Ian

Let's not forget the speedway historian of the day, Cyril May. I'm sure he was a lovely guy and knew his subject inside out, but you had to have a very high boredom threshhold to read his articles from start to finish.

The New Zealand Post Office have just brought out a new set of stamps to commemorate the Kiwi world motorsport champions. And guess who's there? http://stamps.nzpost.co.nz/Cultures/en-NZ/...orldMotorsport/ I doubt whether this will result in a huge boost for attendances at speedway tracks, but it's good to see one of our guys getting the recognition he undoubtedly deserves.

I don't think so either. Surely Crystal Palace was a pre-was track only?

I'm not quite sure why the EL "has to be made the most attractive league to be in". Either it is or it isn't, and I'd suggest that right now it isn't. Why on earth should PL teams be obliged to move into a leage they don't want to be in just because the EL has got itself into a mess? There was something else that happened after the amalgamation in 1965 which no one has reffered to yet. The "star" riders were supposed to be shared around evenly between all competing tracks - I think there were eightee tracks. The former National League tracks were reluctant to release riders though. I'd imagine the same thing would happen again, and we'd be back into the old system of "rider control".

I don't remember all the details, but this is more or less what happened. Wolverhampton won the Provincial League in 1963 and the Speedway Control Board tried to force them to move up to the National League (which was down to six teams). In 1964 the Provincial League ran "black" - outside of any control, other than its own.The ACU (or maybe it was even the RAC) appointed Lord Shawcross to chair an enquiry; that enquiry found that the SCB had acted unlawfully. The recommendation of the report was for a restructuring of the SCB and a combined league. The way things stand now as we enter 2009 I'm waiting to see how long it is before history repeats itself, at least in part.

It wasn't even a racing accident, star ghost. It was an engine failure.

I'll go along with 1965 as being right up there alongside the best. And that was a great West Ham team, Norbold. Two other seasons stand out in my memory though. 2003 and 2008 - the two years Monarchs won the league. Of the two, 2008 was the more satisfactory, because we won damn nearly everything else there was to win too.

It was not only a great year from the entertainment point of view Bob, but also because it was the genesis of a reorganisation that would see British speedway safely through the next thirty years or so. The top tier from 1964, the National League, was dead on its feet. By combining with the growing Provincial League to form the new British League speedway suddenly looked in a much healthier state. I have to wonder just how long it will be before we see history repeat itself. I suspect that's inevitable.

It most certainly was a very large crowd, Bob. And it seemed all the larger because of the nature of the Belle Vue stadium. My recollection is that there were so many stands around the track that the atmosphere and noise was kept inside, which added to the sense of occasion. I don't remember Ivor Brown getting the biggest boos of the night, but I wouldn't be surprised. Another rider on display with a "hard man" reputation was Clive Featherby from Sheffield. Incidentally, that meeting was an early indication of Mauger's potential. Bear in mind that this was his first season in Britain (discounting his failed attempt to make it a few years earlier with Wimbledon). Ivan Mauger and George Hunter went on two years later to become two of the biggest ex-Provincial League stars to make it big in the new British League. One further point. This meeting was staged just about two weeks (I think) after George's involvement in the crash that claimed the life of Peter Craven, and arguably affected him for the rest of his career. To have done so well in this meeting speaks volumes about George's talent.

I was, Bobbath, and it was my first visit to Belle Vue. It was an astonishing meeting. A new meeting format had been devised by the Speedway Star columnist, Eric Linden, and it all went badly wrong. If I remember the issue was something along the lines of five riders finishing on equal points, and nobody seemed to know how the final should be organised. Doug Templeton led a sit-down strike by the riders at the starting gate. The final was won by Mauger after an astonishing stroke of luck. George Hunter, who had been plagued by engine troubles in his first two races (but still managed to qualify after some tremendous overtaking moves from miles behind) led Mauger until his engined failed. It was perhaps George's finest ever performance, and a night of high drama.

Insofar as someone's name can tell you whether they're Jewish or not, I'd think that Lionel Levy was a very likely possibility. He rode for what seemed like several centuries at Sydney, but I can't recall whether he ever made it to the UK.

Just a matter of common decency. Nothing more.

Let me first of all congratulate you on raising money for the Benevolent Fund - a worthy cause. I can't see there's anything benelovent about starting to list ex-riders who have had problems of this type though. I hope no one else adds to it.

Since many of thes replies are not only about tracks but about specific riders on those tracks, I'd like to add another. Jack Young at Meadowbank must have been something else.

I'll go along with Fundin at Norwich - that must have been something to see. Then there would be Craven at Belle Vue. I did see Ronnie Moore at Wimbledon, but he was a bit past his best by then.

Has anyone spotted the mechanic wearing a tie? Can you imagine that now?

No, I can't help you there tmc. But I can tell you that with the volume of data he collects he must have the world record collection of fag packets to store it on. Seriously though, are we all going to see an end-product from all this research? If so, when?

This website give you a bit more info about Lex. http://www.carstunts.co.uk/gallery.htm

Sorry Iris, I can't remember the whole story but..... Lex Milloy I think became a successful stuntman in Hollywood. Other than that, the only thing I remember from seeing him ride is that he had a highly-painted bike.

Well of course we had proper protests in those days. Who could ever forget the sit-down strike at the 1963 Provincial League Riders Championship?

I can't be certain about 1967 Grachan, but I can tell you that in the old Provincial Leage (1960-64, RIP) riders were fined the princely sum of £1 for breaking the tapes. I remember this vividly because George Hunter was usually fined close to once per meeting, although I think the fine was usually paid for him either by Ian Hoskins or the supporters. Incidentally, the pay rates in those days were frugal. £1 per start and £1 per point. A 12-point maximum therefore earned the rider £16.

Yes, very best of luck Arnieg.

Ivan Mauger started in the 1950s - maybe 1957? He was still riding in special meetings, eg Golden Greats in the 1980s. Did he ride into the 90s?

He was also team manager that year when West Ham visited Edinburgh. He and Ian Hoskins did a tremendous double-act on the centre green winding each other up. That was in the days when speedway was infinitely more theatrical than it is now. That was a great West Ham team, incidentally. I think that was the year they had Ken McKinlay and Sverre Harrfeldt.

That's the name Ian Hoskins gave hit at Edinburgh. Older Monarchs fans will also remember for for having the biggest handlebars in speedway. I often thought it was a pity Dudley didn't stick it out a bit longer in British speedway. In his last season he was definitely showing signs of moving up a notch.