norbold

I have just heard from my good friend, man in black, Terry Stone, who tells me the first annual get-together at High Beech was in 1992. So I am prepared now to correct the speaker in case he makes a mistake in his speech.

A question. This year will see the 95th anniversary of the first meeting at High Beech. A special lunch is being held by the WSRA on 19 February to celebrate this event, with, I understand, an excellent guest speaker. Because it is a special anniversary, this year's celebration is being held at the original home, King's Oak. Since 2009, the annual celebration has been held at Paradise Wildlife Park, site of the Speedway Museum. Prior to that it was held at the King's Oak and organised by John Chaplin and Peter Lipscomb under their "Vintage Speedway Magazine" banner. The question is, does anyone know when John and Peter first organised the annual event? In which year?

469 at the home fixture against Luton Town on Saturday 6th December 1930.

Done my bit, though we didn't get off to a good start! The presenter of the programme, Steve Scruton, rang me on Wednesday to ask me if I could take part in the programme. He said the only track he knew about was Rayleigh and asked me if I ever went there. I told him that I only went there once or twice. So, he started off the interview with me this morning by saying he understood I was a regular at Rayleigh and must have lots of memories of the place that I could talk about. Doh!!!

The tracks I have on my list to talk about are High Beech, Dagenham, West Ham, Rayleigh, Walthamstow, Lea Bridge and Arena Essex/Lakeside. Romford is a bit of a funny one because it was in Essex until 1965 but, there was no speedway there until 1969, by which time it was in London! Although there was a team called Romford before the War which operated from the Dagenham track. The researcher I spoke to, thought I also ought to mention Rye House as it is very close to Essex and a lot of Essexians (or whatever we are called) would have gone there.

Tomorrow morning (10 December), starting at 10 a.m., BBC Essex will be broadcasting a programme about lost Essex sports stadiums. As part of this, at about 10:30, I am being interviewed about the lost speedway tracks of Essex. It is a phone-in programme, so it would be good if any of you could phone in with memories of speedway in Essex.

Yes, but don't mention it too loudly as we will probably get a string of posts about Jimmy Gibb from someone.....

Better than me. I only managed runner-up at Pontin's, Isle of Wight in 1992!

Without giving too much away, I am older and still play competitive table tennis. My team captain is 84! Must be an old boys' game.

Absolutely well worth it. Both the Museum and the Wildlife Park are worth a visit on their own, let alone getting to see both.

He was just as good as always.

Yes, I had a chat with him at the West Ham reunion this year. Always good to talk to.

The Funeral Service for Gavin will take place at Breckland Crematorium (Norwich Rd, Norwich, NR9 4NR) on Wednesday 16th November 2022 at 12pm. Attendance welcome. Family flowers only however donations in memory of Gavin to benefit The Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund are most welcome. If you wish to donate, please do so through the Ivan Fisher Funeral Home website – Make a Donation.

Incidentally, I once wrote a short story about a group of superheroes called The Pengers. It was published in a magazine called Comics Unlimited. I can't remember now if Gustix or Speedyguy or even Jack Keen featured. There was a follow-up which sadly remains unpublished to this day.

Oh no, what will we do without him?

Not sure, but I think there was one rider from the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Any HISTORICAL information on speedway in the United Kingdom please.

I believe there was speedway in Poland back in the 1950s. I think some New Zealanders went out there to race.

Wow! Thanks for that really helpful answer, John. I don't think that would ever have entered my mind.

Thank you, John, very interesting. Have you any idea why they went to the Turks and Caicos Islands?

Any HISTORICAL information on speedway in TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS please?

Very sad news from Tony Hurren (Hawkeye): GAVIN HEDGE It is with the deepest regret and sadness that I have been asked by Pam and Trevor Hedge to inform the speedway fraternity that their son Gavin passed away early this morning (Thursday) after a nine-monh battle against illness. He was 51. Gavin followed in his father's footsteps as a speedway rider and had spells with Oxford, Skegness, Isle of Wight, Peterborough, Arena-Essex, Glasgow, Reading, Mildenhall and Wimbledon. After finishing his speedway career he began his involvement in the Trevor Hedge Racing business, where he launched his own motor cycle business concentrating on tuning and repairing road bikes. Pam and Trevor request that people respect their privacy at this early time of grieving. Gavin is survived by his parents, fiancee Emma, sister Tracy, nephew Kenzie and other family members.

He has "liked" it.

I can't vouch for the veracity of the following, but one of our posters once put this on the Speedway Forum. I hope it helps. "Speedways (sic) been tried many times in Spain and failed. A group of Spanish riders even toured the UK in the early 1930s. Post-war there was speedway in Madrid in the late 1940s, and other attempts with teams led by former England international Ted Gibson in 1949 and 1953. There was also another attempt by Wally Mawdsley to promote a track in Madrid in the 1980s. Mainly from what I understand the Spaniards don't like speedway because there are not enough riders in a race and the races are not long enough. I was told this by Spanish family in-laws who went to the1980s meetings in Madrid. As a contrast, Flat Track offers longer races (more laps) and more riders - and that formula is developing quite well. In fact, an indoor track in Barcelona has staged a major Flat Track event several times in recent years and plans are already going ahead for the next event towards the end of this year. I understand there is a 400m track in San Sebastian, Northern Spain, which has hosted international Flat track racing. It could be a venue to consider for a possible one-off speedway meeting to AGAIN test Spanish interest? An interesting starter in the 2016 Flat Track event at San Sebastian was German rider Karl Maier who once rode on speedway for Birmingham. To try and stage a Speeday GP in Spain would generate no interest. The Spanish do not like the sport as very early Posts in this thread indicated before Flat Track commentary took over. From what I understand the Spaniards don't like speedway because there are not enough riders in a race and the races are not long enough. I was told this by Spanish family in-laws who went to the1980s meetings in Madrid. As a contrast, Flat Track offers longer races (more laps) and more riders - and that formula is developing quite well. In fact, an indoor track in Barcelona has staged a major Flat Track event several times in recent years and plans are already going ahead for the next event towards the end of this year. The last active Spanish rider I can trace is Alberto Sirvan, who rode for several seasons in France in the mid-1950s."

Did you get permission from Keith Forun to use this?