norbold

So you were there as well. Fortunately we didn't know each other then or you might have offered me a lift home...

Sounds good to me.

I don't suppose they had any hard and fast rules. Clapton, West Ham and Wembley were all near enough I suppose. Incidentally, West Ham, Clapton and High Beech used to take part in the Essex Cup as well.

Having a London postcode didn't mean places were in London. The Clapton track was in Leyton in the beautiful county of Essex.

Barnet and Staines were not in London when there was speedway there. Clapton (Lea Bridge) was never in London when it was operating as a speedway either. West Ham and Wembley were not in London until their respective revivals in 1964 and 1970.

I would like to endorse all these sites. They are all excellent.

And an excellent editor you were to. Some of the people you managed to get to write articles for the programme were the best.

Yes, sorry, you're right on all counts. I don't know why I had Bronco Wilson from 1947-1950, as my own records show just 1947 - a transcription error! Bob Oakley I did have missing for 1950 for some reason and I also had Bill Kitchen missing for 1953, but, of course, they did ride for Wembley in those years. Sorry, T.W.

I think Split Waterman, Eric Williams and Roy Craighead were still riding in 1962. Possibly Rune Sormander, though not in this country. Also maybe Denis Newton. Not sure without looking up records. Of course, Bill Kitchen, Tommy Price, George Wilks and Wilbur Lamoreaux were all pre-War stars and Brian Crutcher retired far too early. Bill Gilbert also retired young, although he did make a brief comeback with Norwich. In general the other riders were mostly immediate post-War products, so I suppose that by 1962 they were getting on a bit, so it's not that surprising that may had retired by then.

Bill Kitchen: 1947 - 52; 1954 Tommy Price: 1947 - 54 George Wilks: 1947 - 54 Split Waterman: 1947 - 49 Bill Gilbert: 1947 - 50 Bronco Wilson 1947 - 50 Freddie Williams: 1947 - 54 Bob Wells: 1947 - 51 Roy Craighead: 1947 - 48 Alf Bottoms: 1947 - 50 Wilbur Lamoreaux: 1948 Geo Saunders: 1948 - 49 Bruce Abernethy: 1948 - 51 Den Cosby: 1949 - 52 Eric Williams: 1950 - 54 Jimmy Gooch: 1950 - 54 Bob Oakley: 1951 - 52 Trevor Redmond: 1953 - 54 Brian Crutcher: 1953 - 54 Rune Sormander: 1953 Dennis Newton: 1953 Eric French: 1954 Fred Lang: 1954

I think the best International I ever saw, though not strictly a Test match, was the 1961 World Team Cup qualifying round at New Cross between England, New Zealand and Australia. Ronnie Moore scored an 18 point maximum for NZ, with Briggs scoring 14. Jack Young was Australia's top scorer with 12. England's joint top scorers were Peter Craven and Split Waterman with 13. The final score was England 44 NZ 38 Australia 26. The reason it was so memorable was because of the return to form of Split Waterman. For the 1960 season and the first half of the 1961 season, Split was a reasonable heat leader but nothing like the rider he had once been in the early 50s when he twice finished runner-up in the World Championship, but suddenly, in July, he returned to the form that had once made him one of the top riders in the world and here he was mixing it with the likes of Moore, Briggs and Craven on equal terms. Incidentally, although the match was 18 heats long, there was still time for a second half with Bill Osborne winning the Rangers' Scurry final from Tyburn Gallows.

Can anyone help me identify the riders in this photo and also the place. I believe it is in New Zealand, but where? The only two riders I can identify are Wally Kilmister and Tom Farndon. Thanks. http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2060483220054092940GxftAv

Article in yesterday's Eastern Evening News: http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/search/story.aspx?brand=ENOnline&category=DerekJames&itemid=NOED25 Feb 2009 10:52:30:413&tBrand=ENOnline&tCategory=search://http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/sear...Category=search

Well, of course, the original idea was to alternate between the two venues, so that High Beech would not be forgotten. However, there has been so much positive feedback about the event at PPW and how much better the facilities are compared to High Beech that this might have to be reconsidered. As I have said before, the Speedway Museum does not have a monopoly on organising speedway events and maybe someone else could organise a get together at High Beech on or near the anniversary. It wouldn't have to be a big event but just something to honour the memory. Over to you, Derek! (We could put up a set of traffic lights on red and you could give a demonstration of driving during the day... )

Thank you, Lejon...I try my best. Next is a biography of Tom Farndon. Tom was already my hero, but the more I read about him while researching "Out of the Frying Pan" the more I felt his story just had to be told and made public. He was the greatest!

Never happened in my day!

Danny Carter was yet another of Eric Linden's pen names.

That was a brilliant report, BOBBATH. I still remember it as being one of the outstanding pieces of journalism in the speedway press.

Funnily enough, a couple of days ago, John Chaplin sent me some articles Cyril May had written on Tom Farndon with the following comment, "Cyril May was a boring writer but he managed to include a lot of detail. When he died I took over from him and tried to make it a bit more entertaining."

Didn't there used to be a really good writer called John Hyam? I wonder what happened to him.

Under the old 13 heat format there was usually a second half of scratch races, reserves' races and so on. The interval was at the end of the match after the 13 heats. There have been many double-headers throughout speedway history. The second match just follows the first. Admission price is normally the same as for a single match.

I'm glad to hear it. Thanks for letting us know.

Yes, that's why Nigel is querying it, because although the site says that he has found no actual reports of his death from around that time.

If he'd died later as a result of his injuries surely Stenner's would have known. I presume the 1953 edition would have come out at the beginning of the 1953 season say March, whereas the match concerned was in July 1952. That's 8 months.

The 1953 Stenner's Annual says, "Goran Andersson was hurt in the opening match [of the Southern League v. Sweden International series]". Nothing about him being killed.