dantodan

1929 was a great year for Dirt Track or speedway. Tracks opening all over the country. Tyneside had four:- Burnhills in the village of Greenside Co Durham. Whitley Bay on the north east coast. Newcastle Gosforth Park. Newcastle Brough Park. Did your dad or grandad ride or watch speedway at these venues in 1929? If so I want to hear from you. Rumour has it George Formby rode at the whitley Bay track. Turned out nice again eh! Heh!!

The English Dirt Track League started in 1929. So Speedway Fans have its birthday to celebrate. I am trying to do something special at Brough Park this year and so are the Promoters (Rumour has it! Kenny Smith is our CL team Manager he is in the Vet Speedway Riders Assoc. I know, like me, he wants to put on a classic bike show. I have beeen making efforts to get local musuems and Classic bike clubs interested and I will continue to slog away looking for sponsors, publicity and what have you! Newcastle's event has to be special. So mark this one in your diary, end of Aug early Sep big do on Tyneside! so don't miss it. Book up for a weekend on Tyneside come to the Speedway and maybe the museums, the drink yourself legless in the party capital of the world. Newcastle upon Tyne

I would like to hear from any ex- Newcastle Riders, you are invited to the Jubilee Meeting at Brough Park. Yes Newcastle Ex-riders means Brian Craven, Brian Brett, Peter Kelly, Ivan, Ole, Anders, The Owen Brothers, Jesper Olsen, both Pedersens and Kenneth Bjerre as well as the great team men we have had like Mike Watkin, Russ Dent, Robbie Blackadder, David Bargh, Rod Hunter, Alan Emerson, Bobby Beaton et al. The invitation is out, so come on guys get talking to us. Brough park is going to have the Jubilee event that other tracks will envy. I also want to hear from any supporter who was at any of the 4 Tyneside tracks Brough Park, Gosforth, Whitley Bay and Greenside, from 1929 through to the outbreak of WW2 so if your dad or Grandad is old enough and they would like to be at Brough as guests of honour please get in touch.

Hi Halifax, why not get a group of your fans together and come up to Brough for the Diamond Jubilee, past riders galore will be there, this will be the highlight of the season at Brough come and join us and drag Dave Younghusband along

Arghhhhhhh he's back or did he just change names again?? Thanks double J, Get ya dad to dig out his old foties and I will fill in a couple of empty picture frames.

Just put a great photo of Brian Craven on my History website. Its a real Gem of an action shot

I have the JAP lowdown now thanks to Carrick Watson and Who's Who. so i have changed my reference to JAP. It is John Alfred Prestwich Heres a history lesson for anyone who aint got a life!!!! (1874-1952) John Alfred Prestwich British engineer Founder member of the Prestwich Manufacturing Company, established in 1895, Prestwich was an engineer of outstanding ability, who constructed some of the finest cinematographic apparatus of cinema's first decade. He is best remembered today, outside of film circles, for the 'JAP' motorcycle engine, so named from his initials. John Alfred Prestwich was born in Kensington, London, and was educated at the City and Guilds School and the City of London School. Aged sixteen, he started work with S.Z. de Ferranti, maker of electrical apparatus and scientific instruments. After two years he was articled to a firm of engineers and left aged twenty to start his own business, making electrical fittings and scientific instruments in a glasshouse in his father's garden. He was associated with the firm of W.H. Prestwich, London photographers; possibly W.H. was his father. In 1896 John Alfred Prestwich teamed up with William Friese Greene to patent and construct a projector with twin lenses (arranged vertically) to provide projection from one lens while the film was being pulled down ready for the other, one of many early film devices intended to ensure that there was always an image on the screen, thereby eliminating flicker. It was promoted in 1898 but as with all machines requiring specially-printed films, it had no influence on the development of cine technology; the solution to the flicker problem was resolved in other ways. In November 1897 Prestwich was selling the Moto-Photograph apparatus - which W.C. Hughes had previously sold as the Moto Bijou Living Picture camera, but which had been designed by one of the Prestwich family; probably John Alfred, since it shares the same mechanism as his Duplex machine produced with Friese Greene. It was awarded a silver medal at the Glasgow International Photographic Exhibition. Another member of the company was E.P. Prestwich, who seems to have undertaken most of the firm's limited motion picture production, including Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee procession (1897), views of the launch of the Albion (1898) on both 35 mm, and 60 mm for the Duplex machine; W.G. Grace's Jubilee Procession at Lord's Cricket ground in July 1898, and one of their few fiction films, The Artist's Model (1898). From 1897 the firm also sold three models of projector, with a superior fast-pulldown mechanism, and in 1898/1900 produced the 'Junior' amateur outfit for 17.5 mm film, also sold by Hughes as 'La Petite', and a reversing projector for showing films backwards for comic effect. Under J.A. Prestwich's guidance the firm rapidly expanded and was soon engaged in a wide range of engineering products, most notably connected with the motorcycle industry. For nearly two decades he invented, designed and manufactured cinematographic equipment including cameras, printers, mutoscopes, cutting and perforating machines, and projectors, including the Bioscope projectors for the Warwick Trading Company and Charles Urban. The firm later became known as J.A. Prestwich Industries Ltd, and was absorbed in 1964 by the Villiers Engineering Company. So mr JAP was really a big noise in the picture industry.

