ONE sport that doesn't tend to get a lot of coverage is roller skating, but back in the 1950s, Bradford had quite the team.

Some of the more famous names included the likes of Bob Tankard and Geoff Wright, who won the national Jesson Cup for the Bradford Roller Skating Club in 1954 and 1955 respectively.

There was also Sheila Gardiner, the figurehead of the successful ladies team, which also contained the supreme talents of Pauline Hoyle.

A quieter, perhaps less heralded, member though was Norman "Perpetual Motion" Eells, who joined the club in around 1950, before becoming its secretary five or six years later.

His niece, Audrey Taylor, was vaguely aware of his sporting career, but now she is in possession of his roller skating boots and some photos from the era, she has learned some more, and wanted to share his story.

Telling us all about her uncle, Taylor said: "He lived with us for a long time and used to have his wheels delivered to the house with the ball bearings in them.

"My brother and I used to watch him getting his skates ready and go, but we just knew that he was part of a team and went roller skating, as he was a very quiet and private person.

"He never really spoke about that side of things."

But he was a man of many talents, with Taylor saying: "He was into a lot of sports. He used to be a window cleaner and used to have his ladders attached to his bicycle as a way of strengthening his legs.

"I wasn't able to watch him roller skate at the Bradford Rolarena, which I think was on Manningham Lane, as I was too young, but he once took me to Manningham Park when it iced over to watch him skate on there.

"He had speed skating boots and he would just swap the blade over depending on whether he was doing that or figure skating."

Going back to his roller skating, Eells had plenty of memorabilia and memories.

Taylor explained: "Norman always took the pictures, so he's got one of Sheila Gardiner and Bob Tankard with the George French Challenge Shield for example.

"He also had a case that he used to carry around, with stickers on of all the places where he and the skating club had been, which was all around the country.

"He was really good friends with Geoff Wright particularly and I think most of the team were actually from Bradford itself too, like Pauline, Bob, Bob's brother Barry, John Craske and Phil Smith.

"I wasn't that aware of his career before he died, but I got his roller skating boots and some of those old pictures. I wondered what exactly it was all about and decided to find out more."