norbold

Thanks Jim.

Speedway in London? That's a good book.

I've already done that thanks, Sotonian. but his programmes are not filled in.

Good thinking, Gem. Thanks. Yes I would like to contact him.

Yes please, Jim. But I see you've already put Mike on there as a contact for the book. Mind you, there's always "Speedway in East Anglia"... The site's coming along really well, Jim. Well done.

Yes, speedway was taxed at a higher rate than football. I can't recall the exact amounts at the moment but I can find out. The reason speedway was taxed higher was because it was not classed as a sport but a trial of speed!

Yes, I'm sure that's all very true, Ian, but I don't think it answers the question I was answering. The point I was making was why were tracks being forced to close when their attendences were well in excess of 5000 and yet today we have tracks open with attendances in the hundreds? Why did 1950s tracks need so many customers to remain open?

Yes, that's an interesting point, arnie. Speedway was in serious decline in the mid 50s. From three divisions plus open tracks in the late 40s down to just one league of ten teams plus Yarmouth in the Junior League in 1958 (speedway's worst year for numbers of tracks operating) and yet attendances were much higher than now. It makes you wonder why tracks couldn't keep going then but can now with much lower attendances. Was it all down to Entertainment Tax?

Yes, he was a novice. I don't think he ever actually made the team but he did ride in the second half a number of times. He probably didn't make it because he was leg trailing!

That reminds me...Do you remember Nev Slee at West Ham? He used to leg trail.

Good to hear there is going to be a book about Brian Crutcher. A great rider. One of the main candidates for greatest rider never to win the World Championship. Unfortunately I never saw him as he retired the day I went to my first speedway meeting back in 1960. I've always felt somehow responsible for his retirement! Good luck with the book. Over to # Name Removed #....

There is still one mystery regarding Mr Potter. As he appears not to have started riding until after the War why do you think he was leg trailing in your photograph, NOBBY?

Thank you for the vote of confidence, Gem. Unfortunately I don't think I can help very much, other than to say, he definitely did not ride for Norwich. I don't know of him riding for Wimbledon either, but I'm not totally sure about that. p.s., just found this in the 1954 Stenner's under the report on Stoke: "One man deserved a medal for his constant trying, Don Potter. Model of a good teamster, Potter whipped life into the Sun Street side at the end to see the season out with at least a moderate amount of home success."

I have a number of photos of Eric Chitty. I can scan them in and e-mail them if you let me know where...

Well done, mate. And don't forget the Old Comrades March...

www.clactonhistory.com/history_of_norwich_speedway.htm is an old site of mine that never really got going! Jim is creating a new site.

Apparently it was the Old Comrades march.

See King's Oak thread under Speedway general Discussions...

I'm up there quite frequently. Next time...

So, anyway, I was at the Newspaper Library at Colindale today doing a bit of research when I came across two interesting snippets. Well, I thought they were anyway.... 1. At 7.25 p.m. on 5 May 1928, the BBC broadcast "An eye-witness account of a motor cycle dirt track race meeting." Is this the earliest speedway related broadcast? 2. On the day I was born Wimbledon beat Belle Vue and Norman Parker scored a maximum for the Dons. Some of you will understand the significance of this for me!

I have Simmo's address, but I'm not sure he wants it made public knowledge. Perhaps I could pass on a message for you?

Settle down, this could take some time! I was recently going through some old papers I have (I don't throw anything away, I'm a historian) when I came across a letter I had long forgotten from a friend of mine. He and I were both West Ham supporters and used to visit West Ham and Hackney regularly until I went off to college in 1965. He then went on his own and sent me regular reports. The following letter is one he wrote to me on 27 September 1965 after travelling to Belle Vue to see a league match against the Hammers. "Dear Norm Guess what? It rained every second we were in Manchester. However the sealions in the zoo seemed to enjoy it. Ken McKinlay's mind does not function in the same way as a sealion's. When we asked whether he was going to ride, he said, 'I suppose we've got to' in a voice that could only be described as sullen. Sverre on the other hand is probably related to one of the aforementioned sealions because when asked whether he would ride, he replied that he didn't mind particularly what the weather was like. The rain would make it like a home meeting. When I had a look at the track at five o'clock it was already under water. There was one solitary track grader raking the same bit of track over and over again. It looked at that time as if racing would be impossible. It continued to pour down with rain. To pass the time away we went on the bobs (or rather the brave ones and the idiots did). The murderous contraption is a monsterous type of big dipper that is supposed to be like a bobsleigh run. The thing shoots round the bends at about 120 degrees and drops at angles of about 89 degrees. We had tea and Ken, Norm [Hunter] and Sverre came in and said that the meeting was definitely on. All the fools in the party had another dice with death on the bobs. After that came the meeting. The programme [which he enclosed with the letter] should be self-explanatory. Mal [simmons] was second to Norm in heat 3 when he had engine failure and was challenging Fisher for 2nd place in heat 7 with Hunter in the lead when it went again. After the meeting we went to the bar and after about an hour Ken, Norm, Sverre and Tony [Clarke] came in. After they had a drink we tried to get them to go on the bobs. Ken and Sverre agreed. Norm said, 'Not bloody likely. I'm not going on that thing.' Tony was still drinking and I said, 'Come on Tony, have a go, it's great.' He got up but when we went out he went back to his drink. When we got to the bobs, they had shut down. Instead we went on the dodgems. I soon went off Sverre when he rammed me against the outside of the track. It made me hit my head against the rod on the back of the car and he was too clever for me to give him a good bump back. Ken, however, was easy to hit. After four rides on the dodgems we had a wander around in the rain and Ken and Sverre were very friendly and quite amusing. Going back to last Tuesday, you will forever regret missing the match with Long Eaton. You missed Mal's first full maximum and you also missed A PAID MAXIMUM BY REG TROTT. Yours John" Sadly John died a few years later from a heart attack at the young age of only 31. But I thought his letter might be of some interest to ex-West Ham fans and fans of the 60s in general.....

You only have to say them to hear which sounds right.

I bet you're glad I started this thread, eh, Gem?

Are you implying I'm not young and beautiful, Gem?