speedyguy

WITW! Here's some information that may be of use. WITW! It's from Sheldon's EMU site, link (!!!) given in a previous Post. Speedway Workshop An archive of a speedway site This site is an archive of the pages known as The Workshop Speedway and GrassTrack Machines previously at http://speedwaybikes.fortunecity.net/ Pages By: chris@exeter-falcons.demon.co.uk The site has been offline for some time, and the only copy available at present, other than this, is at the Wayback Machine. If the owner would like to come forward and reclaim the site, please, just say the word and all these pages will be redirected to your new site, or if you so desire, removed entirely.

There is a respected school of thought that the greatest rider the world has EVER seen was Tom Farndon. And sound evidence is, I understand, on the way to prove that point.

I have just checked out the suggested link on the system at work - the South London Press - and it is there. However, on a cursory browse I could not find any reference to Jim Kempster's Velocette Ktd.

I have tried the suggested link several times and it appears to be a dormant site. At least, that's the message I keep getting. Has anyone else had any luck with the site? It would be interesting to know.

Very sad!!!

PRESS RELEASE Friends of Speedway are pleased to announce the fourth California-in-England Speedway Reunion on 11th October 2009. The full address is: California Country Park , Nine Mile Ride, Finchampstead, Wokingham , RG40 4HT . This is situated on the B3430 coming from the A322 junction 3 off the M3. There is a large sign at the entrance to the park and car park; then there is a short walk to the display area which will include a selection of machines covering 80 years of speedway. If you have any memorabilia/memories please make your self known to any of the three researchers bearing their name badges. We are still searching for any cine film not only of the racing, but of the park in general that could be loaned to be copied. Also on display will be speedway photographs and team body colours including a reproduction California Poppies one. As an added interest we intend to have a display of riding apparel from the early days up to the present time. Here you will be able to talk with riders (please see their name badges) from the 1950’s California Poppies team. You are invited to ask questions at any time and all officials will be sporting their name badges. Machines will be started at various times during the day; you will smell the intoxicating aroma of Castrol R and Methanol to bring back memories of those earlier un-silenced days of speedway. Part of the presentation will be a guided walk around the park where you can see the original children’s paddling pool from the holiday camp days which has been cleared by Friends of Speedway personnel and part of the railway track that took clay up to the brickworks which is how the lake was formed. You will be able to stand on the concrete start/finish line with marked out starting boxes; for those interested you can walk the racing line (stout footwear recommended) as it is very overgrown. The park offers a wealth of historic interest in itself, plus a cafeteria with toilets including one for the disabled. As part of our ongoing development of the reunion the café has agreed to operate a BBQ in order to cut down queues for food and to give more variety too. The display will be open between 11am ‘till 4pm. For further information please call Stuart Towner on 0208-397 6599 or stuart.towner@blueyonder.co.uk

You are correct about various types of engines - I am not a mechanical person. I never have been interested in the mechanical side of any form of motorsport - just the people who take part in it. Most speedway people like to know what the riders are doing and, like myself probably just don't care about the sport's technical side. Woof! Woof!

It would seem that about 50 Velocette speedway bikes were built but not all sold. Velocette sold three in Australia, where it appear one of them at least was adapted for use on the big circuit at Penrith. It also appears that the same engine was adapted for use in the bikes when Australian sidecar racing was in its infancy. Velocette stripped down the bikes that were not sold for use on speedway, then resold the engines for use in other forms of motorcycle sport - they were apparently especially excellent in hill-climb competitions. Information still coming in, but doubtless you knew all this Jim. I and various contacts are still trying to find out where, if it exists, Jim Kenpster's Velocette is. Woof! Woof!

The Velocette had a 411c engine. Bert Clayton from York (or Huddersfield) rode one for a team in the Northern League in 1929 and 1930. There is an established German site dealing with Velocette speedway bikes (and it mentions names like Alf hagon and Lew Coffin as trying the engine in more recent times). There's also a UK blog about these bikes. However, while the blog mentions that Jim Kempster did ride one, it does not mention if his bike is still in existence. I hope this contributes something towards the query raised by the initial Poster to this thread. Have a nice day, Jim. Woof! Woof!

There is some debate about Velocette speedway bikes currently running on http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/oldtimespeedway that may be of use to you.

