Celticman

At Wimbledon Peter was regarded as being the equal of Don How, but did lack his aggression.

I have never forgotten what a great rider he was and that spectacular riding style of his.

I am not sure I would classify Ronnie as a no nonsense rider. Having seen him many times I would describe his style as a classically smooth rider. He gated fast and might have been the best ever at hugging the white line.

I always enjoyed Maido's style of riding. He was always second tier on those great Dons teams back then. BTW one of the first string greats for the Dons back then that is often not mentioned was Peter Moore

Curiosity is eternal

Split might have been Speedway's most colorful character ever. Thoughts?

Peter's way of riding was pure spectacle

What were the advantages of the newer engines over the JAPs?

There was a lot to report on, Split led a colourful life !! In 1967 he was arrested at Newhaven while attempting to board a ferry to Dieppe, after gold with a value of £10,000 was found in the chassis of his fiancée Avril Priston's car. A subsequent raid at Priston's family home in Bedfordshire found illegal firearms. Waterman was convicted in March 1968 of attempting to smuggle gold out of Britain, as well as unlawful possession of firearms including two sub-machine guns, two rifles, and three pistols, and possession of dies for forging coins, and sentenced to four years in prison. The gold was thought to have come from a bullion van robbery in Clerkenwell. Priston was convicted of conspiracy to smuggle gold and possession of two pistols and a pen gun, and was sentenced to six months in prison. Also in 1968, Waterman was implicated in the case against the Kray twins and two other men, who were charged with conspiring to murder George Karuana; Eugene Elvey, a witness in the case, claimed that Waterman provided a 'hypodermic briefcase' and poison as the means of committing the murder. Waterman married Avril on 15 September 1970 at Caxton Hall in London, and they later lived in Nerja, Costa del Sol, Spain. In 1977, Waterman was imprisoned in Italy after being convicted of possession of forged Spanish pesetas with a value equivalent to £500,000, as part of a plot to bring down the government of Francisco Franco.

Squire Francis Waterman (27 July 1923 – 8 October 2019) [1], better known as Split Waterman, was an English speedway rider who twice finished second in the Speedway World Championship final. Waterman took up speedway while serving in the British Army in Italy and went on to become one of the top riders of the post-war era. He made the headlines again in the late 1960s when he was convicted of gold smuggling and firearms offences Waterman applied to join the Royal Air Force when World War II broke out but was unable to join as his job as a toolmaker was classed as a reserved occupation. He joined the Local Defense Volunteers (the Home Guard) in 1942, before joining the Royal Fusiliers, and was posted to North Africa before being involved in the Allied invasion of Italy. Shrapnel wounds that led to him being declared unfit for front line service saw him transferred to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and posted to a workshop in Pozzuoli, near Naples. Waterman acted as a dispatch rider, and motorcycle racing events became a regular occurrence, and Waterman was involved in building a speedway track at Vomero Stadium. He became a proficient racer on his adapted BSA M20 bike, and it was from speedway racing that Waterman gained his nickname; After falling in a race he split his racing leathers down the back, after which his colleagues referred to him as "split arse", which was later shortened to "split".

Yes he did have a brush cut. I used to be a junior for Fulham and I was running some laps around the Aboyne park soccer pitches (off Garrat Lane) when Gerry, Cyril Maidment and a few other riders showed up for a kick around. They invited me to join in which was great as I was a Wimbledon fan.

I saw most of the Poles ride back then and remember them well. the problem they faced if they had longer UK careers would have been trying to win the World Championship against the likes of Fundin, Moore, Craven, Briggs etc who were so very dominant.

Ron How became a publican

I used to get the Tiger, Eagle and Beano..... childhood memories!

1. Ronnie Moore 2. Ove Fundin 3. Tom Farndon 4. Barry Briggs 5. Ivan Mauger 6. Peter Craven 7. Freddie Williams

I think that in his early days Ronnie Moore rode the wall of death

I was a Wimbledon supporter so I saw Ron many times. A great rider and dogged competitor I got his autograph when I was a kid.

I saw Peter race many times and thought that he was one of the greatest ever

Correct, thanks

revised link http://www.canadianspeedway.com/index.html

Hofmeister was 3 time world long track champion, he retired early at 29

Mary Bignal-Rand was England's greatest ever female track and field athlete. She won multiple Olympic medals including gold and set world records in the long and triple jump, the latter record lasting 22 years. She was known as the Golden Girl for her success and blonde good looks. I used to compete at discus and shot put and met her at an indoor meet. She was a knockout looks and personality wise

John Prestwich, an engineer, commenced manufacture of scientific instruments in 1895, when he was 20, initially behind his father's house at 1 Lansdowne Road, Tottenham, London. By 1911 he had moved to new premises in Tariff Road, within the Northumberland Park area of Tottenham, London, and which still exists as of 2015. Prestwich was initially best known for his cinematography cameras and projectors. He worked with S.Z. de Ferranti and later the cinema pioneer William Friese-Greene. In about 1902 J.A.Prestwich and Company started the manufacture of motorcycle engines which were used in many famous motorcycle marques. The motorcycle engines were associated with racing and record success and were still used in speedway bikes well into the 1960s. Prestwich also made some engines for aeroplanes. In 1919 Prestwich formed Pencils Limited to exploit his invention of new machinery and the company made Master Pencils, also in Tariff Road. In the nineteen thirties engine production increasingly focused on small industrial and agricultural engines. During WWII Prestwich produced around 240,000 industrial petrol engines in support of the war effort, together with millions of aircraft parts, fuses, etc. In 1951 the assets of J.A.Prestwich and Company Limited and Pencils Ltd were taken over by J.A.Prestwich Industries Limited which was registered on 23 April 1951 and floated on the London Stock Exchange shortly after. By 1957 practically all the shares in the company had been acquired by Villiers Engineering Company Limited of Wolverhampton, which also made motorcycle and industrial engines. The engineering works in Northumberland Park closed in 1963 and J.A.Prestwich Industries Limited was liquidated in 1964.

That is why his battles with Ron How were great. Same hard approach