Alan Clegg

[Sprog1 79]

In a thirty-year period from Alan Clegg's death in 1972 these were the fatalities on GB tracks:

1972 Alan Clegg Hackney

 

Very sad all of course; but especially so how often Waterden Road was to appear on this list (also a shocking spell early-80s in general for the sport...)

 

 

Some of the names on this list are very familar to many of us (Vic Harding, Gary Peterson, Kevin Holden, Denny Pyeatt) but equally mant tragically are not... And that includes Alan Clegg...

 

Parsloes, Do you recall who the rider was that died in a track crash at Hackney a year or two before Alan Clegg. I think it might have been an Australian junior named Nev Slee but my memory is not clear.

 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2011 by Custer Mouse

[Parsloes 1928 nearly 495]

Parsloes, Do you recall who the rider was that died in a track crash at Hackney a year or two before Alan Clegg. I think it might have been an Australian junior named Nev Slee but my memory is not clear.

 

Not aware of that accident or rider...

[chunky 3,200]

Not aware of that accident or rider...

 

Me neither... According to my records, Alan Clegg was the first fatality at Hackney since 'Dusty' Haigh on May 15, 1936.

 

The only thing I can think of is that Custer Mouse may be thinking of Dave Wills, an Aussie who was killed at West Ham on July 5, 1965. Alan Clegg was the first rider to lose his life on a British track in the 1970's, and there were only a handful in the 60's (other than Dave Wills), namely :

 

Derek 'Tink' Maynard - July 23, 1960 - Norwich

Jack Unstead - April 13, 1962 - Ipswich

Peter Craven - September 24, 1963 - Edinburgh (Sep 20)

Tadeusz Teodorowicz - January 22, 1965 - West Ham (Sep 1, 1964)

Ivor Hughes - August 23, 1966 - Cradley (Aug 20)

 

Steve

[Paul 67]

Parsloes, Do you recall who the rider was that died in a track crash at Hackney a year or two before Alan Clegg. I think it might have been an Australian junior named Nev Slee but my memory is not clear.

 

Seem to recall Neville Slee riding for Ipswich. Certainly as stated, poor Alan Clegg was the first to die at the Wick since Dusty Haigh.....

[Liontamer 178]

many thanks for that , don't suppose you know why Charlie resisted any sort of practise over all those years?

 

I'm not sure why the training schools stopped, but they were certainly held in 1976.

 

Neville Slee rode for Rye House, Canterbury & Ipswich, & thankfully wasn't killed on track.

 

Hope this helps.

[sunnyfield 0]

I realise this is a rather old thread but I found a link to it through Google.

 

I was due to be Alan's sister-in-law before he was sadly killed. He spent more time at our house than his own home and was part of the family. I was 13 at the time and can still see my sister's face when she returned that evening, having been to Hackney to watch Alan training. I still have the newspaper cutting from the evening paper though I'm still riled when I read Len Silver's comments. It astounds me how they could have lighting posts directly in line with the safety fencing rather than set back from the edge of the track.

 

We were West Ham fans and Alan occasionally took part in practice laps before or after meetings, but Hackney was the only nearby place to offer training at the time as far as I remember.

[benclegg 0]

Hi Paul how old was Alan clegg did he have any kids? and if he was from kent 

[Pieman72 229]

I was at Monmore when Gary Peterson hit the lighting pylon. A dreadful event that thankfully happens rarely now. He was a very 'hang loose rider' who never seemed to be in full control but had the potential for great success.

[chunky 3,200]

2 hours ago, Pieman72 said:

I was at Monmore when Gary Peterson hit the lighting pylon. A dreadful event that thankfully happens rarely now. He was a very 'hang loose rider' who never seemed to be in full control but had the potential for great success.

I remember hearing the news on the radio that Friday night. Even though I wasn't there (and I was only 13), that's something that has stuck with me.

[Pieman72 229]

It part of the deal in motorsport but you never expect it. The worst one was Kenny Carter Speedway has never recovered from that one. Thank god there are very few now, resuscitation and track safety have improved significantly particularly with the air ambulance. I was very fortunate to have experienced Speedway during that era and never to be repeated.