Crystal Palace Memories

[speedyguy]

On the Crystal Palace rider database on the

http://londonspeedways.proboards.com/index.cgi

these riders are named for the team: Les Trim, Keith Harvey, Bob Lovell, Charlie Challis, Vic Weir, Mick Mitchell, George Gower, Ron Clarke, Charlie Appleby, George Liddle, George Dykes, Eddie Barker, Ernie Pawson, Andy Markham, Bronco Slade, Charlie Page, Austin Humphries

 

Has any other club had so many riders with the same first name: The Palace had three Charlies (with respect!) Challis, Appleby, Page: there were also three Georges - Gower, Liddle, Dykes.

 

And, er! Mind the lamp post!

[speedyguy]

On the Crystal Palace rider database on the

http://londonspeedways.proboards.com/index.cgi

these riders are named for the team: Les Trim, Keith Harvey, Bob Lovell, Charlie Challis, Vic Weir, Mick Mitchell, George Gower, Ron Clarke, Charlie Appleby, George Liddle, George Dykes, Eddie Barker, Ernie Pawson, Andy Markham, Bronco Slade, Charlie Page, Austin Humphries

 

Has any other club had so many riders with the same first name: The Palace had three Charlies (with respect!) Challis, Appleby, Page: there were also three Georges - Gower, Liddle, Dykes.

 

And, er! Mind the lamp post!

 

 

Another interesting note - in 1939 Palace had two Canadians in their squad - Charlie Appleby (who died after a track accdient when with Birmingham in 1946) and Eddie 'Flash' Barker. The latter was an all-in-wrestler who turned to speedway at West Ham in 1938 (alongside fellow countrymen Eric Chitty and Jimmy Gibb). Barker was back in England iin 1947 - again as wrestler and linked with the London promoters Dale Martin Promoters.

 

Mind the lamp post!

Edited December 2, 2009 by speedyguy

[Guest]

This is rather a so-called shot-in-the-dark, but does any member know if Keith Harvey had a motorcycle business in the Stockwell area of South London in the late 1930s-early 1950s? I know and have confirmed that two other riders, Claude Rye and Frank Lawrence, did have this sort of venture in the area, but I have now been told that Harvey was also involved with a similar business in the neighbourhood.

Edited June 19, 2016 by Guest

[Guest]

​This is an interesting item on the Sydenham Town Forum website in regard to speedway at Crystal Palace between 1928-1940.

https://www.sydenham.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6702&p=52279

Edited June 23, 2016 by Guest

[iris123]

Not really sure what is interesting there.Most of the ebay things are no longer available to see.Just a strange guy called 'tulse hill terry' who is asking about the date of an item and a few posts later states

 

 

I have no personal interest in the Speedway, and don't personally care what the date of the postcards is. I also don't want to spend £113 buying them.

In looking for the publication I also come across this website, which I havn't read as I am not personally interested in the Speedway.

It is all a bit weird and wonder if John Hyam has any input to that piece?

[iris123]

10 minutes ago, gustix said:

Besides its speedway history - and of course the mainstream motor and motorcycle racing circuit - Crystal Palace staged the first British midget car meeting in 1934, and had a second full season in 1935. There was also an brief attempt to revive the former in 1938 when, after Lea Bridge closed, their tea, were based at the Palace for a few meetings.

Not really anything to do with ‘Crystal Palace 1939’ though,is it?

[Guest]

More background to Crystal Palace 'over the years' as seen on the Speedway Museum Online website.

http://www.national-speedway-museum.co.uk/crystalpalace1040.html

[Guest]

On 11/29/2009 at 12:01 PM, speedyguy said:

On the Crystal Palace rider database on the

http://londonspeedways.proboards.com/index.cgi

these riders are named for the 1939 team: Les Trim, Keith Harvey, Bob Lovell, Charlie Challis, Vic Weir, Mick Mitchell, George Gower, Ron Clarke, Charlie Appleby, George Liddle, George Dykes, Eddie Barker, Ernie Pawson, Andy Markham, Bronco Slade, Charlie Page, Austin Humphries

 

Has any other club had so many riders with the same first name: The Palace had three Charlies (with respect!) Challis, Appleby, Page: there were also three Georges - Gower, Liddle, Dykes.

 

And, er! Mind the lamp post!

 

CRYSTAL PALACE.

Opened May 19 1928. End of 1933 the team moved to New Cross. Open meetings staged until 1938. Entered Division Two April 1939. Closed June 1939. Open meetings 1940. Track closed late 1940. Address: Crystal Palace Exhibition Grounds, Sydenham, London, SE26.

