BL65

Some further information. The Glasgow programme for 7th August included a comment by Trevor Redmond that 'there is a chance that next Friday will also give us a chance of seeing Barry Briggs defending his golden helmet match race title should he have succeeded in defeating George Hunter at Oxford last night. If he lost to George, we may well be granted the decider.' Perhaps this confirms that the venue for the deciding leg was not always determined until it became necessary during the 1965 season. Alternatively, it may be that the rota was already decided and if Glasgow was not needed for the decider it would automatically stage the first leg of the next challenge. The sequence of tracks hosting the Golden Helmet after Glasgow and Hackney was Wimbledon (20th September), Coventry (22nd September), Edinburgh (8th October), Halifax (13th October). However, as referred to in my earlier post, Wimbledon could not have hosted the decider until late September. Wimbledon held meetings on 28th August (Boocock was at Coventry and Briggs at Swindon), 4th September (Briggs and Boocock were riding at Swindon), 11th September (Briggs at Swindon, Boocock at Coventry) and 20th September, when both riders competed in The Laurels. Delaying the decider until that date would have almost certainly led to the September challenge not being fitted in. Coventry was not a neutral track and could not stage the August decider. Neither Edinburgh or Halifax staged meetings in September when both Briggs and Boocock were available so it would not have been possible to select a staging track from the rota, hence the likelihood that Long Eaton would have been chosen.

Further to my previous post (#2), Speedway Star carried a report by Paul Parish on 13th August (page 7) stating that Briggs and Boocock would meet at Glasgow and Hackney, but there was no mention of the venue for a deciding leg if such proved necessary. The report also commented that 'these were the tracks originally selected for the July challenge but force of circumstances caused the event to be held at Newcastle and Oxford'. This explains the remarks in the Coventry programme which I referred to.

I don't recall seeing the venue for a deciding leg being published at the time, so I will have to delve through my archives. In 1965 the Golden Helmet legs were shared around the tracks and I believe it was the intention that no track would stage the event more than once. All legs were held on neutral tracks, so the clashes between Barry Briggs and Nigel Boocock could not be staged at Swindon or Coventry. Barry had already defeated challengers Charlie Monk (Poole, Sheffield and West Ham), Ken McKinlay (Wolverhampton and Newport) and George Hunter (Newcastle and Oxford), so that ruled out a further 7 tracks, as well as the the tracks staging the two scheduled legs (Glasgow and Hackney). This potentially left 7 tracks available to stage a decider. Incidentally, Barry suffered machine trouble at Poole and Charlie then pulled up in the first race, refusing to win unless he could do it fair and square. Briggo then kept us waiting for the Wolverhampton leg against McKinlay, managing to get stuck in traffic. The decision to allocate the Briggs-Boocock clashes to tracks in Scotland and London was not universally popular, due to the travelling involved in those days of limited motorways, with Nigel initially not happy to ride at Glasgow. Charles Ochiltree and Bryan Seery both used programme notes to air their views, suggesting that hosting at Midlands tracks such as Long Eaton and Cradley Heath would have been more sensible and would have allowed Coventry and Swindon fans to travel to support their riders. Sverre Harrfeldt had been on standby in case Nigel withdrew his nomination. Hunter was originally scheduled to meet Briggs at Newcastle and Hackney, but after the Hackney meeting was rained off on 23rd July the second leg was staged at Oxford on 5th August. The 7 tracks available to stage a decider included 5 Saturday tracks, when Barry or Nigel would have been in action at Swindon or Coventry until late September. 4 of these raced only on Saturdays during the period when the decider would need to be staged (Belle Vue, Edinburgh, Halifax and Wimbledon). The only non-Saturday date at Cradley Heath was Monday 30th August, when Boocock appeared in the Alan Hunt Memorial Trophy. I attended that meeting and I am absolutely certain that a possible Golden Helmet decider was never mentioned beforehand. The remaining two possible venues were Exeter and Long Eaton. With the second leg of the July challenge by Hunter having been staged in early August and the second leg of the August challenge by Boocock taking place as late as Friday 27th, it is likely that any decider (if it had been necessary) would have been held at the beginning of September. As Barry Briggs was with Swindon at Long Eaton for a league meeting on 7th September I believe this would probably have been the chosen date and venue. Nigel Boocock was at Cradley Heath on 30th August, so could not have met Briggs at Exeter on that date. Both Barry and Nigel rode in the World Cup in Germany on Sunday 5th September and bearing this in mind, as well as the disquiet already caused by the staging of the first two legs at far flung places, I think it would have been unlikely that the County Ground would have been selected for a decider on 6th September. I am not convinced, so far, that a deciding venue had been chosen in advance as Bryan Seery, the BSPA official statistician, was bemoaning the lack of selection of Long Eaton and Cradley Heath in the Archers' programme around that time. One other oddment appeared in a Coventry programme, which suggested that George Hunter's challenge was to take place at Glasgow and Hackney, with a decider scheduled for Newcastle if required.

