Documentary made about cycling heroine Beryl Burton
Beryl Burton
MEMORIES of Morley’s golden girl and champion cyclist, Beryl Burton OBE, have been immortalised in a documentary about her life, sport and many victories.
Racing is Life – The Beryl Burton Story is to be shown for the first time at Morley Town Hall on Friday in front of an audience of invited guests including Beryl’s family.
The 90-minute film was made by David Bromley, a Surrey-based film maker and cycling enthusiast, after he realised that no feature-length films had been made about the life of one of Britain’s greatest cyclists.
It tells how Beryl battled back from childhood illness to become a seven-time world champion and 25 times national champion.
David said the illness meant she missed months of schooling, never passed the 11-plus and had to leave school at 15, something that she was bitter about but which gave her a massive determination to succeed.
Had she been cycling today she would have been a household name with sponsorship deals and endorsements worth millions, but when she started in the 1950s the British Cycling Federation did not encourage women and she had to fund herself.
She did, however, have the love and devoted support of her husband, Charlie, who gave up his own ambitions to support his wife’s cycling career.
He was interviewed for the film along with Beryl’s siblings, Maureen and Jeffrey, and daughter Denise.
With those first-person accounts, previously unseen footage and rare stills, David said he hoped Beryl’s story would appeal to everybody, not just cyclists.
Racing is Life – The Beryl Burton Story is available from.bromley video.com
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Thursday 20 June 2013
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