BL65

I know of one occasion when Francis James (nicknamed Ken) Le Breton raised a cheer and a smile at New Cross. Guess what he was carrying that time: (a) an injury (b) a passenger (c) an umbrella

I also used to tune in to Radio Luxembourg for the results. BBC2 used to give speedway results on Saturdays at around 10.00 p.m., during June, July and early August in 1966 on ‘The Sports Scene’. This was a 35-minute programme, with David Vine reporting and commenting on the day's outstanding stories. The programme replaced Match of the Day when the football season ended, but sadly only survived until the start of the next football season. At that time BBC1 occasionally showed speedway, for example during Grandstand on Saturday 20th August 1966 there were highlights at 1.55 p.m. of the previous night's Welsh Championship at Newport, ‘featuring such international riders as Barry Briggs, Nigel Boocock, Gote Nordin, and Olle Nygren.’ This was actually a second half event following the Newport match against Wimbledon. There were three heats, two semi-finals and a final, which Nordin won from Jon Erskine and Boocock. Briggs had machine trouble in the final. Ivan Mauger also took part but failed to reach the semi-finals.

According to government statistics, there were 653,000 vacant dwellings in England on 4th October 2021, with 237,300 of these (approximately 1% of the housing stock of 24.9 million) classified as long-term vacant dwellings. This information was released in May 2022 and the next release will be in May 2023.

Panthers from 1959 to 1962.

Bradford (including the early period when known as Odsal) had 6 names - Boomerangs, Tudors, Panthers, Barons, Northern and Dukes.

I understand that the television programme focuses on a family who moved from India to Uganda before eventually settling in Britain, probably following the coup by Idi Amin in 1971. Amin declared himself president, following which there was a period of ethnic persecution during his military dictatorship. By 1971 most of the prosperous businesses and the wealth in Uganda were controlled by groups originating from Asia and Amin issued a decree expelling 50,000 British passport holders. Many of these people of Asian origin relocated to Britain. Grasstrack racing was popular in Uganda and Kenya during the 1960s and 1970s and it is likely that the brief clip shown in the programme is from the 1960s.

1928 Middlesbrough programmes listed him as David 'Onanoff' Johnson (no 'd' in onanoff). He had a few falls, but also recorded some heat wins during a brief career. David Johnson appeared at Middlesbrough in 1928 to 1930, Whitley Bay, Gosforth, Edinburgh and Glasgow in 1929 and York in 1931. He rode as reserve for York in a National Trophy match at Leicester Super in 1931, falling in his first race and scoring one point from two other rides.

Edwin Pye made a few appearances at Dagenham in 1936 aged 22. He was a member of the Dagenham team in 1937 and 1938, when he won the Stan Greatrex Trophy after beating Jack Tidbury in a run-off. In 1938 and 1939 he was given a few opportunities in the Harringay team, but struggled at the higher level. His performances at second division level with Lea Bridge in 1938 were more productive and he recorded maximum points at home to Leeds at the end of September. With Lea Bridge closed, Pye linked up with first division Southampton in 1939 but again struggled for points. After the war he rode in one meeting for West Ham and made a couple of appearances at New Cross in 1946 before joining Northern League Middlesbrough. He spent two seasons there, contributing useful scores as the team won two successive league titles. A poor start to the 1948 season with second division Newcastle resulted in a transfer to third division Coventry, where he produced some good scores. When Coventry moved up to the second division in 1949 Pye was unable to maintain his form and retired at the end of the season, aged 35.

Frederick H. Philpott from Southdown Road, Wimbledon, was a regular writer to Speedway Star and his letters were published on the 'Edaches' page. The Star ran a Tell-a-tale competition which Mr. Philpott won. The prize was a regular column in the magazine. He wrote articles under the name 'Ninth Man', with his first column being published in the Star on 17th October 1953.

Steve Bole was a motor cycle dealer who was a month short of his 34th birthday when he made his debut for Eastbourne. As he was from north-east London it is possible that he may have attended training school sessions at High Beech. In the winter of 1948-49 145 riders took part in training sessions organised by Speedway World, at High Beech and Rye House. Training sessions were also held on a smaller scale the following winter. D. Bole made one appearance for High Beech in 1950, at California. As his first name was not recorded maybe it was the same Bole, or it could just be coincidence - he may even have been borrowed from the home juniors to replace a missing rider. There was no mention of a rider named Bole in High Beech programmes around that time.

