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This is John Chaplin's reply: "As far as I know, Louis Lawson's name was Louis Lawson. I think there was a myth years ago that Louis Lawson was not his real name, but I interviewed him and there was never any suggestion that he was called anything else."

Just had this response from John Chaplin: "As far as I know, Louis Lawson's name was Louis Lawson. I think there was a myth years ago that Louis Lawson was not his real name, but I interviewed him and there was never any suggestion that he was called anything else."

I don't recall it. I'll ask John Chaplin who wrote the obituary in the Speedway Star.

That's ok. And thank you for correcting me over Harry Rogers riding for the Daggers as well.

Dagenham re-opened on 9 October 1938. Morian Hansen took over microphone duties for the night while Stan Greatrex and Ernie Evans were pit marshalls. On 16 October Dagenham raced West Ham Hawks. The season ended on 6 November.

Harry Rogers, who was indeed a local youngster, died on 19 May during a special evening meeting (Dagenham normally raced in the afternoon). I think it unlikely he would actually have been in the Dagnenham team. At the time he died the Daggers had only ridden two league matches. I don't know about David Jackson

I think it probably is because the article does mention that he is "now at Southampton" Yes, it does seem a bit surprising he was left out, especially as he did come second in the 1936 Silver Cup. I believe he was the only ever-present in Yarmouth's team in 1948 as well. Yes, and Challis too. I'm not sure if he rode for Dagenham in 1938. He certainly rode for them in 1936 (in friendlies).

I'm not sure if he rode in the league in 1938. In 1936 however, Arthur Warwick set up a training school at Dagenham and instituted a Silver Cup for the best novice of the season. This was raced for every week with points being accumulated each week. Roy Duke came second to Frank Hodgson in this. In 1939, the Speedway News published a list of riders who had been "discovered" at Dagenham. He does not feature on that list, which was: Frank Hodgson, Doug Wells, Jim Baylais, Nobby Stock, Malcolm Craven, Alan Smith, Eric French, Dick Harris, Crusty Pye, Dick Geary, Aussie Powell, Ernie Pawson, Fred Tuck, Jim Boyd, Alf Kain, Benny King, Alex Gray and George Craig.

Rye House entered the league late in the season and Dagenham/Romford withdrew when Dagenham shut down for a while towards the end of the season. Dagenham's closure was the main reason the league was never completed.

The full results of the league (after extensive research at the Newspaper Library, Colindale) are as follows: Dagenham 39 Eastbourne 44 Dagenham 39 Easbourne 43 Dagenham 44 Romford 39 Dagenham 56 Romford 26 Dagenham 26 Rye House 56 Dagenham 49 Smallford 33 Eastbourne 57 Dagenham 27 Eastbourne 44 Dagenham 39 Eastbourne 53 Romford 23 Eastbourne 56 Rye House 27 Eastbourne 46 Rye House 34 Eastbourne 55 Smallford 28 Eastbourne 51 Smallford 32 Romford 40 Dagenham 43 Romford 46 Eastbourne 33 Romford 26 Rye House 56 Romford 40 Smallford 42 Rye House 29 Eastbourne 52 Rye House 44 Smallford 39 Smallford 55 Eastbourne 27 Smallford 51 Rye House 33 The rest of the matches were not run and the league was never completed. Dagenham's leading riders in the league were Frank Hodgson (captain), Jim Baylais, Crusty Pye and Nobby Stock. Jack Tidbury was Romford' star rider. The Smallford team was Doug Wells (captain), Archie Windmill, Ken Tidbury, Percy Brine, Dick Geary, Charlie Appleby, Steve Bullivant, Harry Bower, Bob Wells and Cyril Brine.

Many supporters of the International Brigade were not card carrying communists or even communist sympathisers as such, they were ordinary decent people who saw how evil Hitler and the Nazis were and knew that it was time to take a stand against them. (Something apparently neither you nor Fay Taylour do (did).) The Spanish Civil War gave them that opportunity. This was especially true of the Jewish community who could see what was happening in Germany and what would happen elsewhere if the Nazis succeeded. You didn't need to be a Communist Jew to know what would happen to you. Are you suggesting that all the people who opposed Mosley at Cable Street for example were Communists?

You may be right. I was merely pointing out that none of the websites you referred Parsloes too advanced your argument at all.

From wikipedia: "But there was a dark side to her life. In the late 1930s,she became enamoured of the extreme right-wing political beliefs of Sir Oswald Mosley, the British fascist leader. Mosley and his second wife, Diana Mitford Guinness,were interned in Britain between 1940 and 1943, as a danger to the state, and Taylour suffered a similar fate. Amazingly, when she resumed her racing career after the war, this unsavoury episode was airbrushed out of all her publicity. The file on her in the Alexandra College library has many cuttings about her from all over the world, but nowhere is there a mention of the trouble that her extreme right-wing political beliefs got her into." I'm not sure how you think that will change Parsloes' view...? As for the other websites you mention they seem to confirm what Wikipedia says and that her unsavoury Nazi past has been airbrushed from history apart from this one: http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2006/0.../story12162.asp which doesn't say anything at all.

Yes, but obviously not as a speedway rider.

You may be right, WW. I'm not sure, but I have no record of him taking part in the results I have from that first meeting.

Not yet. Speedway Star are waiting for the copy from the Museum and then they will put it in. Hopefully within the next few weeks.

Did he?

Ron started in 1927 in Australia. He certainly did not have an unbroken run. It was broken several times.

Although I knew about both Clem Beckett and Fay Taylour's politics, that thought hadn't occurred to me, Ian. I must look that up.

Yes. It's going to be an indoor arena as Sean says.

Yarmouth speedway was in Great Yarmouth at Yarmouth Stadium on Caister Road.

According to Ron's mini-autobiography, he says, "I am a Scot by birth. In fact the folks are Scottish through and through, and descended from good old farming stock. Dad was working on a farm when I was born...The place - near Glasgow. I was an only child. I went to school at Paisley....When I was six we emigrated to Western Australia..."

Yes, Ron must be the classic example. He also tried a comeback in 1963 at New Cross when he rode in a second half match race against Phil Bishop!

Yes, that's the meeting I saw him in. As you say, very sad. Can you imagine Ron Johnson giving 10 yards to Jimmy Chalkley in his prime!?

Indeed. One of those frequently mentioned in "Greatest rider never to reach a World Final" type threads.