Michael Edwards – Club President for 40 Years
Sadly passed away 11th September 2025.
The life of Michael William Edwards (Chippenham Wheelers Club President)— a man whose story began in Dauntsey in 1934 and who, for over nine decades, filled his world with family, friendship, cycling, laughter, and countless stories.
Michael was the eldest of four boys born to Kathleen and Ernie. He grew up in Dauntsey, surrounded by his family, his grandmother, and the countryside that shaped so much of his character. He walked a mile to school each day, remembered being handed a gas mask at the start of the war, and spent hours at the Dauntsey signal box, where his fascination with trains was born.
He got his first bicycle at the age of seven — though it wasn’t exactly the shiny, enviable machine most boys dream of. It was, in fact, a little girl’s bike, a hand-me-down from his dad’s boss. Michael didn’t mind. He pedalled furiously on that single-speed bike to school and around the village until, a few years later, he proudly received what he called his “proper boy’s bike,” a Rudge, which he promptly used for his first paper round. From those first turns of the pedals, cycling became the thread that would run through the whole of his life.
By the time he was twelve, Michael had found himself a little job — helping on the local farm. It was there he first learnt to drive a tractor. His wages weren’t money but scrumpy cider, served to him at lunchtime. He would laugh as he told the story — “drunk in charge of a tractor at twelve years old!” That mischievous streak, that ability to find the humour in life, never left him.
After school, Michael joined the RAF, serving from 1952 to 1956. He began as a motor mechanic, later becoming a motor transport driver. This meant mastering the enormous “Queen Mary” lorries, 52 feet long, used to recover downed and damaged aircraft. He travelled the length and breadth of the country hauling back Spitfires, Vampire jets, even Canberra bombers. He loved to tell the tale of one particular recovery — a trip that should have taken five days but was finished in three. Rather than hurry back, Michael and his mate decided to “lose” the Queen Mary for the weekend. How, you may ask, do you hide a 52-foot lorry? Well, Michael managed it by tucking it away at the Sutton Benger Market Gardens. The extra two days? Spent exactly how you’d expect — out on their bikes.
It was through these adventures that Michael found himself, quite unexpectedly, in the world of film.
The Spitfires he recovered were rebuilt and used in Reach for the Sky, the movie about the life of Douglas Bader. Michael was asked to drive the Queen Mary in the film itself. Not only that, but he chauffeured Kenneth More, the actor playing Bader, to and from the set, and even met Bader himself. His appearance made it into Picture Post Magazine — something he would proudly point out to family and friends for years afterwards.
In 1960, Michael married Sheila, the love of his life, whom he had met through her brother Ted, also a keen cyclist. Their first date was a trip to the cinema in Devizes to watch Rock Around the Clock. Together, they built a home, raised their daughter Susan, and later became devoted grandparents to Shaun and Kimberley. Michael adored his grandchildren, sharing his passion for cycling with Shaun and ballroom dancing with Kimberley. They were his pride and joy, and he never stopped singing their praises.
Cycling, though, was the heartbeat of Michael’s life. He joined the Chippenham Wheelers in the early 1950s and never looked back. Over 73 years, he raced time trials, road races, grass track events, and hill climbs, achieving victories like the Yeovil 12-Hour, where he rode over 240 miles at just 18 years old, and the Circuit of the Mendips Road Race in 1954. But Michael wasn’t just a competitor. He was an organiser, a leader, and a mentor. He served on the Chippenham Wheelers committee in nearly every role except treasurer, and he was President of the club for almost 40 years. He organised countless events, from local club races to national championships, sometimes with only weeks’ notice. And he didn’t just organise — he prepared result boards so beautifully written they were works of art.
He was recognised with the Civic Award for his service to the people of Chippenham, the John Galway Trophy alongside Sheila, and the Cycling Time Trials Gold Badge of Honour. Yet his proudest rewards were always the friendships, laughter, and community that cycling brought into his life.
Michael’s passions didn’t stop at two wheels. With Sheila, he discovered ballroom and Latin dancing. Though he joked about having two left feet and no sense of rhythm, he mastered every dance, took exams, and helped organise dances in Kington Langley where he DJ’d. Together, they danced in more than 120 venues, including the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool. He also never lost his fascination for trains and planes, hobbies rooted in his earliest years.
Above all, Michael was a man of stories — stories he loved to share, to anyone who would listen. Tales of childhood adventures, RAF escapades, cycling triumphs, and family holidays. Stories that weren’t just entertaining, but that revealed the essence of who he was: funny, warm, loyal, and endlessly curious.
Michael’s journey may have ended, but his legacy — of love, laughter, and a life well lived — will keep on rolling, like the wheels of the bike he cherished, mile after mile.
By Andy Cook.
