norbold

So I see now! Thanks for sending my back numbers so quickly Tony.

I agree with iris. It's not real. You need a real team to get the crowds in for a local derby. And if "Hackney" won, you couldn't really add them to the list of London Cup winners.

Hopefully, but where in London could a new track come from to race Wimbledon? Walthamstow's about the only place that's still got a suitable stadium and there's not much chance of a revival there I wouldn't have thought. It's all very sad...

Fred Leavis - Arthur Reynolds Jack Sharp - Jack Smythe Allen Kilfoyle - Jack Williams Jack Newlands - Speedy Jack Bert Gerrish - Herb Peters There was also Johnny Bull who may have been Eric Spencer, but may not... All of them rode at Norwich in the early 1930s. The reason they rode under assumed names was because they were contracted to ride for other clubs (Leavis and Sharp for Wimbledon for example) and Norwich was an unlicensed track.

Yes, they had to move quickly as the original plan was to run at Rochester but they were unable to obtain planning permission. Rochester Council itself had granted permission, but this was overturned by Kent County Council. By the time this happened the season had already started. In fact, the Bombers had already raced two away matches as Rochester. That was why the promotion team of Wally Mawdsley and Pete Lansdale with Maurice Morley as manager had to move quickly.

I had the pleasure of visiting Brooklands. Yes, indeed, very close to the action if you stood just behind the wall. Des Lukehurst. What a star!

Yes. 1963. It was Hackney's colours in the first year of their revival.

Ooops. Yes. Quite right. I'm off to change it now...

Stan Stevens. Now you're talking! Brilliant.

I think you might be underestimating Hoskins role at West Maitland. As far as I know, it was his idea to organise motor bike racing as part of the entertainment. It's just that it wasn't the first time it had happened.

The start of speedway is a minefield! Johnnie Hoskins, of course, always claimed he started it at West Maitland in December 1923, but the Americans had a similar sport just after the first world war - 1919 and early 20s - only it was on longer half mile and mile tracks. There is a report of a similar sport in South Africa in 1909. The earliest reference to motor cycles racing round an oval track comes from Ipswich, where a meeting took place on the Portman Road ground on 2 July 1904 on grass. Although Hoskins claimed he invented it there is evidence to suggest that, even in Australia, motor bikes were racing round oval circuits before 1923. As I said above, the Americans, in the shape of Maldwyn Jones and Eddie Brinck, are credited with inventing broadsiding well before the West Maitland meeting. Curiously though, in an article in a 1933 American motor cycle magazine, Sprouts Elder, an American, said that he visited Australia in the mid 20s and that was where he learnt the art of broadsiding. When brakes came off the bikes is still the subject of research and is uncertain. Like all these things, the sport evolved over a number of years from different beginnings. It is not as simple as saying Johnnie Hoskins invented it at West Maitland in 1923.

As a former New Cross and West Ham supporter, it pains me to say that I would have to go along with Hackney as the track that produced the best racing! It always semed to be well prepared and there was lots of passing. Mind you, all tracks seemed to be better prepared in the 60s...or is that the old rose tinted nostalgia spectacles again?

Frank Arthur and Sprouts Elder were at their best in the mid to late 20s. Maldwyn Jones is the man who is said to have invented broadsiding in America in the early 20s, so I suppose, at the time, there could have been no doubt that he was the greatest speedway rider in the world as he was probably the only one!

Yes, I'm so sorry. It is Vic Harding. I don't know how Barney Kennett got his name on the caption! I've just changed it.

Exactly. Where are Frank Arthur and Sprouts Elder, not to mention Maldwyn Jones...

Thanks Shoddy, that's very interesting. However, as I said before: Apart from making that 1960 instead of 1980. No Vic Duggan or Tom Farndon......

Yes, Steve Hone.

I can correct you on the spelling of Howe - it should be How - but not on whether he was captain or not. There certainly was a team called the Speedway Riders XI who played charity matches as iris says, but I can't remember who played for them or who the captain was.

I didn't know they'd actually held a meeting at Horsford. I know they had some trials there in the 60s organised by Maurice Littlechild and Jack Thompson. I would also like to hear about any meetings there. There was a meeting in December 1976 at Hevingham organised by Cyril Crane. Cyril and Violet Child built a banked 350 yard track capable of holding 15,000 spectators and organised a full-scale meeting to convince the planning authority to grant planning permission for the following year. It was a full-scale 20 heat individual meeting mainly for juniors. The winner was the 14 year old Andy Buck. David Crane also took part. The meeting was held without the sanction of the Control Board and some, John Berry of Ipswich in particular, thought the 'strongest possible action' should be taken against the organisers as his view was that an unlicensed meeting would give the sport a bad image and adversely affect others when applying for planning permission. In the end it didn't matter as planning permission was not granted anyway. I was talking to Cyril Crane a couple of years ago about his attempts to get speedway back in Norwich. He told me that since 1964 he had put in 28 planning applications and all had been turned down.

You could try contacting one of the Forum members, # Name Removed #. His father was Bert # Name Removed #, a former Saints rider.

Not Sullivan?

That's not the point. Until it is decided to enter separate teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the team represents the whole of Great Britain. It may be that it will only consist of English riders for the next 50 years, but that doesn't make it any less representative of Great Britain as a whole.

No, it's the Great Britain team It just happens that currently the best riders are English, but the team represents the whole of Great Britain.

Let's just say it cost more than £120.

Very good. Just the sort of photo I like. What camera have you got? Sorry. Only just seen this. It's a Sony digital DSC-P10