cityrebel

that is why i started this topic. in the homes of british speedway book it gives no reason for the move.

so the site of the go kart circuit was only used for two seasons in 1958 and 1959. does that mean that the current track is still in the original stadium that opened in the 1930's.

the alley you are talking about was mead path. it is no longer there having been built on a few years ago. i do agree with you though it was pretty scary down there, you would have to be very brave or stupid to walk down there after dark.

does anyone know why rye house moved from the now go kart circuit to the present track in 1958.

craig cook must have a good chance he was very impressive at rye tonight.

very nice to read your memories jack. i remember seeing gary ride at the london tracks when i was a kid. i must say well done to your buxton boys for putting on a good show on the island on tuesday, i thought it was a very good meeting.

all the wimbledon fans telling cyril maidment to use brad oxley in a last heat decider at the abbey in 1981. the dons shared the race and won 40-38 but still finished bottom of the league.

well i've enjoyed going to both venues. i'm just glad us southern based fans and collectors have somewhere to go to get us warmed up for the new season.

as a londoner i would like to see a grand prix at both venues.

i thought hackney pre 1984 was a decent racetrack, although not in the same class as west ham!.

the three wimbledon dons brad oxley, gene woods and bobby ott!.

i was there that night it was an awful accident and one i will never forget. it's hard to believe it was so long ago RIP vic.

the fire brigade rowed down my street and put ladders up against the upstairs windows because all of the rooms downstairs were under water!.

the 1968 laurels won by barry briggs was the first meeting i ever went to. i remember the stadium was still wet from the floods caused by the river wandle bursting it's banks earlier in the month. i lived near to the track and had to be rescued by rowing boat from my upstairs bedroom window!!!.

ebay is your best bet.

i last went there on royal wedding day 1981 to see the dons get a 39-39 draw against the vikings thanks to a 5-1 in heat 13. one memory for me was all the street partys going on all around the stadium celebrating the big day.

i did'nt like to ask cyril his age but he looked very well. most of my questions were about long gone tracks he had ridden at such as neath, bristol (knowle), stoke (sun street), bradford (greenfield) and many others. i told cyril i was a lifelong wimbledon fan and he told me a few stories of his rides at the london tracks i went to as a kid. i will visit newport again this season as my inlaws live in carmarthen, when i do i will look him up and pass on your messages.

i went to the newport v rye house meeting yesterday and ended up sitting next to ex woves and wasps rider cyril francis. we had a very interesting chat about cyrils career and memories. i thought it was good to see a speedway veteran like cyril still taking an active intrest in the sport.

seeing as there is a lot of talk about london speedway at the moment, i thought i would refresh my topic on my top track as a child west ham. any more memories anyone?.

as with all forms of collecting you have to draw the line somewhere. the greater london boundary is as good a line as any.

as a collector of most things to do with london speedway this is the method i use. i only collect tracks that operated within the present greater london boundary. if they extend this area to include high beech, rye house and arena essex i might have to think again!.

i've been to plenty of sittingbourne double headers, i expect delays at conference league level. some of the doubles at white city took four hours to run which was a long time for 26 heats at a top flight track. there is a big difference between sitting in the sunshine in kent for five hours compared to being a schoolboy waiting for a bus at midnight in a dodgy part of london.

being a dons fan living in earlsfield i could'nt believe my luck having a new track opening only a bus ride away on the 220. i remember sitting on my own in the glass fronted back straight enclosure, i could only do this in the summer months because all the power was turned off!. i used to love watching the riders emerge from the changing rooms beneath the centre green, the longest running double headers ever staged and running for the last bus home. so many good memories enough to bring tears to a glass eye. RIP wood lane.

for any south london fans that want the new cross book they had four copies in the colliers wood branch of wh smith a couple of weeks ago.

the plough was the pub opposite the main entrance. it was closed down a few years ago.