I remember his articles.

It is definitely EXETER SPEEDWAY MONDAYS APRIL to OCTOBER

Could this be the same J. Fergusson? https://cmhf.ca/alice-jim-fergusson/

Andersson and Morton - a few bits of information World Championship 1980 Final: Andersson 11 (4th), Morton 7 (7th=) Andersson 13 (1st Swedish Final) Morton 7 (8th=) British Final, 11 (4th=) Commonwealth Final, 12 (1st Intercontinental Final) 1981 Final: Andersson 9 (6th), Morton 5 (10th=) Andersson seeded to Nordic Final, 11 (5th) Nordic Final, 8 (7th=) Intercontinental Final Morton 10 (5th) British Final, 11 (2nd) Overseas Final, 8 (7th=) Intercontinental Final 1982 Andersson 8 (6th=) Andersson seeded to Nordic Final, 10 (6th) Nordic Final, 7 (8th=) Intercontinental Final Morton 10 (5th) British Final, 5 (15th ) Overseas Final 1983 Morton 7 (10th=) Andersson seeded to Nordic Final, 11 (4th=) Nordic Final, Andersson 3 (13th) Intercontinental Final Morton 12 (1st) British Final, 9 (6th=) Overseas Final, Andersson 3 (13th), Morton 7 (9th=) Intercontinental Final 1984 Andersson 6 (10th) Andersson 1st Swedish Final (over three rounds), 11 (4th) Nordic Final, 7 (10th=) Intercontinental Final Morton 5 (12th) British Final 1985 Andersson 7 (9th=) Andersson seeded to Nordic Final ,12 (2nd) Nordic Final, 11 (4th) Intercontinental Final Morton 9 (5th=) British Final, 11 (3rd) Commonwealth Final, 6 (11th) Overseas Final, 0 (res) Continental Final 1986 Andersson dnr (res), Morton 8 (8th=) Andersson seeded to Nordic Final, 10 (4th=) Nordic Final, 6 (12th) in Intercontinental Final Morton 10 (5th) British Final, 10 (4th=) Overseas Final, 7 (8th=) Continental Final 1987 Morton 5 (12th) Andersson 43 (1st) Swedish Final (over three rounds), 8 (9th) Nordic Final, Morton 8 (8th=) British Final, 10 (4th=) Commonwealth Final, 7 (10th) Overseas Final, 7 (11th) Intercontinental Final 1988 Morton 6 (10th) Andersson qual. ns Swedish Final, Morton 11 (3rd) British Final, 9 (5th=) Commonwealth Final, 8 (7th=) Intercontinental Final 1989 Andersson 34 (3rd) Swedish Final (over three rounds), Nordic Final dnr World Team Cup Finals 1980 Morton 11 1981 Morton 11 1983 Morton 5 1984 Morton 5 1985 Andersson 5 1986 Morton 20 (3 rounds), Andersson 28 (3 rounds) 1988 Morton 4 World Pairs 1980 Andersson 9 (Final), 16 (SF) 1981 Morton 10 (Final), Anderson 10, Morton 12 (SF) 1982 Andersson 13 (SF) 1983 Andersson 11 (Final)| 1984 Morton 14 (Final), Andersson 15, Morton 14 (SF) 1985 Andersson 10 (Final) 14 (SF) 1986 Andersson 17 (Final), 24 (SF) BLRC 1980 Andersson 10 (4th=) 1981 Andersson 5 (12th=), Morton 13 (2nd) 1982 Andersson 8 (7th), Morton 6 (10th=) 1983 Andersson 7 (11th=), Morton 5 (12th) 1984 Andersson 6 (9th=), Morton 13 (1st) 1985 Andersson 5 (10th=), Morton 12 (3rd) 1986 Andersson 11 (4th=), Morton 11 (4th=) 1987 Andersson 10 (5th), Morton 13 (2nd) 1988 Andersson 5 (10th=), Morton 12 (4th=) Swedish Championship - Andersson 1980 13 (1st) 1981 15 (1st) 1982 12 (3rd) 1983 14 (2nd) 1984 14 (1st) 1985 11 (3rd) 1986 13 (2nd) 1987 13 (2nd) 1988 (dnr) 1989 7 (9th) Swedish League Average (5 rides) - Andersson 1980 14.75 (1st - 2nd tier) 1981 14.25 (1st) - top division 1982 14.90 (1st 2nd tier) 1983 14.06 (1st) - top division 1984 15.00 (1st) 1985 14.83 (1st) 1986 14.55 (1st) 1987 13.62 (1st) 1988 13.49 (1st) 1989 12.85 (3rd) British League Averages 1980 Andersson 10.08, Morton 10.09 1981 Andersson 10.02, Morton 9.75 1982 Andersson 9.96, Morton 10.18 1983 Andersson 9.47, Morton 10.30 1984 Andersson 10.05, Morton 10.31 1985 Andersson 9.43, Morton 9.77 1986 Andersson 9.34, Morton 9.34 1987 Andersson 8.99, Morton 8.92 1988 Andersson 8.93, Morton 9.01 1989 Morton 6.75

