Ian

I never visited the Shay, but I have often wonedered whether the legendary banking there was anything like that at Coatbridge. Coatbridge had bends which were the closest speedway ever got to the Wall of Death. I don't know what the difference in elevation was from the white line to the fence at the apex of each bend, but it has to have been a long way over six feet. Maybe as much as twelve feet.

I always enjoyed watching Zenon Plech race. I've always wondered why he didn't go further in the sport - did he pack it in early?

Thanks for the photos Jim. Does anybody fancy starting a campaign to bring back the old black leathers? To me, they always seemed a bit more business-like than the fashion-statement gear that riders wear nowadays.

Does anyone else remember when that fabulous Russian international side toured the UK in the mid-sixties? I saw them ride in Edinburgh (I think it was 1964, but it could have been 1965). It was a memorable experience, largely because they looked so different to the home riders. For a start, they all rode ESO machines, at a time when the Brits were all on JAPs. They had clip-on handlebars, which we had never seen before. They wore two-piece leathers. The team included, from memory, Igor Plechanov (a man with a constant smile and enormous speedway talent), Gab Kadirov, Gennady Kurilenko, Yuri Chekranov, Viktor Trofimov and, perhaps the hardest man in speedway at that time, Boris Samorodov. At that time nobody ever went to Russia - certainly it was about fifteen years more before I did. The Russian team manager was invited to introduce his team to the crowd, which he did in a very formal way... "Mr Plechanov, Mr Samorodov etc." I suppose none of us had ever seen a Russian before, and we were all left desperately looking forward to them coming back again.

For my money Ove Fundin was the tops. Apart from being a fabulously consistent rider - his record speaks for itself - he was an awesome opponent when behind. In addition, the man had an aura - when Fundin came to the tapes you always had the feeling that something special was about to happen, and it often did. I was also lucky enough to see Moore, Briggs, Craven and Mauger at their best. I was entirely neutral, not having been a fan of any of the old National League sides. My neutral assessment was that Moore was the smoothest, Briggs the most all-action, Craven the most spectacular and Mauger the most professional. But Fundin was something else; difficult to define, but he was one-of-a-kind. I don't know how many fans were added to the gate when Ivan Mauger came visiting, but I'd bet it was a fraction of what Ove could pull in. One of my big regrets is that I never saw him perform the magic at Norfolk - it must have been something else!

I was working in the City at the time and was also out for lunch when I saw it on an Evening Standard billboard. It was probably the first time (and certainly the last) that I bought an Evening Standard. It's hard to believe it was a third of a century ago.

A bit off topic, but there's something which will interest Norbold (and Shazzybird) on Speedway Plus at the moment. It's a sad topic, but well worth a read.

And I thought he was talking about Charlie Brown!

Whatever Reidar's reputation as a hard bargainer might have been, he was idolised by the crowd at Meadowbank, as you'll remember, IanH. One day in 1970 I picked Reidar up from a car crash on the M1 near Watford, and drove him to Wolverhampton and back. On the return journey I asked him why he had been messing about so much at the tapes. "Well", he said, "I knew if I fiddled aboot for long enough Olsen would break the tapes!" He had hundreds of stories to tell, all of them in a bizarre Norwegian/Scots accent, from before his speedway days when he was all over the world in the merchant navy. I found him to be a lovely bloke, and a larger-than-life character. From recollection, Reidar was about 25 when he first came over here. Remember him with the old two-piece leathers and "Russian-type" twin handlebars? I have always thought that had he arrived four or five years earlier he would have gone even further in speedway. Sorry to hijack a thread about the great Sverre Harrfeldt. Maybe we need a Reidar Eide thread too.

Sverre was a wonderful rider. He seemed to have it all - enormous talent, good looks and all the rest of it. He was also a very fast and spectacular rider. Here's a memory for you, CHK. It comes from right at the end of his career, when he'd just spent his last season with Wembley. He'd come back from horrendous injuries, and although he was probably never going to hit the top again, he certainly could hold down a heat leader berth in the top league. Anyway, what I remember is the plaque which was presented to him at his last-ever meeting by his Wembley team mates. It read : "The record shows He took the blows And did it his way". I reckon that just about summed Sverre up. In terms of speedway in the 1960s, he was the first of the great Norwegians. He was followed by the likes of the late Reidar Eide (what a character he was - I'd pay a huge sum of money just to see him race one more time), Dag Lovaas and the rest. But Sverre Harrfeldt was without doubt head and shoulders above them all at the height of his career. Incidentally, does anyone know what he's doing now?

