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I can vividly recall a very nasty looking accident at Claremont Speedway, Perth, WA, way back about 1970. I can't remember the name of one of the riders involved, but he was a Scot and I think his first name was George. He had ridden in the UK in the 50's - 60's and immigrated to Oz when he retired. He made a short comeback at Claremont and this was the result. He fell in the middle of the track on the Pits Bend, in front of most of the field in a handicap race. Most of the riders managed to avoid him, but one, I think it was Dennis Carter, was crowded for room as he tried to ride around George on the inside. His right hand footrest got hooked in the back of George's old style pudding basin helmet.......and ripped it right off his head and sent it spinning down the track! I don't think many of us watching over the fence from the pits really wanted to look at George as he lay on the track. I for one, was wondering if he still had his head on! He didn't move and was taken away in the ambulance. Next week he was walking around as good as gold, except for a light brace he had to wear on his neck for about a week. And what saved him from far more serious injury? He was using all his old gear from his racing days in the UK, which included the old style helmet. The stitching in the leather harness was so old and rotten, that when Carter's footrest got hooked in the helmet, it just ripped the stitching out and left Georgie laying on the track unconscious, with the leather harness still attached to his head! I think George took that as a sign and gave speedway up for good after that!

I've just come across a write up in a local ( Aussie ) speedway paper which recalls Chum Taylor winning the Australian Championship at Rowley Park in Adelaide in 1966. I don't know if Chum had even seen Rowley Park before he trekked across the Nullabor from Perth for the '66 title, but it seems he streeted a pretty hot field and waltzed off with the big one. Some of his opponents that night included Jim Airey ( NSW ), Neil Street (Vic ), Keith Gurtner ( Qld ), Jimmy Gooch and Roy Trigg ( England ) and South Aussies Jack Scott, Dennis Gavros and Charlie Monk. I don't know what happened to Charlie Monk on the night, but back in '66 he must have been at his peak as a rider and would normally have been almost unbeatable around Rowley Park. For those of you in the UK who remember Chum from when he rode for Ashfield, Cardiff, Bristol, Southampton, Oxford, Poole and Cradley Heath, he is now 76 years of age and still very active. He is on the Health Consumers Council for the Aging and an adviser to the Ministry of Housing. He is also the President of the Australian branch of the VSRA.

I'm actually looking at a write up about Bob Andrews in a local Aussie speedway paper called Where Are They Now? There is a small bio by Bob himself and he describes his career like this; Started speedway in 1953 with Wimbledon and stayed there 'till 1964. Wolverhampton 1965. Missed 1966. Cradley Heath 1967 - 1969. Hackney Wick 1970. Cradley Heath 1971 - 1972. Continued riding in New Zealand until 1978. Won the World Pairs Final with Ivan Mauger in 1969. Qualified for the World Final in 1960, 1961 (equal fifth with Ronnie Moore ), 1962 ( equal fifth again ) and 1964. Rode in the World Team Cup in 1961 and 1962. Toured Australia with the British Lions in 1959 - 60. New Zealand champion in 1966 Bob is now 67 and retired and lives in Aukland, New Zealand. He is secretary of the NZ branch of the Veteran Speedway Riders Association.

Thanks for the info Lunchy. Just one little query about the Munro / Booth sidecar pairing; Is this Munro related in anyway to 1960's / 70's South Australian sidecar ace, Neil Munro? I worked for a short time with Neil years ago, in Perth, and not only was he a top sidecar rider, he was a top bloke as well. The only problem I had with him was he worked too hard! I was always trying to think of things that would slow him down a bit, because he was making me look bad!

Obviously, I've made a glaring error in my last post about the '69 World Final. Ken MacKinlay would have been riding a JAP of course, but so was Ronnie Moore. He had a pretty good night too, all things considered.......broken toes, years away from top level speedway and age, though that didn't slow him down much!

There was a bloke going around in Queensland years ago called Zane Harrington and over here in the west, we had a rider with the very marketable name of Guy Hawkes! I think he had a short stint in the 2nd division in England. I believe he was a school teacher by profession.

Norbold, I also remember it 'cos me favourite Haggisbasher of all time was in the race; Ken MacKinley. "Mac" was a hot chance for a place that night, with a third and two wins after three races, but he let it slip when he came in last in his his last two rides. I think he may have been the only person riding a JAP that night too.

Good onya Lunchy, love the bit about Karlis Ezergailis. It reminded me of the story going around years ago about Jim Airey and the mini-bike. Rumour had it that Jim somehow managed to get through his career without any really serious injuries, and that included a short stint of road racing, where he managed to throw the bike and himself down the track in a few pretty scarey moments. So, after he retired, Jim started a mini-bike training school, whereupon he promptly fell off one of the dinky little things and broke his arm! I don't know how true the story is, but it certainly got a lot of laughs way back then.

