Newport 1964-65

[BOBBATH 467]

Anyone know what happened to the riders of the above-I know that Alby Golden,Ray Harris, Jack Biggs and Peter Vandenberg have sadly passed away and that Vic White is still very much with us in the W(V)SRA-does anyone know any info re Bob Hughes,Jon Erskine Dick Bradley and Geoff Penniket though??? Also later Newport riders Jimmy Gooch,John Bishop,Bill Andrew?? Thanx in advance.

[BigFatDave 258]

Anyone know what happened to the riders of the above-I know that Alby Golden,Ray Harris, Jack Biggs and Peter Vandenberg have sadly passed away and that Vic White is still very much with us in the W(V)SRA-does anyone know any info re Bob Hughes,Jon Erskine Dick Bradley and Geoff Penniket though??? Also later Newport riders Jimmy Gooch,John Bishop,Bill Andrew?? Thanx in advance.

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I bumped into Vic at Lonigo this year: he's just round the corner as it were from Geoff "Pinky" Penniket, sees him regularly. You might try chasing Vic up through the W(V)SRA, I'm sure he'd be the man to talk to, just don't ask to hear his "Aussie" accent!

Edited December 4, 2006 by BigFatDave

[norbold 7,116]

Jimmy Gooch is alive and well and living in Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex.

[britney 0]

Dick Bradley is my dad, he is in good health and still in the Swindon area, he watches the Swindon Robins from time to time and enjoys catching up with some of his old fellow riders.

[BOBBATH 467]

Thank you all - and thank you Britney-glad your dad is well.A piece of trivia-I think I saw your dad's last ever ride-in fact I am looking at the program. It was 9th July 1965 Newport v Sheffield(British League). Your dad fell in heat 6 while riding with Geoff Penniket against Bob Paulson and Clive Featherby. The program also indicates that Featherby retired from the race -which therefore ended a 3-2 to Sheffield(the late Bob Paulson won it)-perhaps your dad and Featherby collided-I can't remember. As far as I know he never returned to racing after that.Next time you see him pass on my good wishes ,tell him an expat in Canada remembers his racing career with affection and see if he can recall the incident also.Thanx again.

[britney 0]

Nice to hear your memories BOBBATH I will see dad tomorrow so will ask what he remembers of that meeting. I will pass on your regards also, thank you.

[Ian 24]

perhaps your dad and Featherby collided-I can't remember

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Nice to hear your memories BOBBATH I will see dad tomorrow so will ask what he remembers of that meeting. I will pass on your regards also, thank you.

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I have a funny feeling that he may just remember Featherby knocking him off. Many riders would remember that.

 

Having said that, it was guys like Clive Featherby who pulled in the crowds.

[SCB 0]

I could be wrong but I'm sure Jon Erskine was a regular at Newport a few years ago. So I assume he lives (lived?) in the area.

[Railway End 0]

I was there the night Dick crashed he was hit from behind by Geoff Penniket outside the pits gate they were on a 5-1 at the time.

Last I heard of Jon Erskine he had moved to somerset.

[BOBBATH 467]

Thanx Railway End now you jog my memory I recall that that's right-I think Clive Featherby must have had engine failure-I also agree with the previous post that riders like CF would pull the crowds in. There were others like him too e.g. Ivor Brown the guy we all loved to hate (except CH fans)-I thought the Prov League turned in great entertainment and I thought it was tremendous.

[BigFatDave 258]

I was there the night Dick crashed he was hit from behind by Geoff Penniket outside the pits gate they were on a 5-1 at the time.

Last I heard of Jon Erskine he had moved to somerset.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Was that the night Dick broke his arm? - memory's pretty fuzzy here - this was the 60's after all - and Vic W. came to us as his replacement. Remember the night Geoff Penniket lost the tip of his finger? Wandering round the pits with an oily wrag wrapped round his hand, leaving a trail of blood.

[south coast robin 0]

Geoff Penniket was the best rider at New Cross , excepting the legendary Squibbo , in their last year '63 .

[BOBBATH 467]

This is bringing back some memories. Thanx Big Fat Dave and South Coast Robin.I think it was the night Dick broke his arm,and I reckon you are right about Vic. Vic was part of the Newport team in 64 for sure, then he went to Belle Vue in 65 and came back after Dick was injured. I do remember the incident of Geoff Penniket losing the tip of his finger-it was in 65 but when I'm not sure. Re Penniket at New Cross in 1963-according to Morrish's book they rode 17 Prov. League matches before closing. Squibb scored 186 pts. then good old Stan Stevens with 111 pts. then Bob Dugard with105 pts. then Geoff Penniket with 71 pts. I don't know how many matches each rode tho. It looks like after their closing Penniket went to Long Eaton and scored 17 pts. The Peter Morrish book is excellent-I just wish it had the averages in there. !!

[TwoMinuteWarning 69]

"Proper" averages weren't started until the introduction of the British League in 1965, since number of rides weren't recorded before then.

 

According to Speedway Star, Geoff Penniket scored 93+14 in 25 matches for New Cross in 1963. That will include the regional Southern League plus the Cup, as well as Provincial League.

 

Then, for Long Eaton, Geoff scored 17+2 in just 6 matches.

 

Ahh ... the Provincial League ... great fun ... young kids with vitually no experience ... knarled old vets carving them up ... rough old tracks to create lots of mistakes and falls ... argy-bargy, the odd punch-up (always on the track, never in the pits!) ... oh what fun it all was!!

 

I think that's what wrong now - with the exception of the Conference League, there dosen't seem to be much fun left in the sport any more!

[Ian 24]

I thought the Prov League turned in great entertainment and I thought it was tremendous.

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Ahh ... the Provincial League ... great fun ... young kids with vitually no experience ... knarled old vets carving them up ... rough old tracks to create lots of mistakes and falls ... argy-bargy, the odd punch-up (always on the track, never in the pits!) ... oh what fun it all was!!

 

I think that's what wrong now - with the exception of the Conference League, there dosen't seem to be much fun left in the sport any more!

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I agree with both of you. A night out at Old Meadowbank for a Provincial League match was an event not to be missed. It almost invariably contained all the ingredients necessary for well-rounded entertainment - drama, pathos, giant-killing, the hate figure - it was all there. Of course TwoMinuteWarning is right, and rough tracks and punch-ups added to the entertainment (not that any of us would advocate that now, naturally!)

 

This also reflects an issue which has been debated on this forum year in and year out: is the standard of the Premier League getting weaker? In 1965 the standard in Provincial League teams took a quantum leap when they amalgamated with the National League to form the British League. Monarchs subsequently brought in superb riders like Bernie Persson, Reidar Eide and Bengt Jansson, and it was great during that '65 season to watch the world's finest come to Meadowbank to challenge them. But here's the question - did the entertainment value improve? Not a bit of it!