The Silver Dragons of Eppynt proves a big hit with bikers.

VETERAN motorcyclists in Wales are commemorating a golden anniversary in their racing history. Part of the Brecon Beacons National Park will be long remembered as the home of the UK's largest TT races, the Silver Dragons of Eppynt.

And a website commemorating the 50th anniversary of the last of the celebrated races has already recorded more than 8,650 ``hits''. The Army firing ranges at Eppynt were highlighted during the 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis as the burning grounds for thousands of animal car-casses. But more than 50 years ago, the only public spectacle was the sight of man and machine competing for glory in the form of a series of Silver Dragon trophies.

The original Celtic name of Epynt translates into the haunt or path of the horse, from the name of the pagan god-dess Epona. But in the years after World War II it was the motorcycle that had replaced the horse as the mount of champions.

At the outbreak of the war in 1939, members of the local Welsh-speaking community were evicted from their farms to make way for an army artillery range. Midnight of June 30, 1940, was the deadline for the 200 men women and children to move out on horses.

Part of the land was gradually developed as a TT circuit after squaddies took to racing WD bikes.

Much of the original circuit is said to be still intact on Ministry of Defence Land, including churches, chapels and other buildings that were sealed up and taken over by the MoD in 1940.

The website that records the history of the Silver Dragons races has been a labour of love for enthusiasts Lynn Isaac, C Bryan Jones and Noel Knight who have researched the history of the race between 1948 and 1953. Mr Isaac said, ``Throughout the 1990s, we researched the Mainland TT Motorcycle racing which took place exclusively for a glorious six years in the Brecon Beacons at an altitude of 1,500ft above sea level at what was by far, at 5.2 miles per lap, mainland Britain's largest mountain circuit.

``The purpose of our combined research was initially to collate all data plus anecdotal tales from all who had been at all involved, to have them available in future from the Builth Wells Motor Club archives.''

The trio soon found that their collection of Eppynt archives were attracting interest from motorcycle enthusiasts worldwide.

Among the highlights of the site - www.s i verdragons co . uk - is a collec-tion of old photographs showing the heroes of the day in action. Faded photos of the inspection of the Eppynt circuit during the snows of 1947 are included, along with dramatic pictures capturing the thrills and spills of the competitions.

In 1948, the first Eppynt TT event was held on a Sunday, but was moved to a Saturday in following years after a protest by local churchgoers.

The top motorcycle racer of that era in Wales was Jack Daniels of Swansea, who won the 1948 Isle of Man Unlimited Clubmans TT on a Vincent 998, shortly prior to winning 1948 Eppynt TT. His son Gordon, who was destined to win the Manx GP, was just seven years old and travelled on the pillion seat of his father's bike.

The Eppynt races attracted crowds of around 35,000 spectators and mirrored the memorable events of the time, including the 1951 Festival of Britain and the 1953 Coronation.

The researchers observed that the war appeared to have hardened Britain's survivors and improved their organisational skills.

Their Silver Dragons website even includes rare film footage, including a glimpse of the start of the 1953 Coronation TT and a ``Ben Hur'' start to the Clubman's race.

Clubman's TT winner Dave Powell is shown on 500 Triumph on his way to victory, together with the rarest of views of a former German prisoner-of-war who worked for EM Stephens and whose disappearance from Carmarthen remains a mystery.

World motorcycle racing champions emerged from those who raced on the Eppynt mountain circuit.

Replicas of the coveted Silver Dragon trophies were issued to each winner on returning the original for the next race season. The surviving originals are in private collections.

CAPTION(S):

GRAHAM PRICE: At Eppynt in 1950

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Publication:	Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales)
Date:	Mar 18, 2003
Words:	704
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