A fascinating collection of trophies and memorabilia belonging to one of the Isle of Man TT’s early competitors has featured on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, shedding light on a remarkable piece of motorsport history.

In episode 17 of series 47, which aired on Sunday evening (May 18), the programme was filmed outside Beaumaris Castle in north Wales.

Antiques expert Marc Allum was presented with a selection of items once owned by TT rider Sydney Ollerhead, who competed in the 1920s.

Brought along by Mr Ollerhead’s grandson, who remained unnamed on the programme, the collection includes several trophies, as well as two photographs, one of which shows Sydney himself.

Born in 1897, Sydney served as an aero fitter in the Royal Corps of Signals during the First World War.

After the war, he turned his mechanical talents to motorcycles and became involved in racing between the wars.

Among the standout items was a 1924 Junior TT trophy, marking Ollerhead’s most notable racing achievement, finishing second while riding a Dot motorcycle.

His second-place finish in that race came with a time of 4:07:26.20, at an average speed of 54.91mph.

As Mr Allum explained, Dot stood for ‘Devoid of Trouble’, and was known for producing highly reliable machines.

The grandson also recalled that Sydney claimed to be the only rider to use disc brakes at the time, though he admitted he wasn’t entirely sure how true that was.

Also included in the collection was a silver sidecar bowl trophy, with the charming detail that Sydney’s wife, his grandmother, used to ride in the sidecar during competitions.

Mr Allum explained the significance of the Tourist Trophy races to the gentleman, who confessed he hadn’t known what ‘TT’ stood for.

The expert valued the collection between £2,000 and £3,000 at auction, describing it as an ‘important and very personal’ insight into early Isle of Man TT racing history.