Doug rode at Weymouth in 1974. Willie rode at Crayford and Paisley in 1975

I know that Norman rode at 50 British tracks at least in his career - Aldershot, Belle Vue, Berwick, Birmingham, Birmingham Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium, Bradford Greenfields, Bradford Odsal, Bristol, Canterbury, Coatbridge, Coventry, Cradley Heath, Eastbourne, Edinburgh, Ellesmere Port, Exeter, Glasgow Hampden, Glasgow White City, Hackney, Halifax, Ipswich, King's Lynn, Leicester, Long Eaton, Middlesbrough, Neath, Newcastle, New Cross, Newport, Norwich, Oxford, Peterborough, Plymouth, Poole, Rayleigh, Reading, Rye House, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, Southampton, St Austell, Stoke, Swindon, Wembley, West Ham, Weymouth, Wimbledon, Wolverhampton, Workington, Yarmouth.

Phil Collins managed at least 34 tracks in 1978, turning out for Ellesmere Port in the National League and Cradley Heath in the British League, as well as making numerous guest appearances. I have a record of him appearing at Barrow, Belle Vue, Berwick, Birmingham, Boston, Bristol, Canterbury, Coventry, Cradley Heath, Crayford, Eastbourne, Edinburgh, Ellesmere Port, Glasgow, Halifax, Hull, Ipswich, King's Lynn, Leicester, Middlesbrough/Teesside, Mildenhall, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Oxford, Peterborough, Poole, Reading, Rye House, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, Stoke, Swindon, White City, Workington. I have not checked all of the second half results at other tracks, so my record may be incomplete.

I recall that Reg was proprietor of Northbrook Garage in Ilford in the early 1960s.

I have also now noticed that the Speedway Researcher site shows that Ken McKinlay rode at Bothwell on Saturday 26th November 1949, scoring 8 points for Bothwell Bull against Will Lowther Select. Tommy Miller also rode in the meeting. This meeting was advertised in the Bellshill Speaker And Mid-Lanarkshire Gazette newspaper on Friday 25th November 1949 as follows: 'BOTHWELL PARK MOTORCYCLE CLUB presents to SPEEDWAY FANS On Saturday, Nov. 26, 1949 - at 2.15 p.m. BOTHWELL BULLS v WILL LOWTHER SELECT (Capt. Ken McKinlay) (including Alec Grant etc) Under S.A.C.U. G.C. Rules AT BOTHWELL PARK TRACK - BOTHWELL. Come and See Will Lowther's Select. Come and Hear Our Announcer, Wee Joe Crowther. Come and Cheer Scotland's Newest Team - The Bothwell Bulls. Make Sure of Your Ticket Now. Admission - Adults, 1/6; Juveniles, 9d. S.A.C.U. Restricted G.T. 178/49/A Reserved Tickets from N. Mcreadie c/o Barr, Fishmonger, Main Street, Bellshill' Presumably the promoter was 'angling' for a good crowd. The Bellshill Speaker And Mid-Lanarkshire Gazette newspaper carried further advertisements on 10th and 17th March 1950 for the Bothwell Bull Pairs meeting to be held at Bothwell Park track on Saturday18th March 1950 at 3.00 p.m., featuring 'Ken McKinlay, Gundy Harris, Willie Gordon, Tommy Miller and all tomorrow's stars'. The newspaper also carried a report the following week on the Best Pairs meeting, in which it was recorded that Ken McKinlay was a victim of bike failure and he had to retire early on in the racing. The meeting was won by Tommy Miller and Duncan Hendry.

