StevePass Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 How many forum members stood or should I say ducked down behind Romford's white wall and what would the riders of today make of not only the wall but how close the fans were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
25yearfan Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 Like a lot of tracks in them days you could stand right against the fence at Romford and almost touch the riders as they went past! Nowadays Romfords fence would of been condemed as solid concrete walls aren't allowed and spectators would of had to stand further away from the fence. Though still to this day tracks in New Zealand and Australia use solid concrete walls that don't move even if cars hit them! Romford were sucessful during their 3 season spell at the now defunct Brooklands stadium. The anti speedway campaign and subsequent closure of Romford was disgusting. I believe that Ipswich Witches legends John 'Tiger' Louis and Tony 'Shrimp' Davey are the joint track record holders, a record that will never be broken! I think Romford Greyhound stadium would be an ideal place to reopen the Romford Bombers speedway team. Though I'm sure obtaining P/P would be difficult I wonder if any promotor has looked into it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevH Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 OK it wasn't a concrete wall, but Canterbury offered the chance to get inches away from the racing too - halcyon days indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryn Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 Always enjoyed my visits to Kingsmead - especially when Crayford won, which wasn't often! Never did win the dozen eggs donated as a raffle prize by Mrs Moon though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCB Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 Like a lot of tracks in them days you could stand right against the fence at Romford and almost touch the riders as they went past! I believe the last track where you could get that close shut down at the end of last season Exeters 4th bend/start of the home straight had no barrier (other than the solid metal fence) between riders and fans. The best thing was that due to the shape of the track it was almost as if the rider were heading straight for you until they flicked the bike at the last second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Butler Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 BelleVue [Hyde Road] had a solid wooden fence painted in a white that would have been a credit to the D***X dog. How ell I remember, as a young kid of 14+, leaning on it and ducking down at the last moment. How well I remember leaning over the high pits wall and watching the riders working on their bikes [except for the legendary Jack Parker who never did]. How well I remember getting into trouble when I got home for having a cinderdust face. Grown-ups just didn't understand the finer points of sport. Thank you, Steve, for reving those memories of my speedway infancy. Ron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trees Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 Lynn just had it's one set of wooden slat boarding but Shooting Star and I certainly stood right against it on the 3rd bend in the late seventies, like you say, ducking at the last minute ............ never once thought about how much danger we were in, and never once did a rider have a "moment" so we had to evacuate ............... born lucky I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom House Kid Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 (edited) Spent many a happy evening, dodging shale at brooklands. Used to go on my bike with my mate! I seem to remember a Czech rider going over the wall with his bike. What a great young Czech side. the Verners etc and the Bombers Tony George, Phil Woodcock' Ross Gilbertson. Those where the days! Edited July 9, 2006 by Custom House Kid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knowle Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 Another great fence to hang over was at Eastville. On my first visit I could not believe how close you could get to the action having previously only been to tracks with greyhound tracks intervening. Happy days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
star ghost Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 The old Firs Stadium at Norwich had a whitewashed board fence throughout the existence of the track. A midget car took out some of it one night. Little Johnny Chamberlain had a collision with Roy Moreton one night and took out some of the fencing. The track "carpenter" soon had it o k again on these occasions. As has been stated Kings Lynn had up to the fence racing with a board fence for many years. It is only relevantly recently that people have been kept back from the fence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 Berwicks fence/track of circa 1979 looked interesting!! Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 Happy happy days when you could hang over a fence & watch the riders flash past inches away. I remember riding at Crewe & watching the crowd lean back as you went past down the back straight...awsome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 Remember at Hyde Road the fans in the middle of the straights used to hang over the fence with their programme boards lined up against their right eye. Clever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tape2tapevideo Posted July 11, 2006 Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 You used to be able to lean on the fence at Arlington until one day those lovely Canterbury fans lifted it of it's hinges!, great memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 The 'home' straight at Brooklands had additional wooden and chickenwire combination as the concrete wall there was too low. The worst accident in Brooklands three year history was when Bill Moulin of Belle Vue Colts broke his leg and - yes, you guessed it - he hit the home straight fence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyMac Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 As Stan Stevens (briefly a Bomber in 1971) told us in the latest issue of VSM, “people kept on about the concrete fence, but I just stayed away from it!" I'd never heard of that Belle Vue rider getting hurt at Romford - the Czechs were of course notorious visitors but one or two of the Rayleigh boys also got hurt there - Alan Jackson for one. I didn't start going to watch until 1971, the last of their three seasons. Kevin Holden, Phil Woodcock, Bob Coles and Charlie Benham...absolute legends! I once saw the Aussie Bruce Edgar buying a paper in WH Smith's in the town – it was the only time I'd seen him upright for longer than 30 seconds! Long after the stadium was demolished, I used to live just two roads away from Brooklands and it was always difficult to turn the corner and see that horrible housing estate where the Thursday night mecca once stood. It took just one local resident – a Mr Stretch - to get the track shut down on noise grounds...and then he buggered off out of the area within a tear or two. The dog track is a complete non-starter, though, and yes, a number of people have considered it. It's completely hemmed in by houses. But if anyone could find a new site relatively close to the town, with its main rail connections from London Liverpool St. to Southend, it would stand a good chance of being a success. When I win the lottery, the Bombers will be back ... in the Elite League! And with an air fence, naturally! Interestingly, in the latest Backtrack, Lew Stripp comments that Romford was the most intimidating place for him to referee, because of the close proximity of the crowd to the ref's box, low down by the starting gate. Must go now, otherwise I'll feel the urge to write a book about the Bombers era... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 Must go now, otherwise I'll feel the urge to write a book about the Bombers era... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> OK tmc when this book going to be out? I'll have a copy please. Just to jog your memory you could include some of the most popular characters that visited Romford. Dave Lanning the Eastbourne team manager, he always used to get booed almost as much as Tony Childs [Crayford] as did Len Silver when he came with his Rayleigh Rockets. Then of course there where those team from Ipswich who always came down on the first meeting of the season and win. They always had a secret weapon. In 1970 it was a certain John Louis and then the following year Tony Davey! Then of course there where the Bombers. Maurice Morley was doing the introductions at the start of the meeting. What a shame Charlie Benham could not be interviewed in this book. He was such a popular skipper and character, unbelievable really thinking about it now. Perhaps his wife Sandra may say a few words? Then there was Bruce Edgar, Frank Wendon, Phil Woodcock, Footie, Des Lukehurst, Dave Percy, dear old Ross Gilbertson, the late great Kevin Holden oh the list could just goes on and on ..... Perhaps we could find the guy who used to sell the programmes at a shilling each. His catch phrase ‘you can have two programmes for two shilling’ Better put my slippers back on, getting a wee bit to excited here now. We had the biggest supporters club in the country in 1969 with The Cox’s [Gordon and Ruth] running it. The late Pete Lansdale and Wally Mawdsley. Oh the Czech’s who can forget them literally riding the concrete fence. Oh, then there was a football match between a Romford Boro eleven v Speedway Riders eleven, the Recorder Trophy, Carnival Rosebowl and the Division Two London Riders Championship individual meeting's, oh my god the memories are flooding back. Will this book be out before the end of this season? If not perhaps you could do some exclusive extracts in the Backtrack mag please? Up the Bombers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjw ministerofport Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 I had a perspex program board, it was great for watching Ivan Mauger flying around the boards at Hyde Road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Custom House Kid Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Dave Lanning the Eastbourne team manager, he always used to get booed <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Dave lanning used to get booed at Custom House! (Well i did anyway) and he was the West Ham Manager at the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrwulfAndrew Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 I believe the last track where you could get that close shut down at the end of last season Exeters 4th bend/start of the home straight had no barrier (other than the solid metal fence) between riders and fans. The best thing was that due to the shape of the track it was almost as if the rider were heading straight for you until they flicked the bike at the last second. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> i found that amazing when i went last year.........it was such a unique track Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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