Nordin v McKinlay in the 1960s World Finals (Nordin had a slightly better record) Nordin: 1961 (3rd), 1962 (8th), 1963 (5th), 1966 (6th) McKinlay: 1960 (8th), 1961 (11th), 1962 (5th=), 1964 (9th=), 1965 (13th), 1969 (8th=) World Team Cup (Nordin averaged 6.67 and was a 4-time winner, McKinlay averaged 6.50, with no wins) Nordin: 1962 (4 - winners), 1963 (6 – winners), 1964 (10 – winners), 1965 (6 – second), 1966 (3), 1967 (11 – winners) McKinlay: 1960 (8), 1961 (4), 1964 (7), 1965 (7) National Championships (Nordin had a win and three second places, McKinlay had a second and a third)) Nordin: Swedish Championship 1962 2nd, 1963 2nd, 1965 winner, 1969 2nd McKinlay: British Final 1964 2nd, 1965 3rd Internationale: Nordin had two wins and a second place, McKinlay had a second place) Nordin: 1964 (5th), 1965 (2nd=), 1966 (winner), 1967 (winner), 1969 (8th=) McKinlay: 1962 (8th), 1963 (12th), 1964 (2nd=), 1965 (4th=), 1966 (5th=), 1968 (8th) UK league averages (excluding 1962, Nordin achieved a higher average in the majority of seasons in which they both competed in the UK) 1960 McKinlay 9.98, Nordin 6.87 1962 Nordin 11.56 (2 meetings) McKinlay 8.63 1964 Nordin 10.64 McKinlay 9.92 1966 Nordin 10.53 McKinlay 9.67 1967 Nordin 10.00 McKinlay 9.53 1969 McKinlay 7.69 Nordin 7.56 International Series between Great Britain and Sweden in which both competed 1967 Nordin scored 51 in 4 tests, McKinlay scored 16 in 3 tests

Priceless. I am so glad I saw them both at their very best.

I can be persuaded to make them 10th=

11th, although I couldn't really split Pander and McKinlay. Pander suffered two serious injuries (the first a fractured skull) which set him back, but when he was at his peak he was on a par with the very best and the 'Big 5' could have become the 'Big 6'. His World Championship ambitions were thwarted by injury and a dispute with the Danish authorities, which led to him riding on a British licence.