Well, just like everyone else, I'm suitably p**sed of over this news, especially since I had just started going to the speedway again after many years. I think the last time I went to the speedway was about the same time as when Charlie Cousins fell off the wheat silo! I went to see the state title at Bibra Lake and thoroughly enjoyed myself, with a night of good racing and no injuries. It was very well organised and having Chum Taylor there to present the prizes was a very nice touch. I hope the speedway fraternity rallies around the TQ Club and another venue can be found and in reasonably quick time. Incidently, did you know that Chum Taylor once beat Ove Fundin in a tight finish at Claremont one night, by leaning forward over the handlebars of his bike? Judge / Timekeeper, Wally Clinton ruled that Chum had "won by a long nose"!

I'd pay good money to see Ronnie Moore and Charlie Monk in their prime, because I never got to see them at their best. In fact, I'd even chuck in a couple of extra bob to be able to sit down with them and have a yarn for a while, though I don't know if Charlie would have all that much to say!

I've only ever seen two World finals and that was on black-and-white TV, years ago, but one race in the '69 final will always be in my memory. I think it was the fourth heat and the riders where Ken MacKinlay, Ronnie Moore, Barry Briggs and a Polish rider, who's name I can't remember. Moore, Briggs and MacKinley, along with Ove Fundin, must have been the oldest men riding that night, but what a race they turned on for the fans! The Polish bloke had no hope, but the other three tore out of the gate and got involved in one of the best races I have ever seen, with MacKinley leading, Moore harrassing him and Briggs, on a sick bike, somehow sticking with them. You could have thrown a blanket over the three of them, they were so close. Moore somehow got passed MacKinley, but Mac came again on the last bend and Ronnie drifted out to stop him, when from the clouds, Briggs suddenly burst through the gap Moore had left and pinched the race! I had never even seen Briggs ride before then, but after seeing that race, I can fully appreciate what a great rider he must have been. I bet no one ever thought they had a race won while Briggo was on the track with them! A great memory.

So, Karl Marx was right. History does repeat itself! Reading this thread, with people reminiscing about things speedway from twenty years ago, got me reminiscing about things speedway that I read thirty years ago, after it was written by some one reminiscing about things speedway from FORTY years ago! Richard Bott, writing in the 1970 edition of The Champions Book of Speedway said, "I remember 'Tiger' Hart and Doug Ellis opening the doors at Perry Barr, Birmingham again --- alas, briefly. What a waste of a great track and all because of niggling obstacles which no promoter could hope to surmount. But what a first night, with Graham Warren, idol of Brum a few years earlier, going like the clappers when he could hardly hold down the reserve spot at Coventry. That was before he found a new lease of life at Wolverhampton." So, what goes around, comes around and if the interest is there, perhaps a track will come around there too. Incidently, Graham Warren lives in retirement on Queensland's Gold Coast and occassionly gets to the speedway at nearby Labrador as does another bloke who could ride a bit in his day. Ivan something, I think his name is!

Mark, your parents are mentioned in Ivan Mauger's book, Triple Crown Plus. They were friends of Ivan and Raye Mauger when they first came to Britain in the late 50's. I wish I could tell you more, but some low life got into my car one morning and stole my work bag which had the book in it.

I've never seen the Newport track, having lived in Oz all my life, but I'm sure I read something about it years ago which may explain why it was the shape it was. Apparently during the construction of the track, there was a lot of heavy rain and one of the earthmoving machines became so badly bogged in the mud, they couldn't get it out. Time was short, so they just changed the shape of the track to avoid the machine and got it out of the bog when things had dried up a bit later on. I can't vouch for the accuracey of the article I read, but I certainly remember reading about it.

Here's one for the old time Sheffield fans. Around about 69/70 or 70/71 Australian seasons, Jim Airey turned up at Claremont in Perth with a fuel-injected Jawa. He had been booked to contest the City of Perth championship against Ove Fundin, Chum Taylor, Ken Mackinley and the rest of the local brigade. The title was decided over two Friday night meetings. The first night the bike ran like hairy goat, but the next week it was like a rocket! He even took Fundin from the back in one heat. ( Jim couldn't get passed Ove on the inside, where he was sticking like leech to the white line, so he simply rode over the concrete kerb and passed him by riding on the in-field - and got away with it!) The engine of the bike was a true fuel injected one, with a fuel pump and injector and shouldn't be confused with the Alf Hagon fuel injector that was available at the time. The pump was a cylindrical affair about 6 - 7 inches in length and was mounted on the timing cover, taking its drive from the same source as the magneto. Does anyone know if he took the bike back to England and if so, how did it go?