Club 59

Club 59 was founded in 1959 by Father John Oates, a canon of St. Brides Church from Fleet Street, as a youth club at the church. The next chairman of the club is Father William "Bill" Shergold after his visit to Ace Cafe founded the motorcycle section in 1962, which from the first days of its existence gained unprecedented popularity and very soon became the only activity of the Club 59.

The club was well known and attracted such personalities as Cliff Richard , Elizabeth Taylor , Princess Margaret and many others on its first anniversary, and later many athletes and musicians. Among British motorcyclists, he became known for being one of the first to show the Savage film, previously banned in the UK, with Marlon Brando .

From 1962 until the late 1980s, the club was popular among British rockers and motorcyclists and, in general, created a positive image of these subcultures, which society’s credibility was undermined by the bloody confrontation of two youth subcultures - rockers and mods .

In May 1964, the club moved from Hackney Wick to a church house at St. Mary’s Church in Peddington, in the West End of London , where Father William Shergold, the club’s chairman, was transferred to serve.

In May 1965, the AR news agency rated the club membership as "approximately 7,000 people from all over Britain" ^[4] . The motorcycle section of the club celebrated its third birthday on October 23 in its two-story club house. More than 1,200 members and friends attended the celebration, and there were up to 1,000 motorcycles in the parking lot in front of the clubhouse. At the time, the magazine Motor Cycle estimated the total number of club members at 10,000 people, commenting on the rapid growth of the phrase “This is more than 250 new members per month!”. The holiday ended the next day on Sunday with a solemn liturgy in the nearest church, which was performed by the chairman of the club, Father William Shergold. ^[5] In September 1966, the number of club members exceeded 13,000. ^[6]

During its heyday of the 1960s, the club may have been the largest motoclub in the world, with more than 20,000 members, each of whom was required to register in person.

Club 59 was attended by both men and women and, according to father William Shergold, the club’s success was based on the almost complete absence of rules ^[7] . In addition to the passion for motorcycles and rock and roll of the 1950s, the club promoted sports such as football and scuba diving, which gave young people, mainly from low-income families, an outlet for their energy. Every year the club organized trips to the famous Dragon Rally winter rally in Wales , at the Elephant Rally Rally in Germany and on the motorcycle races Isle of Man . Club 59 annual meetings still take place in Laxie on the Isle of Man during these motorcycle races.

By the end of its heyday, the club witnessed the emergence in Europe of motor clubs of a fundamentally new type, organized according to the rules prevailing in America, often very tough and aggressive, which was in great contrast to the Club 59. The growth of these groups in Europe marked the decline of the British subculture of rockers of the 60s .

This was followed by a period of total dominance of Japanese technology, which began to force out the old British motorcycle brands from the market. All this led to the fact that over the next 10 years the subculture of rockers and “ton-up boys” was in a deep decline, but Club 59 continued to exist and its old members were determined to preserve the spirit of rockers and motorcyclists of the 50s. The club also relied on a new generation of modern rockers on new motorcycles of the 80s, passing on to them their experience and their love for rock and roll. By the end of the 80s, interest in the subculture of rockers again became widespread and in Club 59 they opened the “Classic Section”, whose members seek to recreate and preserve the spirit of the 60s in motorcycles, clothing style and music.

In 1993, Club 59 moved from Hackney to Plaistow, Newham . Until that time, the entire content of the club was paid for by the Church, but since that time the club has maintained itself and has completely switched to the volunteer principle of work.

Club 59 is currently chaired by Father Sergiy Diduk, who took office on June 29, 2018 ^[8] . He chairs the Club Management Board, as established in 1965, and which still meets twice a week: on Wednesday and Saturday. This Management Board consists of 5 people who have helped the club since the 1960s, and all of them have been working as unpaid volunteers since the early 1990s.

The club, retaining its enthusiasm and love for rock and roll, became largely focused on family values, as many children of the first members of the club grew up and also joined Club 59. Often you can see families from several generations of club members.

Throughout its history, Club 59 has maintained friendly relations with Ace Cafe in London, whose employees now manage the technical side of the club membership, and the cafe owner himself is a member of the club.

In September 2009, Club 59 celebrated its 50th anniversary with solemn worship at St. Martin-in-Fields church in Trafalgar Square in London. This service was attended by the mayor of the city and many old members of the club. After the service, about 400 motorcycles were consecrated and then the holiday moved to Ace Cafe .

In 2019, the motorcycle club plans to celebrate its 60th anniversary, as well as the 80th anniversary of Ace Cafe London .

Since 1962, the club has attracted more than 33,000 members, many of whom renew their membership every year, mostly being enthusiasts of classic or vintage British motorcycles, as well as many of them still involved in the rocker subculture. The club also has a large international presence with officially recognized sections and individual members in many countries of the world, including Russia.

Father John Oates, the first founder of Club 59, created a youth club at the parish church and literally the following year was forced to transfer the management of the club to his father William Shergold.

Father William "Bill" Shergold, founder of Club 59, created a motorcycle section that ousted all other activities of the club and made it a motor club in the proper sense. He was chairman (later honorary chairman) until he died at the age of 89 in Wells, Somerset, on May 17, 2008.

Father Graeme Hallett, the next chairman, left the club in the early 1980s due to disagreements with the management board of the club. He died in the hospital of Lincoln on December 5, 2012 at the age of 80 years.

Michael “Cowboy” Cook, the next chairman, left the club in 1992.

Father Scott Anderson was chairman of the club from 1992 to 2018, and now holds the post of vice chairman. He moved from Anglican to Catholicism in 2012, in 2013 he was transferred to the priesthood (Anglican ordination - since 1975) for the Personal Ordinariate of the Most Holy Mother of God of Walsingham . Currently serving in France.

Father Sergiy Diduk, a native of Ukraine, lived in Russia for several years. Currently, the priest of the Church of England, lives in the UK. Chairman of the club since 2018.

• Official website
• Interview Father Graham Hallett for the Air Force
• Spirit of 59 , a tribute to The 59 Club