Do you know for sure wot date it is? I have been chasing the promoters and Kenny Smith for weeks but so far they haven't got back to me with the date etc. I will publicise it when they decide to tell me.

Arghhhh! SCB you want me to "lose" the site!!!! I am gutted, or was that a trypo or even a typo he he!

Wonder where I got Jackson Alpine from? been calling them that for years Surely I didn't just dream it up? ah well maybe I did I know the founder was called (James) John Alfred Prestwich. Thought his company was co owned by Jackson and Alpine but maybe I am wrong. Anyone want to hold a seance to contact the old guy Prestwich and ask him?? Anyway the bikes were excellent with JAP engines

Amazed to say the least! it is Jackson Alpine Prestwich unless my memory has totally failed me!!!! Will check it out and big apologies if I am wrong, watch this space

Don't know bout the injury but if you like old bikes see my website

Cribby was a Berwick rider at the time. He came down to Newccy and blasted around our track on the ice bike, seconds faster than conventional speedway track record. I did recently add this very topic to my History Website, have a look

Co-incidentally I want a black and white shot of Anders in Newcastle colours, Ha! B&W anyway! I did see a colour shot waist up of Anders in a Reading top by browsing but can't remember where. If I find it again I will e-mail it to you if you will tell me your address My history site is taking shape have a look at http://diamondsjubilee.tripod.com

Hi retro fans! I enjoy the retro sites VSRA etc. So I decided to have a go myself. anyone interested can visit at http://diamondsjubilee.tripod.com I would welcome some images of any north east teams, tracks, characters, riders. Think a database is a great idea. Does MSAccess convert to webpages?? I have a Newcastle Spreadsheet from 1929 to 2004 but it is pretty incomplete at moment, Maybe if each track had a forummer doing their bit it would make life a bit easier for us historians?

I am about to put my "History of Dirt Track Racing on Tyneside" on the net. I would love a few more pics of Northern Riders in particular. Give me your links and I will include them on my site too

Hiya DickDastardley, Razzle snazzle grazzle No I ain't changing my name to Mutley! My email address is dantodan@btopenworld.com send me a mail and we will see what common ground we have. This is really a bit of archeaolgy isn't it. If someone doesn't preserve the past it will become a murky no go area.

Just a thought, but? If we have this interest in the old black n white images why don't we get a site together to swap info and images If anyone possesses the IT knowledge to set up a Yahoo list or similar you could count on my help. Speedway History is being lost or degraded everyday, also why let all this fall into the hands of the money makers who expect us to pay for retro mags and books when the history is there in the heads and collections of our older supporters. Anyway fancy setting this up with me?

That is definitely Ivan in the photo. Ivan joined Newqcastle and PCs brother Brian was also riding for Newcastle. Incidentally I am putting a website together with old stuff from Newcastle. I started watching at Newccy in 1961, probs I got is earlier years. Apart from Ken Le Breton and Farmer Grant I know little about 1929 to 1951 newccy riders anyone help me, please? email Dantodan@btopenworld.com

Anyone know how this affects bonus points for team riding? Frinstance, a TR or TS is last his team mate is 3rd. The 3rd place rider slows down to allow the rider on double to take a point to get 2 points from this situation. What happens to the "team rider who ends up last behind his team mate. Does he score Nil or Nil plus a bonus? Bloody silly idea. Still need an answer as I do the averages on a spreadsheet. Can anyone see this lasting more than one season?

Another one for the birds! Gil Goldfinch at Newcastle in early 60's. Danny Bird eat your heart out, whose a pretty boy then

Goog Allen Ivan Mauger (of course!) Brian (Pommey) Brett Neil (Fish) Coddington Konstantyn Pociejowkiwicz (honest! rode for Rybnik in 60's) Gote Nordin Russ Dent (made a few of them he did) Ian Hoskins used to introduce Reider Eide as (Rider Ider!!!!!!) (Hurri) Ken Mckinley Most of the early riders had army game type nicknames Dusty Miller, Chalkie White etc.

You have to feel sorry for sons following on from famous fathers and not making the grade. Ivan Mauger = Kym Mauger Barry Briggs = Tony Briggs On the other hand Lee Richardson and Gary Havelock both outshone their dads.

In the 1960's a Polish club side toured. They were Rybnik. I remember a team with lots of strange names. Andreije Wyglenda was the pick of their riders. But Konstantyn Pociejowkawicz had the best name, fancy your teacher reading that off the register every morning! Present sir!