Bridson

[dlprezes]

Where they went G. Bridson.

 

dlprezes

[star ghost]

Gerry Bridson who rode for Southampton and Poole I think

[speedyguy]

Gerry Bridson who rode for Southampton and Poole I think

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I think that he may also have riddem at SAL level for Ringwood and Eastbourne? Not certain offhand, but the name rings a bell from my links with that league in the late 1950s.

 

 

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/oldtimespeedway

[chunky]

I think that he may also have riddem at SAL level for Ringwood and Eastbourne? Not certain offhand, but the name rings a bell from my links with that league in the late 1950s.

 

 

You are indeed correct. He rode for Ringwood in 1954 and 1955, with some appearances for Eastbourne in '55 also.

 

Steve

[dlprezes]

You are indeed correct.  He rode for Ringwood in 1954 and 1955, with some appearances for Eastbourne in '55 also.

 

Steve

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He went in WCQR 1959 .

 

dlprezes

[TwoMinuteWarning]

Rode for Young Overseas v Young England 1958 Eastbourne - details at

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/intspeedway/yengvyov.htm

where you will also see that he was a New Zealander

 

Sometimes called Gerry, sometimes Jerry

[speedyguy]

Rode for Young Overseas v Young England 1958 Eastbourne - details at

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/intspeedway/yengvyov.htm

where you will also see that he was a New Zealander

 

Sometimes called Gerry, sometimes Jerry

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

Yes I remember that match well. Bob Warner was forced into action for Young England using borrowed equioment after Leo McAuliffe broke down on the way to the track. As it turned out, dear old Bob was Young England's match winner.

 

And riding for Young Overseas was one Ivan Mauger!

 

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/oldtimespeedway

Edited October 26, 2007 by speedyguy

[Claremont]

I knew a Gerry Bridson here in Perth years ago. He rode a few seasons at Claremont around the late 60's - early 70's. There was a little bio of him in the local track programme or a magazine back then. I have to rely on my memory about this, so please forgive any wrong info. I think Gerry was actually born in the UK and immigrated to New Zealand in the early 50's. He was a friend of Barry Briggs' and travelled back to the UK with him and had something of a career there as a speedway rider. Sometime later, he moved to Perth, Western Australia and while I don't know much about his involvement in speedway after that, I do remember him making a reappearance at Claremont around the time above....late 60's - early 70's.

 

He sticks in my memory mostly because of two of the funniest things I've ever seen in speedway. The first was of Gerry making a copy book lay down to miss a fallen rider, right outside the pit gates at Claremont. After the race was over and he was walking across the track to the pits, everyone watching from the pits gave him a standing ovation and Gerry stopped and with helmet in one hand and gloves in the other, made a very elaborate bow to us all. I reckon if he had seen it, it would have even cracked the stone-like visage of Chum Taylor!

 

The second story is something that might have been very serious, but turned out to be something else altogether. As he was coming out of the top bend at Claremont, Gerry and a rider named Ian Clifton clashed. Unbeknowst to Gerry, Ian's foot and leg had been picked up by Gerry's rear wheel and been dragged over the tyre and down the mudguard, behind the counter-shaft. We all watched from the pits at the strange sight of two men and two machines locked together and gradually going slower and slower until finally they both stopped and fell in a heap on the track. Gerry said later that he couldn't work out what was wrong with the bike...he was just about screwing the throttle off the handlebars and the bike just keep going slower and slower. Then he turned around and saw Ian, who had somehow been twisted around on his bike into such a position that the handlebars were across his throat and slowly choking him! Amazingly, Ian suffered no serious damage at all. His boot and leathers were nearly worn through, but he had no damage to himself at all. I don't know if Kevlar would stand up to that sort of treatment! lol

[oddfossengen]

I knew a Gerry Bridson here in Perth years ago. He rode a few seasons at Claremont around the late 60's - early 70's. There was a little bio of him in the local track programme or a magazine back then. I have to rely on my memory about this, so please forgive any wrong info. I think Gerry was actually born in the UK and immigrated to New Zealand in the early 50's. He was a friend of Barry Briggs' and travelled back to the UK with him and had something of a career there as a speedway rider. Sometime later, he moved to Perth, Western Australia and while I don't know much about his involvement in speedway after that, I do remember him making a reappearance at Claremont around the time above....late 60's - early 70's.

