"Dear Jim, please fix it for us to start a club for the riding of Scooters".

That was how it all started for Jim and Chris in 1996. Yes OK, this isn't a purist 64/79 story, but that would just be a little too obvious for these guys.

Jim, having a famous uncle in charge of Classic Scooter Scene magazine, and having ridden Vespas since the age of 3 said no, Chris said maybe. In those dark ages without the interweb, they knew little of any other clubs in their local area of Dover, even though the Dover Saints had been running as a successful club since nineteen oatcake. "What are we gonna call ourselves?", "Well, what about The Whitfield Wanderers?", "Don't worry; I don't think anyone in 2012 will even think about adding an expletive beginning with the letter W to the name!"

So the search for appropriate rides began and Chris and Jim went to Hampstead Heath after finding an advert in free ads for a v100 small frame advertised for £300. This was in 1996. The beast in question was a big green piece of poo, all the indicators ripped off, and stuck together with gun metal.
So Jim got on it for a test run, put the guy’s crash helmet on with the catch missing, turned his head round and the helmet didn't move. That didn’t stop Jim riding up the hill towards the travellers caravan site and back twenty times till the fuel tap fell off. "That'll do" said the boys and £250 was handed over. The Whitfield Wanderers was now mobile!

Jump forward to 2010. Having spent fifteen years as a two‑man Scooter Club with no contact with the outside world, riding endlessly around the Whitfield area, a small suburb of Dover, and social activities comprising a little known sport called 'Stair‑Jumping', it was now decided that the club needed to branch out and expand into new horizons.

Meanwhile Mark and Simon, two easily led characters from The Real Deal SC were riding round on Vespas and Lambrettas generally making a nuisance of themselves, Simon in his leathers and chains and Mark in his comedy mod garb, all chrome and mirrors.

Jim and Chris, having trialled two local Scooter Clubs, now attempted to forge links with other scooterists of the same mentality, although it was readily accepted that might be a tall order. Around this time the boys had become aware of The Real Deal Scooter Club, which had been running since early 2009. This club, along with Thanet Scooterists, Dover Saints, and South Kent Saints from Ashford, had begun to join up socially for rideouts and do's and all in all this was quite a good time for the scene across Kent with lots going on in the various music, club, and ska scenes. So the boys rocked up to The Real Deal club house on a club night and became fully paid‑up members of the 'Dover Section'.

Having spent a couple of years in said scooter club, keeping their noses clean, enjoying frequent rideouts, social nights and being involved with organising a couple of club rallies, The Boys together with Simon, Rob, Mark, John, Mandie collectively became known as 'The Dealers' as they attended dos and events across the county and wider afield.

The club had attended many rallies previously but the 'Gentlemen of Scootering' was born at the infamous Camber Sands scooter rally of 2010 and this became the Genesis for the new group’s formation. Everyone rode to the event and went out sporting t‑shirts with a photo of Terry Thomas, the Dealers mascot, and some very silly gentleman’s clothing including corduroys, pipes and moustaches. You just had to be there, it was one of the funniest weekends ever and everyone bonded, even though Simon managed to snap Bryan’s Whippy aerial and Mark managed to lose Bryan’s fox tail down his trousers.

Like many large clubs, the proceedings in The Real Deal were becoming fractious and it was clear a new club was starting to coalesce around some very common values and it wouldn't be long for the apron strings to be untied. So began the interim step to the reformation of The Whitfield Wanderers in a more established form. The inevitable happened in early 2013 — The Real Deal SC was no more. (well, after having to fight Solicitors and angry Pitch Fork mobs)

So that's the story and we are sticking to it. So what is the new Wanderers SC all about? It's certainly a different outlook. It's founded on every member bringing "Heart, Soul, and Energy" to the club, tight friendships, belly laughs, drinking, Club Tours, and most of all riding scooters stupid long distances to out‑of‑town rallies and events. It welcomed sane (but slightly deranged) grown‑up people. It certainly did not want to compete with any other club and didn't want world domination and it had learnt not to get the club involved in anything that takes money to do — didn't even have a secretary or treasurer. That’s how we liked it and that’s what worked for us.

We had massive fun on our set‑piece weekenders where we turned up en masse — with our mascot friends (gnomes and seagulls) — to Modraphenics Rally, Camber Sands, Isle of Wight, BWM and numerous local rallies. You'd always be able to spot us with our baby blue clubwear with slightly mustard‑coloured collars.

So what did the future hold for the Wanderers at that time? Certainly drinking, childishness, stupidness, and a variety of Italian shopping trolleys, probably Trish pillion riding Malc's GTS after he has got off it and a guy called Marmite in yellow braces giving everyone a laugh. Simon restoring lovely Lambrettas and building choppers, Mark, Rob, John, and Mick continuing to insist on riding hundreds of miles on wheelbarrow tyres in horrendous weather, Jack (of the under-fives section) getting 'carded' at do's, Pete hounded by his criminal badger, Dave treating us to some Megadeath, Mandie sleeping under a flight jacket at every rally, and new Simon breaking down on the North Circular.

Our members continued their wider interests, including Let Your Heart Dance, Dover Soul - Keep the Plaice, March of the Mods Charity event, Ska'd for Life Radio, Surf Action Combat Vets Charity, The Southern Scooter Shakedown Winter Rally, 'Runner' renovation and Wye Valley Custom Cars, and Lindy Hop (whatever that is!)

In 2014 we did our Mad Moto Challenge, riding mopeds to The Camber Sands Scooter Rally at dizzying speeds of up to 27mph for SURF ACTION, the combat veterans charity.

Nowadays, things are much more low-key, but the core of the club still meets regularly in some very dodgy pubs in Dover and also around peoples Kitchen tables. It's still as funny as ever, if a little more sedate.

So what does Jim and Chris think of all this? "I'm not sure all of that really happened"