norbold

Well now, look at this way...can England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland join the United Nations in their own right?

Northern Ireland is not a "nation" it is an integral part of the United Kingdom.

I did. A great win for Ove Fundin.

I didn't go to any others because a) I was only 12 at the time of the first PR and b) I supported New Cross and then West Ham in the National League. I only took a passing interest in the PR. I went to the 1961 PR because it was at Harringay and I'd always wanted to go there as my dad and my brother used to support Harringay and go every week. By the time I was deemed old enough to go to speedway by my parents it had closed! So, I really went to see Harringay not the PR. Though it was a good meeting and as I said elsewhere on another thread, it finished in the race I still remember the most, not because of its quality, but because of how unlucky Trevor Redmond was and the great injustice of it as I felt at the time.

Happiness is 40-38...Though normally that was meant to apply the other way round!

And Stan Stevens beating Barry Briggs at West Ham.

Sounds like the name of a good book to me....

I have been inspired to start this topic by something E.I. Addio wrote and also something I wrote. E.I. mentioned how well he still remembered two races between Christer Lofqvist and Reidar Eide at West Ham in 1970 and I wrote about a race I saw at Harringay in 1961 in the Provincial Riders' Championship when Trevor Redmond unluckily lost the title in his last race because he threw a chain on the last bend. Because of the drama of the race , I can still remember the race vividly, even though it is now nearly 60 years ago! So, I was just wondering if there is one race in particular that people can still remember from years ago. It doesn't necessarily have to be the best race they ever saw (like the one in my case), but just a vivid memory.

I was at the meeting and I have just got my programme out to see if I wrote anything on it as I sometimes did if there was anything worth recording. However, the only thing I wrote was on Heat 13 where I wrote, "Christer from behind." I don't particularly remember those races like you do, E.I., but I was always very impressed by Reidar Eide at West Ham. He rode it very well and it was always a bit of a surprise to me that he never quite made it to the big time the same way Sverre did.

No, it was won by Reg Reeves. Trevor Redmond should have won as he was easily the best rider on the night. After four rides each, Redmond and Reeves both had 12 points. When they met, Redmond was well in front when his chain broke on the last bend and he finished last. He then beat Maury Mattingly in the run-off for overall second place.

That's the only one I saw as well. Trevor Redmond was desperately unlucky not to win. He was easily the best rider on the night and was well in front of Reg Reeves in their last ride when he shed his chain on the last bend.

An application to run speedway at Charlton Greyhound Stadium was made in 1938 and again in 1948. Both were turned down by the ACU. In 1965, Wally Mawdsley, Pete Lansdale and Len Silver made another attempt to enter a Charlton team in the newly formed British League again at the greyhound stadium. They signed up Denis Newton, but nothing came of it.

I don't know about Frank Arnold but Croydon Speedways Ltd applied to run speedway on its original site in 1948 and 1950. Both times the local Council turned down permission due to objections by local residents protesting about the noise.

Although I never saw speedway at Walthamstow, I knew the stadium very well. My school sports' ground was close by and the start of our route on the dreaded cross country running was to run round the stadium (outside!) before heading off for the forest...

Ah, I can beat you there as the only one I missed out on was Walthamstow. Managed to get to all the others!

No, but thanks for pointing that out. I shall have to go in and correct Wiki.

No, the rider who won the World Championship was Bjorn Knutson. However his name was often spelt wrongly with two s's for most of his career.

Bjorn Knutsson/Knutson

I doubt it very much. Just about the only passages that were accurate were the ones he lifted word for word from my Speedway in London without any thanks or acknowledgement whatsoever.

Tommy Price - one from the North who rode for Liverpool and Preston and the one born in Cambridge who rode for Wembley and won the World Championship in 1949. As totally confused by Brian Belton in his book, Hammerin' Round!

Good to hear that Barry is still around and still with his fine head of hair! Yes. The Roger in question is, of course, Bob, brother of Cyril and Bert. He only rode for New Cross for a short time in 1952&3. His two brothers rode for the Rangers for much longer.

White, Broadbank, Williams, Teodorowicz, Street, Ashby, Briggs, Adams, Kilby, Richardson, Brett, Roger, Autrey, Duke

As iris says the first period is normally the most fondly remembered I would suspect. And that is certainly true for me. New Cross 1960-61 first, then 1964-1972. Twice a week at West Ham and Hackney was normal plus frequent visits to Wimbledon and then Wembley, so as much as four times a week was certainly not out of the ordinary, not to mention the odd visit to Rye House and once to Gothenburg and Kumla! The closure of West Ham and Wembley was the beginning of my waning interest, though I still went to Hackney most weeks. But then came marriage and kids and I hardly went at all during the 80s and 90s apart from the odd visit to Ipswich after my move from London to Clacton. Though I still got Speedway Star every week and saw it on the few occasions it was on telly. My interest revived in 2001, when I agreed to write my first book on speedway and I got a bit involved again, going to Ipswich, as I still do, though not regularly like I did in my younger days. So, the answer to the question is for me, the 1960s and early 70s and feel privileged to have seen the "Big Five" at their best as well as the young up-and-coming Ivan Mauger (until he up-and came!) and riders like Jack Young, Sverre Harrfeldt, Gote Nordin, Booey, Ken McKinlay and many many others.

Igor Baranov. I saw him at New Cross when well-known showman, Johnnie Hoskins, was the promoter. I wonder if there was any connection....

I don't recall naming favourites before as opposed to the best.