BL65

Dave Gifford.

Tyburn Gallows

Bill Bridgett, Mike Broadbank (1961)

In 1964 Eric Boocock had one match at Belle Vue before reverting to the PL with Middlesbrough. Colin McKee and George Major started the season at Oxford in the NL. McKee joined Swindon before moving to the PL with Sunderland, then Wolverhampton. Major also rode for Norwich before going back to the PL with Cradley Heath. Trevor Hedge and David Crane left Hackney to return to Norwich in the NL. Tich Read also left Hackney for Norwich. Crane subsequently rode for Hackney and Exeter in the PL. Colin Pratt and Kid Bodie (Howard Cole) started the season with Swindon but quickly reverted to the PL. Bodie was injured in a second half race and never actually rode in the Swindon team. Roy Trigg appeared for Wimbledon, Swindon and West Ham before going to Hackney in the PL. Tommy Sweetman rode for West Ham before rejoining Wolverhampton. John Mills also appeared once for West Ham at the beginning of the year before returning to the PL. Pete Jarman started the season at Wimbledon before joining Wolverhampton. Of the 1963 PL riders, Trevor Hedge, Tich Read, Norman Hunter and Malcolm Simmons joined a National League track and stayed for the whole of 1964.

In the beginning there was Russia, well at least from the 14th century. Russia gained an empire. Following the 1917 revolution there was Soviet Russia, from 1918 until 1922, otherwise called the Russian Soviet Republic. In 1922 a group of national republics formed a federal union with its capital in Moscow. The proper title of the federation was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which lasted until 1991. Any ‘national’ speedway or other sporting team during this period should properly have been called U.S.S.R., not Russia or Soviet Russia, although Soviet Union was acceptable as an alternative. By the time the Baltic States had been annexed in June 1940 the U.S.S.R. comprised Armenia, Azerbaijan, Byelorussia (also called White Russia and now Belorus), Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirgizia (now Kyrgystan), Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia (now Moldova), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. With the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. in 1991 the constituent members became countries in their own right, including the Russian Federation, with its capital in Moscow. My A-level geography teacher was a lucky (and foolish) man as he took photographs/slides of sites across the U.S.S.R. from Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in the west to Vladivostok in the east without being caught. He was able to show them in school lessons a lifetime ago.

I think that William Whitehead, known as Buster, was from Yorkshire, England.

I believe that Bill Styring was born in South Yorkshire, England. There was a Len Stewart (possibly sometimes spelt Stuart), born 10 May 1905, Perth, Australia. He rode for Edinburgh in 1930, Wimbledon 1931 and West Ham 1938.

Gote Nordin was one of the best riders in the world in the mid-1960s and a big favourite of mine. I watched him cruise to two consecutive wins with sublime displays in the Internationale at Wimbledon in 1966 and 1967, each time against a field of world-class riders. He also claimed second place in the event in 1965 and but for a fall he might have secured a top three finish in 1964. In 1961 Nordin joined Ove Fundin and Bjorn Knutson on the rostrum to complete a Swedish 1-2-3 in the World Final. Between 1964 and 1967 he had three seasons in Britain, averaging over 10 points per match for National League Wimbledon, then in the British League for Newport and Poole.

Graham was with Cradley Heath from 1967 to 1969, following which he returned to New Zealand. He died on 17th May 1995, aged 55.

I read the Chum Taylor book when it was first published and was a little disappointed that it didn't go into much depth regarding parts of his career, particularly in England. It was written by Geoffrey Miller and maybe he misinterpreted some of the information related to him by Chum as there are some inaccuracies. One that immediately springs to mind is the account of a meeting at Sheffield in 1966, when it claims Chum went through the card. He was actually on the receiving end of a 5-1 against Bob Paulson and Billy Bales first time out and then lost to John Dews in his second race. He did win his other three races in the match, as well as his second half heat and final. It was two days later in the return fixture that his team partner Ivor Hughes received fatal injuries in a track crash. The account in Chum's book about the dispute between the National and Provincial Leagues in 1964 is also vague and ill-informed.