The reference to Roy Trigg in this topic reminded me of his remarkable achievements at Oxford in 1966. In a guest appearance for Edinburgh he suffered a first race last place, when beaten by Eddie Reeves, Arne Pander and Reidar Eide, but then recorded three wins and a second from his last four rides. The first attempt to run the league match against Hackney ended in abandonment after heat 6, with the Cheetahs leading 21-15. Having taken two scheduled rides, a rider replacement ride and a tactical substitute ride, Roy accumulated 11 of his team's 15 points, a staggering 73%. To confirm his liking for the Cowley track, when the league match was re-staged Roy was beaten only by Arne Pander in scoring 17 of his team's 27 points, a mere 63%! It was hardly surprising that Roy joined Oxford in 1967, but he only stayed for one season. On his first visit with his new team in 1968 he scored a 15 point maximum, leading Cradley Heath to a rare away victory.

The Cardiff meeting that Ken participated in on 18th October 1951 was a Best Pairs event, in which he partnered Tommy Miller. Ken scored 4 and Tommy 10. Gerald Pugh and Bob Jones won the event after a run-off with Charlie May and Arthur Pilgrim, after both pairs scored 25, with Howdy Byford and Eric Chitty third on 22. The programme for the Cardiff meeting included a pen portrait of Ken McKinlay (spelt McKinley throughout): 'A novice discovery of promoter Ian Hoskins, it took Ken quite a while to prove if given the chance he would make the grade. This season has been his best ever, and being young there is no reason why he should not reach the top flight. Is reputed to possess a fine singing voice.' tmc referred to Ken and Reg Luckhurst, another fine singer, in an earlier post, I wonder if they ever took the opportunity to duet in later years. It was very apt that the Cardiff crowd were also graced with the presence of Howdy Byford, yet another singing speedway star. I wonder if Ken rode in any of the open licence meetings at Hamilton in the late 1940s/early 1950s.

I am aware of the following for Reg (44): Belle Vue, Boston, Canterbury, Coatbridge, Coventry, Cradley Heath, Crayford, Eastbourne, Edinburgh, Ellesmere Port, Exeter, Glasgow White City, Glasgow Hampden Park, Hackney, Halifax, Hull, Ipswich, King’s Lynn, Leicester, Liverpool, Long Eaton, Middlesbrough/Teesside, New Cross, Newcastle, Newport, Norwich, Oxford, Paisley, Poole, Rayleigh, Reading, Rye House, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, Southampton, Stoke Chesterton, Stoke Hanley, Swindon, Wembley, West Ham, Wimbledon, Wolverhampton, Workington, Yarmouth

Details as follows: Wigan v Glasgow Tigers 30.05.52 Challenge St Austell 08.07.59 Combined Stars v Swedish Tourists St Austell 29.07.59 Ken McKinlay’s Lions v Ronnie Moore’s Kiwis St Austell 19.08.59 50 Guineas Trophy Best Pairs St Austell 26.08.59 St Austell v Poole v Wimbledon St Austell 02.09.59 Ken McKinlay’s Lions v Barry Briggs’ Overseas Stars Cardiff 18.10.51 Best Pairs Harringay 16.06.54 Television Trophy Best Pairs Harringay 18.08.54 World Championship Qualifying Round Plymouth v Glasgow 27.07.50 National League Division 2 Plymouth 07.07.59 Combined Stars v Swedish Tourists Plymouth 03.09.59 Ken McKinlay’s Lions v Barry Briggs’ Overseas Stars

