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Leif Berlin rode for Wolverhampton 1975-6.

It was Jens Erik Krause Kjaer Also Bengt Norregaard

Denmark Baltzar Hansen Jan Henningsen Kurt Pedersen Preben Rosenkilde and the little known Jan O Pedersen..

Just a minor point - it's Doug Davies not Davis.

Well, you were warned!

Hilary Buchanan and Jack Bishop rode for White City (London) Buzz Hibberd rode for West Ham

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Welcome to the BSF, Ross. About time you found us!

The biggest gates for speedway were just after the War in the late 1940s. There were probably three main reasons for the decline in gates. 1. Entertainment Tax. Although sports were partially exempt from this tax, which at one time, in the early 1950s, went up to over 60% of gate money, speedway for some strange reason wasn't exempt as it was classed as a trial of speed and not a sport. 93,000 people witnessed the 1950 World Final with £22,600 being taken at the gate. If it had been a football match the total tax bill would have been £3100, because it was speedway the tax bill was £10,200. This was, of course, being repeated at all tracks up and down the country. The tax was crippling many smaller tracks. Either the promoters had to absorb it, which most couldn't, or they had to put admission prices up, which drove people away. 2. Television! 3. Just after the War people were looking for some excitement after the long dark days of the War. Speedway fitted the bill admirably, but, as time went, on I think the sheer excitement element of it palled for many people and just left the hard core supporters. Life was returning to normal and there were other things to do...

I'd go along with that, Ian.

30 September 1933: Belle Vue v. Wembley National Trophy Final 2nd Leg: Capacity crowd of 40,000 with hundreds locked out. I don't know about Belle Vue but admission prices at Wembley were 1s 2d, 2s 4d, 5/- and 10/- The average working man's wage at that time was about £3 10s per week.

I don't think anyone has said that 800 was not enough for the sport to be considered "born". If you read what I said above that's not the reason at all. Yes, but it wasn't directly linked to Droyslden. I don't know if the organisers of High Beech even knew that a meeting had taken place in Manchester. After High Beech, the sport suddenly took off with many tracks in London and the South East opening with the riders that had been at High Beech and then spread throughout the country. Of course, talking of firsts, there was the meeting at Camberley held on 7 May 1927, before Droylsden...

Yes, that sums it up nicely, chunky.

The Droyslden meeting was on 25 June 1927. 800 spectators attended. The first race was won by Fred Fearnley and Charlie Pashley won the "Experts" Race. It was a 440 yard circuit with cinders supplied by the nearby East Manchester Corporation Power Station. However, the cinders were packed down hard leaving no loose cinders to enable any sliding to take place. Was that speedway?

That is exactly the point I am making, Jeff. Droylsden was certainly before High Beech, but nothing happened afterwards. It was with the High Beech meeting that speedway took off in this country.

Yes. He spent his racing career in Britain as British before moving to New Zealand.

Don't forget the one at Ipswich in 1904.

Can you remove the ??? He was definitely a Kiwi.

As you know, Jim, my view is that the reason the West Maitland meeting is accepted as the first speedway meeting, in spite of there being others before, and High Beech the first in Great Britain, although there had been others before, is that because it was from those two meetings that speedway "took off" in their respective countries.

Three more South Africans: Toby Boshoff Bob Quick Fred Wills

Why have you got ??? after Dick Campbell - he was definitely a Kiwi - unlike Jimmy Tannock and Doug Templeton who were both Scottish. Two more Kiwis: Danny Calder Jack Hunt

Harold Bull (aka Frank Richards) Norman Clay Keith Cox (George) Huck Finn Gruff Garland Merv Harding Cecil Hookham Alec Hunter Doug Ibles Norman Lindsay Syd Littlewood Doug MacLachlan Jack Martin Dick Seers Bonnie Waddell Buck Whitby

It's not Ron Bainbridge Jun. His real name was Ron Bainbridge but he was known as Junior Bainbridge.

Yes, you're right about Gary Guglielmi and we've already had Andy Menzies. Another pre-War Aussie: Bill Rogers