Dai Richards Winner of the South Wales Argus Road Walk 1938

Photo (postcard) kindly sent to us by Hilary Swan. Her grandfather George Thomas is the police sergeant in the picture. He was sent the card by Newport Harriers' event organiser Philip Abbot who wrote on the back "Snap shows DJP (Dai) Richards (Newport Harriers) winning the South Wales Argus Road Walk 1938 (11th June)."

The race was about 14 miles in distance, and the course as described in the South Wales Argus was:

"START at 5 p.m. from the NEWPORT ATHLETIC CLUB GROUNDS, through RODNEY ROAD, CLARENCE PLACE, OVER THE BRIDGE, down SHAFTESBURY-STREET, MALPAS-ROAD, MALPAS, LLANTARNAM, TURN UP to CWMBRAN, then on to PONTNEWYDD. Turn sharp towards the PONTNEWYDD RAILWAY STATION, pass the Lower Station up to CROES-Y-CEILIOG, turn back to the FORKED ROADS, then up to LLANFRECHFA, PONTHIR, CAERLEON, through and along the main Caerleon Road to BISHOP-STREET, turn in and over CHURCH-ROAD, HEREFORD-STREET, CHEPSTOW-ROAD, HARROW-ROAD. CORPORATION-ROAD, GRAFTON-ROAD, and enter the Newport Athletic Grounds by the GRAFTON-ROAD ENTRANCE and cover TWO AND A QUARTER LAPS OF THE ATHLETIC TRACK TO FINISH IN FRONT OF THE GRANDSTAND."

Results:

1st DJP Richards, Newport Harriers
2nd Eric O'Shea, Leicester Walking Club
3rd AC Sharp, Newport Harriers, Monmouthshire champion
4th RG Davies, Newport Harriers

We found the following information about Dai Richards on the Port Talbot Harriers website (porttalbotharriers.co.uk):

"D. Richards was better known as D. J. P. Richards. He was also known to his mates as Dai or Dippy. He was a founder member of Port Talbot YMCA Harriers. He moved to work in Newport and joined Newport Harriers in 1923, although he ran for PTH as second claim sometimes. He was a top-class runner and race-walker and won 23 Welsh Championships. He represented Wales many times and set a Welsh record for the 2-mile walk of 13:57.4 which stood from 1938 until 1957. He became a well-respected broadcaster, writer and athletics historian later in life. He died in 1967 aged 68."
(Written by John Davies)