Ken appeared at the following tracks in Britain (66 including the Irish tracks). Apologies if I have missed any. Ashfield Barrow Belle Vue Berwick Birmingham Perry Barr Birmingham Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium Boston Bradford Odsal Bristol Canterbury Cardiff Coatbridge Coventry Cradley Heath Crayford Crewe Eastbourne Edinburgh Ellesmere Port Exeter Fleetwood Glasgow White City Glasgow Hampden Park Hackney Halifax Harringay Hull Boulevard Ipswich King’s Lynn Leicester Liverpool Long Eaton Middlesbrough Mildenhall Motherwell New Cross Newcastle Newport Norwich Oxford Paisley Peterborough Plymouth Poole Rayleigh Reading Rye House Scunthorpe Quibell Park Sheffield Southampton St Austell Stoke Chesterton Stoke Hanley Sunderland Swindon Walthamstow Wembley West Ham Weymouth Wigan Wimbledon Wolverhampton Workington Yarmouth Dunmore Belfast Shelbourne Dublin

I am aware that, in addition to his home track at Southampton, Jimmy rode at the following between 1947 and 1950: 1947 Birmingham 30.08.47 Cradley Heath 09.08.47, 06.09.47, 13.09.47 Eastbourne 03.05.47, 17.05.47, 02.08.47, 23.08.47 Exeter 23.06.47, 25.08.47, 22.09.47, 29.09.47 Plymouth 24.04.47, 08.05.47, 22.05.47, 03.07.47, 31.07.47, 14.08.47, 18.09.47, 09.10.47 Stoke 12.06.47, 25.09.47, 23.10.47 Tamworth 11.06.47, 06.08.47, 24.09.47, 15.10.47 Wombwell 11.07.47, 05.09.47 1948 Birmingham 19.06.48 Coventry 17.07.48, 23.10.48 Cradley Heath 14.05.48, 21.05.48, 02.07.48, 08.10.48, 15.10.48 Exeter 12.07.48, 27.09.48, 18.10.48 Harringay 30.07.48 Hastings 02.06.48, 09.06.48, 26.08.48, 15.09.48 Hull 14.08.48, 09.10.48 Norwich 04.09.48 Plymouth 26.03.48, 01.04.48, 29.07.48, 19.08.48, 26.08.48, 28.10.48 Poole 17.05.48, 31.05.48, 14.06.48, 02.08.48, 07.08.48, 25.10.48, 30.10.48 Stoke 08.04.48, 27.05.48, 24.06.48, 12.08.48 Tamworth 21.04.48, 05.05.48, 19.05.48, 23.06.48, 23.09.48 Wembley 30.09.48 Wombwell 23.04.48, 09.07.48, 24.09.48 Yarmouth 18.05.48, 24.08.48 1949 Ashfield 10.05.49, 16.08.49 Bristol 15.07.49, 26.08.49 Coventry 18.04.49, 21.05.49, 23.07.49 Cradley Heath 29.04.49, 05.08.49 Edinburgh 07.05.49, 11.08.49 Fleetwood 20.04.49, 24.08.49 Glasgow White City 11.05.49, 06.07.49, 17.08.49 Harringay 08.07.49 Hastings 18.05.49 Liverpool 10.10.49 Newcastle 09.05.49, 15.08.49 Norwich 23.04.49, 11.06.49, 09.07.49, 01.10.49 Oxford 19.05.49, 29.09.49 Plymouth 14.07.49 Poole 03.10.49, 22.10.49 Rayleigh 30.07.49 Sheffield 02.06.49, 15.09.49 Walthamstow 04.04.49, 30.05.49, 18.07.49, 30.07.49 1950 Aldershot 21.06.50 Ashfield 18.07.50 Coventry 08.04.50, 23.09.50 Cradley Heath 08.05.50, 02.10.50 Dublin Shelbourne 11.06.50 Edinburgh 27.05.50, 09.09.50 Exeter 12.05.50 Fleetwood 26.08.50 Glasgow White City 07.09.50 Halifax 11.08.50 Harringay 29.09.50, 13.10.50 Leicester 07.08.50 Newcastle 17.07.50 Norwich 13.05.50, 24.06.50, 08.07.50, 07.10.50 Plymouth 30.03.50, 04.05.50, 01.06.50 Poole 22.05.50, 31.07.50, 28.08.50 Sheffield 24.08.50 Stoke 17.06.50, 12.08.50 Walthamstow 10.04.50, 19.06.50, 16.10.50 Yarmouth 18.05.50, 13.07.50