An assessment of the top 10 riders for each decade, based on achievements in match races, individual and team events, and taking into account how well they performed head-to-head against their biggest rivals. Some of the lower ranked riders who had an exceptional season or two in a decade also had some years where their achievements were modest compared to their rivals. 1930s: 1. Jack Parker 2. Eric Langton 3. Vic Huxley 4. Jack Milne 5. Cordy Milne 6. Tom Farndon 7. Bluey Wilkinson 8. Lionel Van Praag 9. Wilbur Lamoreaux 10. Jack Ormston 1940s: 1. Vic Duggan 2. Jack Parker 3. Tommy Price 4. Norman Parker 5. Ron Johnson 6. Alec Statham 7. Bill Kitchen 8. Eric Chitty 9. Wilbur Lamoreaux 10. Bill Longley 1950s: 1. Jack Young 2. Ove Fundin 3. Ronnie Moore 4. Barry Briggs 5. Peter Craven 6. Brian Crutcher 7. Freddie Williams 8. Aub Lawson 9. Olle Nygren 10. Split Waterman 1960s: 1. Ove Fundin 2. Barry Briggs 3. Bjorn Knutson 4. Ivan Mauger 5. Ronnie Moore 6. Peter Craven 7. Gote Nordin 8. Igor Plechanov 9. Nigel Boocock 10. Arne Pander 1970s: 1. Ivan Mauger, 2. Ole Olsen, 3. Anders Michanek 4. Peter Collins 5. Phil Crump 6. Barry Briggs 7. Ray Wilson 8. Martin Ashby 9. Malcolm Simmons 10. John Louis 1980s: 1. Hans Nielsen 2. Erik Gundersen 3. Bruce Penhall 4. Kenny Carter 5. Michael Lee 6. Tommy Knudsen 7. Jan Andersson 8. Phil Crump 9. Simon Wigg 10. Billy Sanders 1990s: 1. Tony Rickardsson 2. Hans Nielsen 3. Sam Ermolenko 4. Greg Hancock 5. Billy Hamill 6. Per Jonsson 7. Chris Louis 8. Mark Loram 9. Jimmy Nilsen 10. Henrik Gustafsson 2000s: 1. Jason Crump 2. Tony Rickardsson 3. Nicki Pedersen 4. Leigh Adams 5. Greg Hancock 6. Tomasz Gollob 7. Mark Loram 8. Andreas Jonsson 9. Hans Andersen 10. Ryan Sullivan 2010s: 1. Greg Hancock 2. Tai Woffinden 3. Bartosz Zmarzlik 4. Tomasz Gollob 5. Nicki Pedersen 6. Emil Sayfutdinov 7. Jason Doyle 8. Jaroslaw Hampel 9. Chris Holder 10. Fredrik Lingdgren

I know that it was mid-60s, but I have no precise date. Bob was a fully-fledged New Zealander by the time he won the World Pairs with Mauger in 1969.

Bob emigrated to New Zealand but came back to the UK for 5 seasons between 1968 and 1972, spending 4 with Cradley Heath and one with Hackney. I don't think he had become a New Zealander when he returned for a season with Wolverhampton in 1965.

It was Great Britain, not England, although there were two Englishmen in the team (Nigel Boocock and How). Two Scots (George Hunter and Ken McKinlay) an Australian (Charlie Monk) and a New Zealander (Barry Briggs) completed the 'home' team. Two other Englishmen were reserves (Trevor Hedge and Reg Luckhurst, both of Wimbledon) and they shared How's rides after he was injured.

Having watched all of them most weeks during their attachment to Wolverhampton, my view is that during their time with the club Olsen was by far the best rider of the three. Spectators expected him to win every time he came to the tapes and he rarely lost to anyone other than a high ranking opponent, especially at Monmore Green. Nielsen was on a steep learning curve for the first two of his four seasons with the club and although a high scorer in his last two seasons he was still well below the dominating level that he reached after moving to Oxford via Birmingham. Hans was not as adept at the art of team riding in those early stages in his league career as he later became. He left for Birmingham in 1981 when Wolverhampton dropped down for an ill-fated season in the National League. Sam was phenomenal at times at Monmore but he was sometimes erratic and prone to on-track errors which were rarely seen from the other two. I would still place Sam marginally ahead of Hans during their Wolverhampton years. In addition to the seasons referred to in an earlier post by Iris, Ermolenko also rode for Wolverhampton in 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2004, by which time he was well past his peak. My opinion only relates to their time spent with Wolverhampton and not their overall careers.

Many years ago I was told that the Chiswick training track was on waste ground on the south side of the river, off Mortlake Road and close to Mortlake Cemetery. Described by a rider who trained there as being 'more like the size of a cycle speedway track' - he never said it was a cycle speedway track. In fact, the training track was about twice the size of a cycle speedway track. From the details I was given it seemed that the training track was on the land now occupied by Townmead Recycling Centre in Townmead Road. Chiswick Comets had a cycle speedway track at Riversdale Drive, on the north side of the river, from 1951 to 1956.