Precisely 100 years ago last week Tom Sheard became the first and

only Manxman to win the Senior TT.

Twelve months earlier he had won the Junior at record pace on his 350cc AJS, but the Senior success in 1923 was the highlight of his racing career.

Appropriately, riding a 500cc Douglas flat twin, the Douglas man mastered the conditions, which were wet for the first time since 1912.

His knowledge of the course helped him pierce the thick mountain mist, coming home to win by a margin of 1min 53sec from G. M. Black, with the incredible Freddie Dixon third on an Indian.

Sheard averaged an impressive 55.55mph for the six laps, but his Douglas team-mate Jim Whalley produced the quickest lap of the race at 59.99mph, just shy of the magic mile per minute barrier of 60mph.

New innovations at that time were equally impressive for the early 1920s. The latest RA models brought over by the Douglas factory for the TT featured an early form of disc brake, dual balanced carburettors and a twist-grip throttle rather than a lever type.

Sheard, who had made his TT debut before the First World War in 1913, finishing sixth in the Senior on a Rudge – a seven-lap race that took him an incredible five hours and 42 minutes to complete.

His first podium finish came in 1921 when he was third in the Junior won by Eric Williams on an AJS.

His final TT was in 1925 when he was 19th in the Junior on a Douglas and 14th in the Senior on a New Hudson. The races were won by Wal

Handley and Howard Davies respectively.