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The newly-formed National Skating Association held their first one-and-a-half-mile British professional championship at Thorney in December 1879. There was a field of 32, including former champions Turkey Smart and Tom Watkinson. Fish Smart won, beating Knocker Carter of Welney in the final.

Turkey Smart - Wikipedia This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Turkey Smart’s reign as champion of the Fens began in 1854 when, in a 2-mile race at Welney, he took the title from Larman Register of Southery. An editorial in the Times, written 26 years after Turkey Smart’s death and looking back to the golden age of Fen skating in the last decades of the nineteenth century, described him as "a glorious has-been". HA Winter 1994 The Welney division: a history of the Smart family, speed skating champions in the golden age of Fen skating.

Of Turkey Smart’s six sons only one – James - became a skater. Fish Smart’s younger brothers Jarman Smart and James Smart were also top skaters. James Smart (1865-1928) was the youngest brother of Fish and Jarman Smart. Unlike his brother Fish and uncle Turkey he always skated under his real name; attempts to call him Eagle to distinguish him from his cousin James Turkey Smart did not stick. George See (1862-1946) usually skated second to his cousins Fish Smart and James Smart, but took the British professional title in December 1892 when James Smart refused to defend his title. Copyright © 2024 • Contact Us • Privacy Policy