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auntie doris

Canterbury Crusaders

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Was in the city the other day at Kingsmead..remember the Kent team riding there late 60s 70s. I think Wally Mawdsley promoted there. They rode in blue yellow sabres. Any more info..cheers?

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2 hours ago, auntie doris said:

Was in the city the other day at Kingsmead..remember the Kent team riding there late 60s 70s. I think Wally Mawdsley promoted there. They rode in blue yellow sabres. Any more info..cheers?

And into the 80's... I went there many times. Big open track, and they served the hottest tea on the planet!

Steve

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Was it on the now Sainsbury's site? The taxi driver was too young to remember It!

Edited by auntie doris

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Went there in the first season (1968) for a challenge match (remember them?) against Reading for the Kent-Berks Trophy, obviously a name that has stuck in my memory for 50 years. There was an odd incident in the second half when a young second halfer went out for his first ride before the previous race had quite finished, went the wrong way round the track and met the finishers as they were winding down coming off the second bend. Caused quite a commotion..

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Tilehurst... another old site passed on the mainline train. Miss the old Swindon-Reading-Oxford derbies.And Newport and Bristol.

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used to love going to see the Kestrels generally lose (Crayford version) / win (Hackney version) at Kingsmead ... nice blast down the M2/A2 on the bike, 7:00 p.m. start and an early finish which meant you could get back home to Sidcup in time for last orders!

I remember that most of the junior races were over three laps ...

Also remember being much amused one evening by Jamie Luckhurst riding into the back of the tractor and watching his bike being dragged around the third bend by the grading machine

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I first saw Birmingham there in 1973. I think i went to about 60 odd meetings there up until their final season in 1987. A big track, too narrow to produce really good racing, although Barney Kennett always seemed to find the room to move his opponents off the white line to get past!.

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Visited once in 1983 when the visitors were Newcastle. As has been suggested the track appeared somewhat narrow in my opinion.

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On 10/9/2019 at 6:37 PM, auntie doris said:

Was it on the now Sainsbury's site? The taxi driver was too young to remember It!

No, opposite. The old track is now a housing estate. Closed in 1987.

Edited by June01
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Our cycle speedway team Cowley "Crusaders" adopted the Canterbury race jacket except with a red background.

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On 10/9/2019 at 1:37 PM, auntie doris said:

Was it on the now Sainsbury's site? The taxi driver was too young to remember It!

If you find the Kingsmead Car Park opposite Sainsbury's, and look across to the other side of the river, there is a curved housing terrace on Westwood Drive. That would have been on the centre green. The treeline on the south side of the park area opposite was where the stand and starting gate was.

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3 hours ago, racers and royals said:

Take a look and re-kindle some memories 

 

no don't watch, that's '87, the track was bloody horrible

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17 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Our cycle speedway team Cowley "Crusaders" adopted the Canterbury race jacket except with a red background.

What a coincidence..our team in Swindon was Carshalton Crusaders..white and blue.

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On 10/13/2019 at 11:02 PM, stevehone said:

no don't watch, that's '87, the track was bloody horrible

Awful and seriously narrow. It made the old track look as wide as West Ham!

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