It's not on ebay! Seriously, I have since traced the answer via that respected publication. I also clarified the surname spelling as McNaughton. Harold started speedway at Hastings in 1949 aged 37 years - and built himself quite a good reputation over the next five or six seasons. Nowadays - he wouldn't stand a chance of getting into the sport.

Harold MacNaughton had a spell with New Cross in the 1950s. Any idea what season it was - somewhere around 1951 or 1952.

Many thanks. I'll make the needed amendments.

http://londonspeedways.proboards.com/index.cgi I have a list of these riders as Wimbledon's 1929 Southern League team. I am certain it is incorrect as many 'star' riders are listed. Does anyone have any ideas about that season's Dons' side please? 1929 WIMBLEDON: Jim Kempster (captain), Sonny Wilson, Alf Sawford, Jack Kidwell, Alf Summersby, Dudley Cox, Bert Garrish, Mart Seiffert, Cecil Brown, Sid Cambers, Freddy Cooper, Dudley Cox, Les Dearth, Vic Huxley, John Leete, Howard Traynor. http://londonspeedways.proboards.com/index.cgi

Norbold, you really are a gem... Many thanks for this.

http://londonspeedways.proboards.com/index.cgi Any help with the 1930 line-ups for Stamford Bridge, Lea Bridge, West Ham, High Beech, Harringay, would be appreciated. http://londonspeedways.proboards.com/index.cgi

It has been pointed out that the actual hospital Tommy Farndon died in was Miller Hospital. The Greenwich Hospital is a newer hosptal at a different location (but in Greenwich) and was formed by a link-up between Miller Hospital and St Alfege's Hospital. Apologies but no prizes for spotting the error!

I look forward to that...

This review appeared in the 'South London Press', Friday, August 21, 2009. It obviously has a South London slant, dealing with Tommy Frandon and his two London clubs, Crystal Palace and New Cross:::: COVENTRY'S TWO SPEEDWAYS From: Colin Parker, 59 Clinton Lane, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8. Phone queries to: 01926 854 852. Email: colineparker@tiscali.co.uk Softback, 192 pages, 155 illustrations (30 taken at the two Coventry tracks, some in sepia). Limited print run, unlikely to be repeated. £14.99 plus £1.76 postage, packing. All profits to the Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund. THE title implies no links with south London speedway. Nothing could be further from the truth. While it deals with speedway and midget car racing at the Brandon and Lythalls Lane tracks between 1928 and 1939, in its coverage of the speedway riders, one name stands out - that of Tommy Farndon, pictured. He started his racing career at Lythalls Lane in 1929 but it was at south London tracks Crystal Palace and New Cross that he found both fame - and tragedy. After two seasons at Coventry, Farndon joined Crystal Palace in 1931, moving with the club when they went to New Cross in 1934. His main individual honours were the Star Championship in 1933 - an event of comparable status to the world championship - and winning the London Riders Championship in 1933, 1934 and 1935. At the time of his death, he was holder of the British Individual Match Race Championship. As a tribute to him, the event was never raced again. Farndon was also a regular for the England team in the annual test matches against Australia. Tragedy struck Farndon in a second-half race following a New Cross-Harringay National League match on August 27 1935. Also in the race were Ron Johnson, Bluey Wilkinson and Stan Greatrex. By the third lap, Greatrex had pulled out but Johnson, who was leading, hit the safety fence and fell in front of Farndon who then drove into the safety fence to miss his rival. He was thrown into the air before crashing down on his head. Farndon was rushed to Greenwich Hospital but died two days later. While he was in hospital, large crowds waited outside the hospital for bulletins on his condition. At one time the crowd was so large - many thousands - that police had to divert traffic at nearby Deptford Broadway. There are many other references to Tommy Farndon and his rider brother Sid throughout the book. Apart from tracing the early days of Coventry's two tracks, the many references to Tommy Farndon weigh strongly in its favour. I commend the book to all those who are interested in speedway history. JOHN HYAM

Many thanks norbold. I am only interested in the London teams, but I fancy that the main poster would like all the 1930 Southern Leageu squads?

