1929-2023 Charlie Burton

Husband, soulmate and mainstay of a cycling legend

- Jeremy Wilson

Charlie Burton, Beryl’s husband and one of the great characters of British and Yorkshire cycling, has died at the age of 93. A member of the Morley Cycling Club for more than 70 years, including its heyday in the Sixties and Seventies, Charlie was integral to Beryl’s historic achievements, which included seven world titles and an incomparable 122 national titles.

“Without Charlie at hand I could rarely bring out my best – I feel as if half of me has been left behind,” Beryl once said.

Charlie and Beryl first met in 1952 when they both worked in the same factory in the centre of Leeds. He invited her out on a Sunday club run through the Yorkshire Dales and Charlie had to push her up the hills to begin with.