Knowle

A few Newport Wasps and Mavericks double headers must be up there somewhere.

Hi Kimmie88 Welcome back. Could you please tell us about how your dad is getting on these days?

Useful tip on weather updates. If you google burnham camera you will get camera shot every updated every 20 seconds of the sea-front about one mile from the track which shows if it is raining,

Back to topic, Billy, Johnny, Graham Hole rode for Bristol 1949 plus Eric Salmon brother in law.

Bank holiday, local derby but both No.1 s riding for other teams. very disappointing.

I saw Bud Reda riding second halfs at Bristol in July 1950. Never made the team though.

Hi Lowenna Look out on ebay for a copy of Stenner's Speedway Annual World Edition for 1950 which has an action picture of George on the cover. These Annuals come up from time to time as they are very collectable. Also see my comment from Nov.2006 in this thread regarding a man claiming to be George working at the Bristol track in 1977/8

I'm afraid that the sort of thing you have has very little value, just look at ebay to see this. If it was pre 1960 it would be a different story. May i suggest something. When i wanted to unload all my programmes from 1980 onwards I gave them to the local track shop in my case at Somerset and the proceeds of any that they manage to sell goes to the riders equipment fund. The point being that there are always people at meetings looking for the odd programmes they need to make up a set etc. Maybe there is a Sheffield supporter who can advise you. I would not bother cataloging them and that they have no historical value in the sense that details of such meetings of that era are well documented.

Aided by some "Birmingham Thatch" i.e. Corrugated Iron Sheet.

And no meeting at the Oaktree either

Great to see that Luke is riding again. I saw that crash at the OTA it was terrible.

Top post. Judging by last night Stefan is the most popular rider on the terraces, he gives 110% and is young and got a future. Very disappointed at this decision,

I see that Plymouth are due on the Friday. I thought Somerset were limited to one meeting a week.

Shocking news from Spain that Jim and his twin brother George were found dead in their apartment in what police describe as a double suicide. They were 83. I seem to recall Jim at West Ham, Rye House in the 50s and Wolverhampton in the early 60s. Jim later became an entertainer and also appeared as an extra in Eastenders and the Bill. Sounds like quite a character.

Regarding the Bob Coles crash I seem to remember that when interviewed later he said that he thought he was in trouble when he saw the crowd below him!

With reference to the query re teams of more than 8 riders I remember the 1950 Division 1 Spring Cup which had 10 man teams over 20 heats with 4 reserves on each side. my programme for April 21st has Ronnie Moore at no.10 for Wimbledon (2 rides no points).

I saw the Bristol v Bradford match on 6th April 1951 when Ron Peace a second string for the visitors won his first three rides beating top home riders Billy Hole and Dick Bradley in the process. He only scored another 95 points home and away all season.

In 1959 Bristol and Plymouth re-opened on an open licence basis approved by the SCB and Bradford, Liverpool and Cradley Heath were re-opened by Mike Parker on an unlicenced basis so it was apparent that something needed to be done by the SCB in the close season to address the situation.A meeting was called by LT.Col Vernon Brooke of the SCB with all the interested parties.which came up with the proposal of a new league. In the event all the aforementioned tracks joined the 1960 Provincial League with the exception of Plymouth and with the addition of Sheffield, Edinburgh, Rayleigh, Poole, Stoke and Yarmouth. Applications were rejected from Aldershot Exeter and Eastbourne.In the event the League was a great success despite the variance of team strengths between the South and the North.Sadly for various reasons Bradford, Liverpool, Bristol (my team) and Yarmouth did not enter the league in the following year. For further information get hold of a copy of Peter Morrish's excellant book British Speedway Leagues 1946 to1964.

Thanks Speedyguy for the trouble you have taken. I know someone who apparently named his son Louis after him, it would indeed be ironical if it wasn't his real name!

I've got some nagging feeling that this wasn't his real name. Can anybody in the know confirm this or otherwise?

Apparently it was exactly 60 years ago this Friday that Bill Dutton met Jack Geran and Neil Street off the boat from Australia.

I seem to remember an article in VSM a few years ago stating that it is in the vaults of the Daily Mail

Thank you Jim that was brilliant. I think I saw all the Bristol v New Cross matches between 1949 and 1953.There was special rivalry between these tracks both being similar yardages making for close results particularly in the Daily Mail National Trophy first leg in 1949 when Bristol as a second division side only lost 55-53 at the Old Kent Road. Happy Days.

Bill Dutton's son Harridave has a very entertaining autobiography out called "Up the Bumpy Lane" with a few references to speedway and I have been in correspondence with him over certain details where our paths crossed amazingly closely without us actually colliding. He says that his father brought over some young Australian newcomers in the early 1950s and he mentioned Chum Taylor however Chum says in his own book that he was introduced by Bradford"s Ron Clarke and went to Ashfield. Does anyone particularly with Exeter Connections have the names of these particular riders. It would be very nice to be able to give Harridave any information as his father passed away over 50 years ago. Hopefully Tony Lethbridge and Jack Geran might read this thread!