Hi Norbold: It was a mystery to me in the sense I couldn't find the line-ups in a collated format All other pre-war years are in either Stenners or The People Guide. My other usual research is the Speedway Researcher. Guess that I'll have to go to Colindale - one of these days - and browse the Speedway News for the line-ups/squads for 1930!!! I don't need the results, so I'll pass on getting a copy of Robert Bamforth's book.

Re the 1930 Southern League: I have been trying for some time to get the team squads for use on http://londonspeedways.proboards.com/index.cgi The 1930 league appears to be something of a mystery. There may be results in Speedway News for that year - copies possibly on file at the newspaper museum at Colindale, north London. The London Speedway site does carry the team squads for 1929 but does not go into match results. I wish you good luck in your research.

Yes. One planned for October 11. More details soon from organiser Stu Towner.

QUOTE (Robbie B @ Aug 6 2009, 10:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> From various Wimbledon sources I have 1929 Mike Seiffert (Capt), Cecil Brown, Sid Cambers, Freedy Cooper, Dudley Cox, Les Dearth, Bert Gerrish, Vic Huxley, Jim Kempster, Jack Kidwell, John Leete, Alf Sawford, Alf Summersby, Howard Trayner, Sonny Wilson 1930 Jim Kempster (Capt), Dicky Case, Mart Eiffert, Del Forster, Bert Gerrish, Billy Lamont, Len Parker, Alf Sawford, Ray Tauser 1931 Vic Huxley (Capt), Dicky Case, Dick Etherington, Ernie Evans, Dick Forster, Bert Gerrish, Ivor Hill, Jim Kempster, Billy Lamont, Dicky Maybrook, Len Parker, Claude Rye, Alf Sawford, Charlie Spinks, Len Stewart, Ray Tauser, Arthur Westwood 1932 Vic Huxley (Capt), Dicky Case, Con Cantwell, Bill Dallison, Ivor Hill, Wally Hull, Billy Lamont, Wally Little, Mick Murphy, Len Parker, Claude Rye, Alf Sawford, Ray Tauser 1933 Vic Huxley (Capt), Frank Arthur, Frank Bond, Ted Bravery, Charles Blacklock, Jack Chapman, Keith Harvey, Walter Hull, Dick Hutchings, Tiger Lewis, Syd Jackson, Gus Khan, Billy Lamont, Fred Leavis, Mick Murphy, Wal Phillips, Geoff Pymar, Claude Rye, Alf Sawford, Dick Smythe, Bill Stanley, Ray Tauser, Harry Walther, Arthur Warwick, Rube Wilson, Dick Wise 1934 Vic Huxley (Capt), Ron Howes, Syd Jackson, Gus Khan, Fred Leavis, Sammy Marsland, Wal Phillips, Geoff Pymar, Bill Rogers, Claude Rye, Horace Rye, Alf Sawford, Rube Wilson 1935 Vic Huxley (Capt), Eric Collins, Syd Jackson, Gus Khan, Fred Leavis, ? Lemon, Wal Morton, Wal Phillips, Geoff Pymar, Claude Rye, Alf Sawford, Jack Sharpe 1936 Vic Huxley (Capt), Eric Collins, Syd Edmonds, Syd Jackson, Gus Khan, Fred Leavis, Will Lowther, Wal Phillips, Geoff Pymar, Bill Rogers, Claude Rye 1937 Eric Collins, Eric French, Ron Howes, Wally Key, Gus Khan, Wilbur Lamereaux, Fred Leavis, Wally Little, Wally Lloyd, Bryd McKinney, Wal Morton, Wilf Plant, Geoff Pymar, Bill Rogers, Alfred Rumrich, Claude Rye, Rol Stobart, Ray Vigor, Miny Walin 1938 Eric Collins, Norman Evans, Eric French, Benny Kaufmann, Wally Key, Wilbur Lamoreaux, Fred Leavis, Wally Lloyd, Geoff Pymar, Bert Spencer 1939 Eric Collins, Norman Evans, Eric French, Benny Kaufmann, Wally Key, Wilbur Lamoreaux, Fred Leavis, Wally Lloyd, Ron Mason, Geoff Pymar, Crocky Rawding In the Wimbledon home programmes of 1978 they listed all of their squad members up to that year, that they could find. Hope this helps. Many thanks indeed for your very kind help.

And who the guy who followed him everywhere with a notebook was?