the woods leaving a transit van and a small 2 stoke motor cycle behind. The police and ambulance were called and some of them were caught.

The feelings the next morning when people awoke and were told of the happenings was untrue. One lad from the Midlands picked up a huge log and threw it through the windscreen. Within a couple of minutes the transit (a works vehicle) was a total write off. Tools looted, battery removed, not a single panel without a hole in it, all glass gone, dash destroyed, thirty odd people just trashed it and the bike.

People who where there Phillip Hogg, Steve Porter, Pete "the Snuff", Gordon from Tipton (can't remember his second name at the moment)

The so called hells angels were maybe from Gloucester?

The rally was moved and re-named after this episode.

The rally became the Cotswold Rally held usually in February in and around Cheltenham in the Cotswold Hills.

The Cossack MCC is still going strong and we had a reunion at Lower Lode September 2007.

- Al Walker (Catweazle)
President Cossack MCC

The Cossacks MCC have a similar history to LPMCC and there is a move to bring the past Cossack members back together for an occasional reunion. If you were once a Cossack MCC member ... or friend, take a look at Cossack website that Catweazle is building and then make contact.

I remember this because there were two people hospitalised and I was one of them.

We were sat around a campfire minding our own business when we were attacked for no reason. As I say, two of us went to hospital and my mate was told he might not ride a bike again. (he did) I had to travel to the Cossack Clubhouse a couple of weeks later to pick up his Commando.

The worst thing was, one of our mates was on his first rally - and his last because of the trouble.

I was the only one of our club who went the next year.

- The Black Russian

Get your facts right before publishing on line. Do NOT use the name of a club, especially negative publicity if it had nothing to do with them!