YP Letters: Happy memories of Wetherby races

Harvey Smith with Mister McGoldrick, who was a course specialist at Wetherby.

I WAS delighted to see the photos you published on March 29 of activities taking place at Easter around Yorkshire in days gone by. Especially the large image of Wetherby Races in 1955, because without a shadow of doubt my family and I would have been there, although I’ve not been able to spot us on your photograph.

Every Easter Monday for many years my parents took my elder brother, sister and myself racing at Wetherby. In 1955 we would have been in a V8 Ford Pilot. This was an ideal vehicle for the occasion because the whole family could sit on the roof to get a better view of the races and at the same time enjoy a picnic. I notice that a few people in your photo are doing just that. It makes you wonder how many modern cars’ roofs would take the weight of five people, plus a picnic basket, without being ruined!

On the date of your photo, I would have been six and a half years old, and was keen to join in all the activities. This included having a small bet on each race. My father enjoyed gambling and he took me to meet a bookie he knew who had come for the day from Huddersfield where we lived.

The bookie was called Tommy Galvin and I discovered much later that he was renowned for being “a bit of a character”.