placed for the riders’ protection, and then after
the meeting everything had to be removed.
Sam decided that a new 500 AJS would be best
for 1955 and ordered one from his ex-employer
Trevor Jowett, the AJS agent at Jowett Bros.
Unfortunately, a 350 turned up and he was talked
into taking that and regrets it to this day. Sam had
taken to scramble racing and was often winning at
Lock Bay and Baskerville, on a new Matchless G80
CS (Competition Spring frame). When the 1957
Longford meeting approached Sam decided to give
it a try on his Matchless G80 CS which required
some effort to get it ready to road race, in between
winning countless scramble and beach race events.
Good friend Dave Perry had purchased a very
trick 350 Manx with a close ratio gearbox, but was
struggling to come to grips with it so put Sam on it.
Eventually the Manx defeated the team and it was
sold to good friend Ian Tilley who had his father Bill,
a long-term Norton racer, as the mechanic and the
combination worked. In 1960 Dave Perry asked Sam
if he would like to ride his 350 Manx at Symmons
Plains at a major meeting – two weeks before his
wedding. Results were great up to a feature raceAs a teenagerSam would ride his push bike
from his home to watch grass hill climbs, but his
love of bikes was certainly not shared by his parents
as they banned him from owning a bike until he
turned 21. As a booking clerk for an auctioneer he
started saving to buy his first bike soon after his
21st birthday, but doesn’t remember the early 600
BSA Side Valve fondly. Later, as a sales rep for
Castrol Oils Sam decided to try racing , beginning
with a beach race meeting in December 1952 at
Greens Beach where he got the taste for winning
on a 498 Matchless.
The start of the Longford race meetings (from
1953) saw Sam, along with so many others, spend
a great deal of time helping to set up the track for
racing. In fact, he was involved as a track preparer,
official or rider at every Longford meeting except
the last when bikes were dropped from the
program. Major preparation included the laying of
the cables needed for communication; two for the
public address and two for the phone line to provide
communication to the major flag points. That meant
four laps of the 4½ mile track, or well over 18 miles
of cables. Then hundreds of hay bales had to bewhere a WA rider dropped the bike at pit corner.
Sam made a mighty effort to miss him, but in
putting out his left foot he placed it on the primary
chain, ripping his boot off. That was the last race
meeting for quite a few years.
Although racing had virtually stopped he was to
continue as a committee man with the Tasmanian
Motor Cycle Club. Racing was about to move to a
new decade and slightly new structure with
Stewards appointed from outside the organising
club. Les Walkden was appointed Clerk of Course
and Sam Hughes was Chief Course Marshall. The
two clicked and stayed in those positions until the
start of the 1990s. A major endorsement to the way
Les, or “Boris” as he was known, and Sam worked
together was when many top line mainland riders
contacted the Competition Secretary about entering
a meeting the first question was, “Are Boris and
Sam running the meeting?” If the answer was yes,
the usual response was OK I’m coming down for the
event. The ultimate endorsement from the
Tasmanian Motor Cycle Club for his riding and
officiating was to award him Life Membership. The name Cyril Hughes is certainly not well known in racing circles in
Launceston, but he has spent a lifetime in the sport in virtually every
facet. Story Ken YoungPhotos Sam Hughes archivesCyril ‘Sam’ Hughes
A life in service of the sport
“Sam made a mighty effort to miss him, but in putting out his
left foot he placed it on the primary chain, ripping his boot off.”
Graeme White,
“Dicky”^ Lee^ and
Sam Hughes^ at
the completion
of^ a^12 Hour
Road^ Trial.^
Sam tinkering with
his new AJS in 1954.Displaying his
speedway style
in a beach race.On his much-
used Matchless
G80 CS at
Longford.