 

He sticks in my memory mostly because of two of the funniest things I've ever seen in speedway. The first was of Gerry making a copy book lay down to miss a fallen rider, right outside the pit gates at Claremont. After the race was over and he was walking across the track to the pits, everyone watching from the pits gave him a standing ovation and Gerry stopped and with helmet in one hand and gloves in the other, made a very elaborate bow to us all. I reckon if he had seen it, it would have even cracked the stone-like visage of Chum Taylor!

 

The second story is something that might have been very serious, but turned out to be something else altogether. As he was coming out of the top bend at Claremont, Gerry and a rider named Ian Clifton clashed. Unbeknowst to Gerry, Ian's foot and leg had been picked up by Gerry's rear wheel and been dragged over the tyre and down the mudguard, behind the counter-shaft. We all watched from the pits at the strange sight of two men and two machines locked together and gradually going slower and slower until finally they both stopped and fell in a heap on the track. Gerry said later that he couldn't work out what was wrong with the bike...he was just about screwing the throttle off the handlebars and the bike just keep going slower and slower. Then he turned around and saw Ian, who had somehow been twisted around on his bike into such a position that the handlebars were across his throat and slowly choking him! Amazingly, Ian suffered no serious damage at all. His boot and leathers were nearly worn through, but he had no damage to himself at all. I don't know if Kevlar would stand up to that sort of treatment! lol

gerry now lives in the channel islands and i last saw him at maury mattingleys funnneral last year but is alive and well

[Mimmo]

Sadly, Gerry died on the 24 December 2018. 

[andychalkley]

I just wrote this about Jerry in my 'The Book of Smiles'.
 

Some are looking forward to retirement. I tell them about my speedway trainer, Jerry Bridson. When racing in 1979, my trainer taught me: “Don’t look back. You will hit the wall.” We raced on flat dirt on an oval track using excessively powerful 500cc motorcycles running on methanol. The track had a solid sleeper wall. He was concerned that looking back would cause me to lose direction and run into the wooden fence. He also said: “Don’t look back. Just go.” He meant that I should not look back to see where the other riders were behind me and that I should concentrate on going faster. I was very quick off the start line and often reached the first corner first. He also said: “Don’t follow the person in front. You will come second. Race your own race.” I use all three of these as a metaphor for life. I’m not sure that metaphor is the correct word, but people understand.

• Don’t look back. You will hit the wall.
• Don’t look back. Just go.
• Don’t follow the person in front. You will come second. Race your own race.

The first one I give as advice. Some people go to psychologists. The psychologist says “Let’s dig up your history and make the situation worse. Then come back next week and give me more money.” I say not to delve back into your past as there is a tendency to remember the things you got wrong rather than the thousands of things that you got right and were complimented on. That is in the first advice: ‘Don’t look back. You will hit the wall.’ Then I advise to follow the second advice: ‘Don’t look back. Just go.’ I don’t look back to see what I did or got wrong in the past, I look forward to what might happen in the future including today. I leave the house with the positive attitude that something good will happen and I will put effort into making sure that good things happen. I go into each encounter, whether it be a shop person, a business customer, mechanic, telephonist, or whatever, with the attitude that this will be fun and enjoyable. The enjoyment usually arises from making that persons day or life happier. The third piece of advice is: ‘Don’t follow the person in front. You will come second.’ Don’t just follow the patterns of others, do what is best. I do things the way I see best. I don’t just follow the patterns set by others. If I walk into a carriage where everybody is sitting in silence and avoiding eye contact, I give a big ‘Giday’ or ‘Good Day’ with some inane comment that is immediate and not planned. I currently have given myself sixty days holiday with the task of circumnavigating the globe by train. I have completed Vancouver to Toronto by train and Frankfurt via Cologne via Prague to Kyiv. Next is to Moldova, Romana, and Istanbul where I can fly to Moscow and take the train to Irkutsk or Vladivostok. I cal it: ‘Round the World by Train’. I don’t know of others doing this.