norbold

My first meeting was in 1960 aged 12 as well. Just after you, on 11 May. Where was your first meeting?

It's very nice of you to want my autograph, chr. I'll see what's going and I might even see if I can get some of the riders to autograph it as well .

Latest news….Banger is also coming.

Before I saw my first race live, I had followed speedway in the newspapers, in sports annuals and on television. My two favourite riders before I actually went to speedway were Split Waterman and Aub Lawson because I thought they had such romantic sounding names. Anyway, on to my first race. It was at New Cross on 11 May 1960, a Britannia Shield match against Norwich. The race finished 1. Aub Lawson 2. Jimmy Gooch 3. Split Waterman 4. Harry Edwards. Time 61.6. How strange was that, eh? Incidentally, with regard to John's initial post, Ron Johnson took part in the second half of my first match.

The following ex-West Ham riders have said they are coming: Barry Duke, Alan Bellham, Alan Sage, Brian Leonard, Mick Handley, Stan Stevens, Vic Cross, Alf Hagon, Barry Crowson, Reg Fearman, Norman Hunter, Reg Luckhurst, Ted Ede, Terry Stone, Dave Jessup and.........Sverre Harrfeldt.

Hope to see you and Brian there, r&r.

So he says, but I don't believe him....

I had a word with the author of Speedway in London as I know him quite well and he said he thinks Historian is correct and apologises for the error, but, as Historian says, these sort of myths once ingrained keep getting repeated. I think you will also find that Speedway in London says that speedway started in West Maitland in 1923 and, as we all know now, that is a complete myth and completely untrue. He says he was very young and naive when he wrote Speedway in London…….

Yes. Briggo joined later in the year so was not in the first match I saw. As I said above, Billy Bales was riding and is still alive and I met up with him at the Norwich lunch last October.

Yes. I met up with him in October at the Norwich WSRA Lunch.

And then there was Bryan Elliott, who actually still was a second string with Leicester when he qualified for the World Final in 1960, having a five point average.

I'm afraid to say I don't have any particular memories of Jim Lightfoot. I saw him several times of course at New Cross, West Ham and Hackney when he rode for Coventry and in various individual meetings, including the 1963 World Final that jrs mentions, where he came 14th. But I don't have any outstanding memories of him other than the fact he was a good competent rider. Sorry, Bob.

Yes. Sport not included.

I can't think of any off-hand.

As andout says, the first meeting at Wimbledon was in 1928, 28 May (Whit Monday). I don't know who won the first race but there is a great description of the evening's Gold Helmet final, in the Speedway News: "As two riders, one wearing red and the other yellow, tore to the front, a startled gasp went up from the thousands of spectators: "Would they weather the bend?" Even while the question was being asked, a figure in blue tore through on the inside of the track and passed the leaders like a flash of light. Desperately Lamont and Huxley attempted to hold off the challenger. Three determined riders broadsided in a terrifying manner round the bend and into the back straight. Neck-and-neck Frank Arthur and Billy Lamont drove their screaming motors up the straight with Vic Huxley only a few feet behind." Speedway was, of course very much in its infancy in Britain at the time, so this could have been the most exciting race ever seen up to that point. Sadly, Lamont blew a tyre, though he continued with the race, while Arthur and Huxley continued their battle, with Arthur just proving the victor. The fourth rider was Cec Brown who passed Lamont following the latter's blown tyre. The final event of the evening saw Vic Huxley beating Roger Frogley 2-1 in a series of match races. Other events that evening included the Wimbledon Handicap, won by Frank Arthur from Jim Kempster and Eric Spencer, and the Sidecar Scratch, won by Freddie Brackpool. Jack Parker also rode in the meeting, which was held before a crowd of 11,000.

Lot of work to do. The track isn't there any more, though you can still see the outline of where it was.

No, the stand was still there then.

Thanks. You've made me feel really old now as I've seen speedway at all of those!

http://speedwayswapshop.co.uk

Back in the 1950s, most of the top riders advertised Astorias cigarettes! Sorry, iris, just noticed you mentioned the cigarette adverts.

Thank you, Steve. That would be great. Look forward to hearing from you so I can see what this book is all about.

You gave the details yourself on a previous New Cross memories thread but someone seems to have deleted that thread…….

Thank you for that, iris. Apart from the three or four mistakes, not a bad summary.

Yes, but with a much better team that got even better as the season went on with Malc's rise to heat leader status. You couldn't say the team that finished the season looked anything but the best team in the league.

Peterborough 2021!