BOBBATH

The consensus from the posts seems to be its Mr. Blewett-one question remains therefore-where is he now-is he still with us??

Thanx mate--great site.Hope they come back some day P.S. Great roast pork sandwiches served at the stadium.

Cradley Heath was my favorite place to visit(this is in the era 1964-68)-there was a pub just across the way from the track where everyone went after a meeting-does anybody remember the name??. The home supporters were always very welcoming and I loved going there.As regards Ivor Brown how old was he when he passed away??. Didn't he marry a girl from Newport??. Also does anyone know what happened to other PL CH riders e.g. George Major, Eric Hockaday , John Edwards??As regards John- in 1967 I lodged at a house(I think the address was 20 New Century Road, Laindon Essex) where he had rented when he rode for Stoke/CH. According to the landlady- whose name I forget -he had moved to USA .Anyway for all CH fans out there for what its worth I feel it was a goddam shame when that track closed and I still have wonderful memories of the place

This is all great stuff BUT does anybody know where Al Sparrey is these days ???

Are u thinking of "Entry of the Gladiators" don't think it was that tho-was it something to do with hunting etc??

Wait a minute here-didn't Martin Ashby have a brother called Dave-I remember the name but I thought it was Martin's brother.Could be wrong though(often am as other forum members know)!!!!!

That's right BFD -it was hernia -I'd forgotten that.

BFD I agree-Ivor Brown in my view was THE top PL rider over the years. By the way does anyone know Ivor's age when he passed away?

Norbold you are right and I am wrong on the WF story-further research confirms your understanding. BFD:Jack joined Wasps in their second year-1965 and yes he did partner Peter Vandenberg(strong pairing)-other heat leaders were Alby Golden and Dick Bradley.After Dick was injured Jack would ride with others e.g. Geoff Penniket or Jon Erskine usually. Original Wasps were the team of 64 in PL(Golden,Erskine,Bradley,Vandenberg, Vic White, Ray Harris). Piece of trivia-Jack used to often suffer from stomach ailments which adversely affected his riding on any given night.

I think Cyril's last track was Norwich-is that right Starghost??

Jack was killed in about 1974 in Melbourne I think(could be wrong on the city),much controversy re his last race in WF 51-where he had 12 pts from 4 rides.Story goes Split Waterman went to the other two riders(Williams and Lawson I think) and said I really need these pts -if I win I have 12 also.Gimme a break here. If Jack had done the same thing they might have stayed out of his way also. In the event Jack was shut out trailed in last , Split got 3 pts and was in a three man run off for Champion which ended up Young, Waterman, Biggs. Would be interested in what others in forumland think.

I know Bert has passed away-but what about the other two-did Bob ever recover from that terrible accident in -was it 58??

Hi Gemini-no I'm not the guy who bought your Leicester badge on e-bay. I raise these threads when a name pops into my mind I'm interested that so many folks in forumland have similar memories.. I emigrated in 1968-altho have been to various speedways on visits back. My dream is to do a trip round all the trax that were operating when I left-I think only Poole, Swindon,Oxford, Coventry,Newcastle,Sheffield,Berwick, Eastbourne(may have missed some)-I don't count ones like Belle Vue that changed locations

Anybody recall these two great characters-Charlie at Leicester and Al at Swindon-and again the usual question are they still with us??

Jackie Biggs rode for Newport in first year BL(1965)-he was the top scorer and a real star-exceeded expectations as he was transferred from Bees where he was only a 4 pt score in 64.Newport's first away fixture that year was against the mighty Wimbledon and he top scored for Newport and they lost only by 40-38 I think. Jack rode for Newport a couple of years after that also I think. A piece of trivia-65 was the year Ronnie Biggs the train robber broke out of jail. In a Newport program there was a photo of Jack falling off and there was a competition for best caption for the photo. The winning caption read "Another Biggs Escape"!!! Hope Sheila(who had an unusual maiden name -I think it was Sheila Fairey-) is still alive-a very nice lady.

Got it right Brian thats my recollection too-I think Howdy was born in1919-which means he was still riding in his mid 40's I think he was riding for Hackney in first year BL in 65

Great memories Brian-one small correction respectfully submitted-I think Briggo won the 64 World Final in Gothenburg Sweden

My pleasure Brian and greetings from Canada-I think it important these 50's 60's guys are not forgotten-also a piece of data for me-I never knew Alf was Ronnie's father in law.I am looking at a prog 28/7/65 Semi final of WC at Poole-Ron scored 10 pts(he was a Poole rider that year)-finishing ahead of Barry Briggs in Heat 15 -he qualified for British Final at West Ham-it was rained off and held a week later-sadly Ron only got 1 pt which shows the quality of the competition. I remember Ron personally as a really tough guy at that time-with thick black hair-guess its white now as you say.Good for you for announcing his presence at the track.

Was Bert older than Harry or vice versa-thanx for all the feedback-when I read of Harry being a POW it reminded me of Howdy Byford's experience. He wrote a v. interesting series of articles in Speedway Star in I guess the late fifties about his captivity.

I recall Harry Edwards riding for Wolves in 1964 I think-last year of Prov League-was he related to Bert Edwards of Ipswich fame of a few years earlier who had a regular column in Speedway Star in the mid fifties. Are these guys till around. Harry looked awful old to me in 1964 and was a veteran then-I think he'd been thru a lot in the war perhaps.Are either of these two guys still around.

Wasn't Colin a member of the Oxford title winning team of 64 with Ronnie Genz and then became a top rider at Exeter in the first BL years.

Thanx all- I reckon Ron was about the same vintage as Colin(Joe) Goody-and he was born in 1935 or so.

While I'm on the subject-are Bryan Elliott(the first ever NL rider I saw) and Jim Lightdfoot(Capn' Jim)-still around-two world finalists when it was really tough to get to the World Final. Weren't those early sixties great-beam me back there Scotty!!!!

Is Ronnie still around-does anybody remember that in 1964 if an NL rider appeared on PL trax they were blacklisted-Ron stayed with the NL(Oxford) but then appeared (I think at Exeter)- at a black track-under the assumed name of Reg Neal-I know he scored 4 points in the meeting he appeared in-which surprised me-cos I thought NL riders were so much better than PL riders. Anyway Ron was a great guy and I hope he's still alive and kickin'.I recall him as a top rider for Poole in 1965 Anybody in Forumland know what this great rider is now doing.

Thanx Trackman got the pictures of 60th