The Wolverhampton programme for the meeting on 18th March included an item headed 'Sandwell Mail Speedway Challenge Trophy - Follow your team in this exciting contest', listing the other meetings on March 19th (Cradley Heath), 21st (Birmingham), 25th (Wolverhampton), 26th (Cradley Heath) and 28th (Birmingham) as also being part of the tournament.

I had forgotten that Sverre used Olle's bike for the re-run Red Flag, but I believe you are correct. I have checked my programme and it was heat 7, won by Sverre.

I remember seeing a dreadful crash involving Sverre Harrfeldt on the first bend at Wolverhampton in the 1966 Champion of Champions Trophy. In the aftermath of a collision, which I think involved at least three riders, Sverre's course took him into and over the fence, reaching a considerable height before bouncing off the wheel of the tractor as he came back to earth. I haven't checked my programme, but I believe that he won the re-run!

Charlie was certainly at his best in the mid 1960s and fully deserved his Internationale win, scoring 13, being beaten only by Gote Nordin and Barry Briggs. Barry had machine problems and failed to score in his first two rides before ending with three race wins. A remarkable feature of Charlie's win at Wimbledon on the evening of 7th June was that he had ridden for Glasgow at Exeter earlier the same day, scoring 14 points. It must have been a hectic 175 mile journey from the County Ground to Plough Lane in those pre-motorway days. Billy Bales was 18 when he joined Yarmouth and was an instant success, averaging a fraction under 7 in his first league season in Division 3 in 1948. In 1949 he sensationally upped his average to 10.60. After moving to Norwich he continued to be a consistent heat leader, generally providing good support to Aub Lawson and Ove Fundin.

Eric averaged 8.50 in the Provincial League for Middlesbrough in 1963 and 1964. When the British League was formed in 1965 he was one of the big success stories, increasing his league average to 9.44. I almost overlooked the achievement of Brian Crutcher, who was 16 when he joined Poole in 1951 and averaged 9.52 in the National League Division 3. He reached the World Final the following year.

Arthur Forrest was 17 when he completed his first season for Halifax in Division 3 of the National League with a league average of 9.06 in 1949. The following season he moved into Division 2 and upped his average to 11.00.

Ronnie Moore was 17 when he completed his first season in the top division of the National League with an average of 7.23. He improved on this to achieve 9.95 in 1951 and 11.27 in 1952. Lee's league average in his first season, in the lower league, was 9.13. In his second and third seasons, in the British League, he achieved 7.53 and 10.64.

The meeting referred to was the Inter League KO Cup Semi Final on 17th September 1975, when Belle Vue beat Boston 58-20. Lee scored 6 points from 5 rides for Boston. Morton, Wilkinson, Collins, Sjosten and Hodgson were unbeaten by the opposition.

I remember Lee riding for Boston and King's Lynn early in his career, but not Mildenhall.

July 1978, Lee scored a 12 point maximum for Stars at Hyde Road, setting the three fastest times of the meeting and beating Peter Collins, Les Collins and Chris Morton (twice).

One of my favourite riders of the early 1960s was Jack Scott and he had a great liking for the Sheffield track. Riding for the Plymouth Devils in 1961 he recorded a 15 point maximum at Owlerton in the KO Cup and scored 11 from 4 rides in the Provincial League meeting. Sadly, Jack did not compete in Britain after that season until his brief spell with Cradley Heath in 1967, when he scored 12 plus a bonus from 5 rides, beaten twice by maximum scorer Bob Paulson.