chunky

Oh yeah, we all know about Clem, one of the most famous involved in a war...

Ah, that's interesting! That's the thing, so many riders rode under assumed names back in the day, and I never knew that Paddy Mills wasn't his real name. Thanks for that! Can't imagine a speedway rider called "Horace Burke"...

You know, I sort of expected that response from you!

Not sure we've had this before, but since I learned about Newcastle's George Pepper, it is something that has intrigued me. I know there were a lot of riders who saw action during WWII, but how many were decorated for their deeds? I know of at least three. The aforementioned George Pepper became an RAF pilot, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar of shooting down six enemy aircraft. Sadly, he wasn't to survive the conflict, and perished in a flying accident in 1942. Hackney's Morian Hansen was too old to be accepted as an RAF pilot, and became a gunner in Wellington bombers. For his actions, he received both the Distinguished Flying Cross and George Medal for bravery (as a Dane, he was not eligible for the George Cross). 1936 World Champion Lionel Van Praag also received the George Medal. As a second pilot in a Royal Australian Air Force DC-2 that was shot down, he rescued two colleagues, and got them safely to shore. So, anyone else that we know of? Norbold?

SHORT??? It consisted of one meeting, two rides, and a point. At Newcastle on 18th May, 1981.

And Teo was also British...

But he then added...

Good call; rode there from 1959 to 1964.

Already mentioned. However, I'm embarrassed that I didn't think of him - or Rudy!

Yes...

People say that those two matches "don't count", and that he was a one-club rider...

Yeah, that is still something that people argue about. Even though it was a very temporary stint, it should actually disqualify him as a "one-club" rider.

He doesn't qualify because of several outings for Hull.

Sorry, Bob doesn't qualify; he also rode for Exeter.

Yeah, as soon as you said Aussie, it had to be Trevor, as Kerry Gray wasn't around that long.

Come on, you should get the Rye House one! Not like there were many Aussies there...

Yep, Gene was his bruv. Had a short spell at Plough Lane, but I never got to see him.

While there was speedway here in the 60's, it wasn't really organized, so I don't know if there was much in the way of decent sponsorship. The first official US National Championship (since 1948) was won by Steve Bast in 1969 (although some sources state that Rick Woods was 1968 National Champion). The problem is that while there are photos available online, it is actually difficult to pinpoint the years in US speedway.

While the leathers tended to be coloured, I really don't think there was that much in the way of sponsors' names. I will look into the Basts, and people like that.

Yeah, not a name that immediately springs to mind ..

The Rye one is pretty easy. As soon as Arnie said it, I knew who to look for...

Briggo definitely had JAWA on his leathers in 1969, and Ivan was still mostly in black then, although he also had JAWA on his that year also.

Again, I don't think we need to look any further than Ivan or Briggo. I'll have to do some research...

I wasn't going to say that, but...

I know exactly who you mean at Rye! I hadn't gone through all the NL teams yet... Still trying to figure out the one at 'Boro. EDIT - Got him! It wasn't five consecutive years, that's what screwed me.