Hall, William Thomas (1877-1949), cyclist

Set the motorpaced world hour record in 1903 with a distance of 54,34miles or 87,391km. Finished 2nd in the European stayer championships in 1904. He was a professional cyclist 1900-1914. Great motor-paced rider, he twice held the world hour paced record (at 52 iles 537 yards in 1903 and again the same year at 54 miles 545 yards). He also set up a London-York unpaced tricycle record of 11 hours 50 mins in 1901 which stood for 26 years. In more recent years he paced and trained others.

Buried in Abney Park Cemetery, London N16. The inscription on his gravestone reads: "William Thomas (Tommy) Hall, who died April 26th 1949 aged 72 years. This memorial was erected by his cycling friends as a tribute to a record-breaking and world-famous cyclist on road and track. A great rider and sportsman." There is also an engraving of a bicycle on the gravestone.

Polytechnic Cycling Gazette, Jul 1949

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