Chapter History;

The Blue Knights of England 3

Having been formed in the USA in 1974, the Blue Knights Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club eventually found its way over “the pond” and came to the United Kingdom in 1991.  That year saw the formation of the England 1 chapter by Andy Green, who was largely responsible for bringing the Blue Knights to the UK.  They held their 1^st rally that same year at Edale, in the Peak District.

That first rally was fully booked and was an instant success. During the rally it was decided that the membership strength was sufficient to expand the Blue Knights organisation and form two new chapters. England 2 and England 3 were effectively born that very weekend but officially formed the following year. The original “regular” members present at Edale, and who formed England 3 included: -

              Andy Wills         Cleveland Police     President

              Chris Sadler       Cleveland Police     Vice President

              Andy Redhead     Northumbria Police

              Colin Birkett       Northumbria Police

Andy Wills became a “member at large”, Colin Birkett left to join Belgium.  Other members have moved on with family commitments or relocation etc.

England 3 is now in its 19^th year and caters for membership in the northeast of England.  We cover the force areas of Cleveland, Durham, and Northumbria, as well as British Transport Police, staff from HM Prisons, and the Customs & Immigration Service.  Of the original regular membership, only Andy Redhead remained in the chapter until very recently (2008) when he left to join the newly-formed England XVI in Cumbria.

We are not a “boys only” bike club and are justly proud of our contingent of female riders who do more than their share of visits to rallies at home and abroad.  Neither are we a club that stick to one type of motorcycle.  We have Harley-Davidson, Yamaha’s R1, Thundercat and XJR 1300, a gaggle of Triumph Speed Triples, BMW, a Honda VTX1300 cruiser etc etc and a membership that care about riding together (in safety) and having fun.  We have been to events in every European country and even to the USA and Canada and have maintained the tradition of being last away from the bar at every event we attend.  This latter boast appears to be getting more difficult as we get older for some reason, but it is good to share a drink with a newfound friend, is it not?

Since 1992 we have kicked off the “season” (around April/May) with our annual rally, formerly at the Walworth Castle Hotel near Darlington. This is the longest-running Blue Knights rally in the UK and has become a major event in the European calendar, being traditionally well attended by many visitors from France, Germany, Holland and Belgium who enjoy the good company, good food and beer, and some excellent riding in the Pennines, Yorkshire Dales and Lake District.  Having had to source a new venue for our annual rally we are delighted to have come up with a suitable alternative, in the form of Ushaw College; an establishment steeped in history, and right on the doorstep of the beautiful, historic city of Durham.

In this, our second decade, we aim to have as much fun as we had in our first, we will continue to meet new friends from home and abroad and give a warm welcome to new members.