My recollection is that Bruce (he was a Kiwi) joined Glasgow White City when they reopened in 1964, having just arrived in the country with another Aussie, Joe Hicks. He was there for a couple of seasons, but didn't pull up too many trees. I remember him as a very long-legged rider with a style which seemed awkward. I don't know what happened to him after that - I always assumed he went home.

Flippin 'eck - ME too! Could have had a forum (er, IF it had been invented!) convention that night! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Me too! Jessup at the time looked tiny, and Thomas tall and skinny. At least that's how I remember it. One of you will know the answer to this - which year was it? 1970 or 1971? And which year did Tony Clarke burst onto the West Ham scene? Just a thought - a worrying thought. It may very well be that the number of forum members who were at West Ham that night all those years ago is greater than the attendance at some CL matches these days!

I'm sorry to hear this too. I remember Jimmy riding for Plymouth in 1962 - I think he was over 50 then. He was a big draw at Meadowbank. Funny the things you remember, though. I think he was one of only two bearded riders in the league - Wolverhampton's Tommy Sweetman was the other. I also recall that he was from Cadnam, in the New Forest. RIP Jimmy.

That was a superb West Ham team, Norbold. I saw them that year at Meadowbank. Apart from the tremendous talen of Hurri-Ken and the spectacle of Harrfeldt (whose brother, Henry, was riding for Monarchs around then) we were treated to a spectacular wind-up performace from Big Dave Lanning - he of "high wide and handsome" fame! Add to that the inevitable centre-green responses from Ian Hoskins and you had not only a cracking match, but a great show as well. Do you think we'll ever get back to these days?

A gentleman he may have been, but Gote was one of the hardest riders around when he rode for Wembley. When he went for the white line, woe betide anyone ese who fancied being there! I also have one memory of him as a visitor to Old Meadowbank. He was driving a large Mercedes with a very loud horn that played "Colonel Bogey"!

I think in the 50s and 60s there was a speedway football team with players from several tracks, and that they use to play for charity. I think that the captain was Wimbledon's Ron Howe, but no doubt Norbold will correct me on that!

Ewan, there is one absolutely classic picture of George Hunter which was taken in about 1961 at Meadowbank. I hasten to add that I don't have a copy, but if you ask around at Armadale someone is bound to have it. The photo shows George battling it out with Clive Featherby of Sheffield, and shows the almost lost art of lying across your oponent's bike while he tries to pick your nose with his elbow! I didn't start going to speedway until 1962, so I can't say whether they both actually finished the race. I guess I haven't seen that photo in some forty years, but it's the one above all others that stands out in my memory.

Just as a matter of interest, Norbold, what is the origin of the New Cross bodycolour? I think it's a Maltese Cross, but I can't see why they would particularly use that. Or was the Malteser factory dahn the Old Kent Road?

I think you'll find that Montivideo harbour is at the mouth of the River Plate in Uruguy. This was the scene of the sinking of the German pocket battleship "Graf Spee", at the Battle of the River Plate.

Dick, Jim Henry's one of the good guys. I have a copy of his "Speedway in Scotland", which I keep on my boat. It always makes a long voyage go much faster.

Ian, I have been asked by Jim Henry, editor of Speedway Researcher and Scottish Speedway Historian if you have the official Sherrif Court records of the inquest as they no longer exist and he is researching in to the events of that night. Incidentally, he was also there and agrees that Peter Craven started off scratch. Sorry, Norbold, but I did have a search for these without success. I guess they were destroyed years ago, but who knows. As I mentioned earlier, however, I did attend the inquest all those years ago. I expect to be at Armadale early this year and I'll try to contact Jim Henry then with a view to telling him what I can remember. This has beeen a really interesting thread. Just such a shame it has to be about an awful tragedy.

Yes, it certainly looks like this is settled once and for all. I'm grateful to everone who contributed to this thread. John Gibson, by the way, was the Edinburgh Evening News reporter who covered all of the meetings at Meadowbank, and also in the Speedway Star under the name of "Jock Anderson". Dick Distardly should take some considerable comfort from the fact that, as everone knows, Peter was doing what he did best - lining himself up for an attempt at a spectacular overtake - when the tragedy happened.

Or maybe even Slant Payling!

Is the local paper always this interesting, Lunchy? When I'm in Oz I read the Australian, Sydney Morning Herald and Brisbane Courier. Sometimes I get to read the Melbourne Age as well. What I hadn't really appreciated is just how much is going on in places like Undera, given that the report of a meeting being rained off appears to have been limited to less than a full page! I guess Undera really buzzes on a Saturday night, eh? I say that advisedly, as one who has visited (and survived) both Townsville and Rockhampton.

What's the punchline, Norbold?