I remember it well.

David Vine also presented 'The Sports Scene' on BBC2 on Saturdays at around 10.00 p.m. during June, July and early August in 1966. The 35-minute programme reported on the day's sports stories and gave the evening's speedway results. It replaced Match of the Day during the summer but was dropped when the new football season started.

The only information to date is that Charlie Monk won Heat 1 of the scratch races, Ken Sharples won Heat 2 and Sharples beat Monk on the line in a close-fought final.

This was an end-of-season individual meeting for which the Bristol management invited riders who had appeared at the track during the season. It was not a meeting for which riders had qualified. It would be better described as 'a championship for northern and midland riders' (plus Roger Wise of Bristol) rather than THE Northern Riders' Championship. The advertisement ahead of the meeting described it as 'a gala night, when 16 "stars" of Northern and National League teams will meet in a Northern Riders Championship'. Afterwards it was reported as consisting of riders whose clubs had been the main opposition of the Bulldogs throughout the season. Of the riders who took part, Jeff Lloyd and Roger Wise had appeared regularly for Bristol during the year. Frank Hodgson, Norman Evans, Jim Boyd, Wilf Plant, Stan Dell, Frank Lawrence and George Craig had also represented the Bulldogs during the 1946 open-licence season.

There was a press release on 9th January confirming that the sponsorship is continuing.

Can anyone provide the following details please? 21st April 1964 - Ivan Mauger's winning time in the Saints Scratch Race Final 12th May 1964 - Sunderland v Glasgow, all second half results 26th May 1964 - Sunderland v Newcastle, all winner's times in the The Roker Park Trophy

It happened when Jim Ryman fell on the pit bend on the first lap. His bike collided with Guasco, causing him to fall. He was then struck on the head by the bike of Roger Brooks who was immediately behind the fallen pair.

Intending to ride again for Poole in 1971, Gordon returned to Sydney at the end of his second season with the Pirates, ready to race in the Australian Speedway season. Gordon was to be based at Liverpool Speedway, but in his first meeting he was involved in a crash when laying his bike down to avoid a fallen rival. He was struck from behind by another rider and suffered severe head injuries. Tragically, he never regained consciousness and died in hospital eight days later on 16th November 1970, a week before his 30th birthday.

A group of Woodcraft Folk have held 4 meetings a week, for different age groups, for nearly 50 years in the hall at one of the schools where I was a governor. They organised games and activities, as well as camps off-site, where they were taught outdoor skills. For years they were never bothered about the letting fees I set as the regional Co-Op paid on their behalf. It was a different matter when Co-Op pulled out, but I had to point out that the school budget couldn't cover the cost of them being there - such as heating, lighting, metered water, cleaning, caretaker's overtime wages. They were still unimpressed. Get Involved - Woodcraft Folk

Until 1965 Walthamstow, West Ham and Dagenham were in Essex, with Lea Bridge/Clapton on the border of Essex and Middlesex.

I have sent you a PM. If you are able to go to see him, I hope he is still well and in good spirits.

My Sunderland correspondent sent me a photo of George in mid-August this year. He looked cheerful, with a lovely smile on his face. The information I received was that he was suffering from dementia and at that time was residing in a care home in Laindon, Basildon, Essex.

There were eight-man teams in 1964 in the National League. Olle Nygren, Reg Luckhurst, Bob Andrews and Ted Ede guested for Oxford once each. Danny Dunton also rode in one meeting. In the Britannia Shield matches Colin McKee appeared 7 times and Danny Dunton once, with Barry Briggs and Olle Nygren guesting one each.

That's correct regarding official matches. I saw George Major ride for the Lions at the beginning of the season. He appeared in a couple of challenge matches before DeWayne Keeter arrived. Dene Davies rode in place of Keeter in two challenge matches at the very end of the season. Norman Hunter also guested in place of John Boulger in a challenge at King's Lynn.

Further information on Clem Thomas. He was born in Healesville, Victoria, Australia, in 1912 and died in 1971.