SHALEWAY69

Bruce Semmens, Ashfield, Sheffield and Belle vue, was another West Country rider who was a keen flyer. He piloted Sunderlands during world war 2 with the rank of Flight Sergeant.

Aviation had a strong interest for speedway riders from the early days. former West Ham and Newcastle rider Australian Charlie Spinks gained his licence in 1930. a month later he failed to turn up for a Davies park meeting. he had crashed into the Pacific ocean off Coffs harbour while ferrying a new plane back to Brisbane. he was of course rescued and went on to ride speedway until 1950. the plane's owner was not impressed Vic Huxley, Roger Frogley, Stan Lupton and i think Reg Fearman all had licences

Sadly Chris was killed in a gyro copter crash a few years back. he had a scrap metal yard in Cornwall. I remember him at Mildenhall in the later stages of his career. can remember his strong cornish accent John Mills ex Long Eaton and Kings Lynn was killed in a similar GYRO- COPTER accident here in Queensland in 2003. Speedway aviators could be another thread ,I will start one.

I am searching for stories, information on Alec Mosely, he started out as a side car passenger at Brooklands, was team mechanic at West Ham 1936-1955. then at Ipswich. He was a piano tuner by profession !it is said that he tuned the engines in the spare bedroom of his first floor flat in the East End. Riders had to clean the engines and carry them up the stairs. Any information on the wonderful character would be welcome. Tony

For all these comments i wonder how many have actually had contact with Reg Fearman. I can only speak as I find. whatever skeletons there may be in the closet, and if we dig deep we find them with everyone, Reg has done more than a lot of his comtempories in his continuing friendships to former riders. in Australia he is well thought of. On a personal note I have found him always ready to answer questions and give advice. speedway promoting is a hard business and unless you have a view from the inside it is impossible to make a fair comment. Who knows the full details of the Poole fiasco? we do not know both sides and who are we to judge anyway. both partics have made a great contibution to speedway its a shame the differences can not be resolved Tony

I supplied the dope and oil at Crayford for many years, so I was one of the first to arrive, then Snowy would arrive on his motor cycle and park it behind my van. I guess my memories are............ the looks on the visiting riders faces went they saw Crayford track for the first time........ Thommo enjoying a beer.......... or two... after the meeting....... the humour of Peter Wigley,,,,,,,,,, the visitors who could ride the track Tom Owen in particular......Dartford Tunnel ......... but most of all the dedication of one of speedways most loyal servants, Peter Thurogood who in my book never got the thanks and consideration he so rightly deserved. Tony

According to my records Peter Moy was from Brisbane Queensland. he rode at the Brisbane Exhibition Speedway and Ipswich [qld] in 1977. Newcastle UK s/h 1978 Regards Tony brisbane

If my memory is correct Barry Etherington's father ran a speedway and motorcycle business in Whitstable called Bikes Unlimited in the early seventies. Can anyone confirm this?

Yes it is time I started attending a few meetings and got away from this computer screen. as you say Newcastle is only just down the road......I am sure to find a bed and a feed somewhere. Tony

Dave, you are correct, it was indeed June 2002 apologies Tony

Martin Cusworth 23/10/1958 Dewsbury Yorkshire Middlesboro 1976/77 Andy Cusworth Newcastle 1976

Steve," Nasty attitude" possibly was not the best title for this thread, just "Riders with attitude" would have been better. The Penhall incident was a disgrace for the credIbilty of speedway as years earlier Olle Nygren had been fined for the same thing at Wimbledon in the Internationale, but the powers to be did not reprimand Penhall as it was an FIM event ,where different rules were said to apply. I admit that the Americans , in the main were great for British speedway, however their good guy image was so high that when they did something out of character they are often remembered for that and not the good things Steve Gresham, John Cook and Bobby Schwartz all had their less popular moments

PS I Have to say I cannot find this clip on you tube now, anyone relse recall the episode

OK How about Bruce Penhalls attitude in the 1982 inter- continental final. at White City. He blatantly threw the race to allow his American team mates to qualify for the world final in america. if you watch it on Youtube he just pulls up after making the gate, and makes no attempt to race. but it his attitude in the post race interview that was really dissapointing.

are we talking of DJ's attitude or his sons? Dave was aregular customer, when I supplied the spares at Crayford, Ipswich and Hackney so I got to know him quite well. He kept himself to himself, I think a little aloof, maybe the elite Jaguar, golf clubs in the back, his neat appearance and the flask of tea and sandwiches in the pits made him the butt of jokes by other riders who did not get to know him. He certainly had a shrewd business brain and could throw a tantrum when the things were not in his favour, but who did'nt. nasty attitude , i cannot recall itwith DJ, but some of the AMERICANS WELL THATS ANOTHER THREAD!! Tony

I was speaking to Trevor Littlewood, a near neighbor here in Brisbane, and he recalled how his father Syd was a keen angler with the Norwich club almost to the extent that fishing was a priority over speedway!

Andrew I am certain that elder brother Bert and younger brother Bob have both passed away. I think that I read in Malcom Simmons book of a connection through marriage of Cyril Rogers and Malcolm. Tony

The name Bert Ivey fails to come up on any of the prewar or post war team lists. It could be he rode second halfs or for teams such as Rye house or Dagenham whose results are harder to find. ias I am Australia based i would be interested to know where he lived in Australia and maybe i can find some results here. Tony

Sorry to hear that news Andrew, I knew Mike very well from the first time he came over, he was one of my regular customers, always polite and kept good equipment a true professional. I had the idea he joined the military after speedway. Tony

Personaly I think it is Kevs business what he does with the info, for me I am glad he consistently posts sensible questions for which in the main he gets informative replies which are beneficial to us all. Keep asking the questions Kev Tony

You are correct. SOUTHAMPTON 1952 37 POINTS Joined southampton after closure of Long Eaton The story of Nottingham and Long Eaton by Phillip Dalling contains photos and references to Frank Tony

Frank Malouf's career in UK 1948 FLEETWOOD 1949 FLEETWOOD 131 pts 1950 NO RECORD FOUND 1951 LONG EATON 218 pts top scorer 1952 LONG EATON 51pts 1953 LIVERPOOL RODE NSW MID 1950'S My good friend former Ipswich rider Rod Laudrum in ESSEX has many stories of when he rode with Frank in Holland 1952/1953 Died SYDNEY 2004 AGED 88

Bert was signed by Ipswich from Aldershot in 1952 .he was at Walthamstow 1950 I do not think he rode at Exeter Tony

I have him down as a queenslander but he certainly rode here, but he may have tasmanian connections Tony

Rod was a West Austalian,he won a flight to England as the highest points scorer at Claremont 1971/72. He rode in WA after uk for a while. Tony Brisbane