Edited December 29, 2018 by Guest

[iris123]

On 6/23/2016 at 7:10 PM, iris123 said:

Not really sure what is interesting there.Most of the ebay things are no longer available to see.Just a strange guy called 'tulse hill terry' who is asking about the date of an item and a few posts later states

 

It is all a bit weird and wonder if John Hyam has any input to that piece?

Did we ever get to the bottom of who ‘tulse hill terry’was?

[Guest]

There was an attempt circa 1947 to revive speedway at Crystal Palace which was rejected. Subsequently another attempt was made in this period to stage speedway at Selhurst Park, the home of Crystal Palace FC. This was rejected by the local council following complaints from local residents in regard to noise issues.

[iris123]

On 6/24/2016 at 12:47 AM, gustix said:

CRYSTAL PALACE.

Opened May 19 1928. End of 1933 the team moved to New Cross. Open meetings staged until 1938. Entered Division Two April 1939. Closed June 1939. Open meetings 1940. Track closed late 1940. Address: Crystal Palace Exhibition Grounds, Sydenham, London, SE26.

Just in case anyone missed it the previous couple of times 

[Guest]

Keith Harvey was the last rider to captain Crystal Palace. This was in the 1939 season. This item about him appears on the Speedway Museum Online website.

http://www.national-speedway-museum.co.uk/keithharvey.html

[Guest]

Norman Jacobs wrote an excellent book in regard to the history of Crystal Palace Speedway. This is a review of his work: http://www.national-speedway-museum.co.uk/crystal palace - a history of the glaziers.html

[Guest]

How the Defunct Speedway Tracks website recorded Crystal Palace Speedway history: 

http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Crystal Palace.htm

Edited December 29, 2018 by Guest

[Guest]

Crystal Palace teams - 1929-33 and 1939.

1929 SOUTHERN LEAGUE:
CRYSTAL PALACE: Triss Sharp, George Lovick, Brian Donkin, Arthur Willmott, Joe Francis, Jack Barrett.

1930 SOUTHERN LEAGUE:

CRYSTAL PALACE: Ron Johnson, Joe Francis, Nobby Key, Roger Frogley, Triss Sharp, Clem Mitchell, Wally Lloyd, Jack Barrett, Harry Shepherd, Bryan Donkin, Buster Buckland, George Lovick, Arthur Willmott, Bert Gerrish, George MacKenzie, Jim Cowie, Jack Luke, Will Nicholas.

!93! SOUTHERN LEAGUE
CRYSTAL PALACE - Jim Cowis, Tom Farndon, Joe Francis, Roger Frogley, Ron Johnson, Nobby Key, George Lovick, Skid Pitcher, Alf Sawford, Triss Sharp, Harry Shepherd

1932 NATIONAL LEAUGE

CRYSTAL PALACE - Eric Blain, Tom Farndon, Del Forster, Joe Francis, Ron Johnson, Clem Mitchell, Jack Dalton, xxx Blain, Nobby Key, George Newton, Alec Peel, Alf Sawford, Triss Sharp, Harry Shepherd

1933 NATIONAL LEAGUE

CRYSTAL PALACE: Ron Johnson, Joe Francis, Tom Farndon, George Newton, Nobby Key, Harry Shepherd, Jack Jackson, Lew Lancaster, Les Gregory, xx Hustwayte, Jack Dalton, Jack Riddle

1939 NATIONAL LEAGUE, DIVISION TWO
CRYSTAL PALACE -- Division Two (withdrew) - Charlie Appleby, Charlie Challis, Ron Clarke, Keith Harvey, Bob Lovell, Mick Mitchell, Les Trim, Vic Weir, Ernie Pawson, George Liddle, Austin Humphries, Charlie Page, George Gower, George Dykes, Eddie 'Flash' Barker

Edited December 30, 2018 by Guest

[Guest]

22 hours ago, gustix said:

Norman Jacobs wrote an excellent book in regard to the history of Crystal Palace Speedway. This is a review of his work: http://www.national-speedway-museum.co.uk/crystal palace - a history of the glaziers.html

More details about Norman Jacobs excellent book on Crystal Palace Speedway:

CRYSTAL PALACE SPEEDWAY
A HISTORY OF THE GLAZIERS
By Norman Jacobs
Acknowledgments
Norman Jacobs writes: “As always, I have relied heavily on Peter Jackson for the statistics. I would also like to thank John Hyam and Terry Stone for pointing me in the direction of useful material and Triss and Brian Sharp, sons of Crystal’s Palace’s first captain for talking to me at length and showing me their father’s memorabilia.
“Photographs used in the book are from a variety of sources and I would like to thank the following for allowing me to to use theirs: Ian Moultray, Mike Hunter and the Friends of Edinburgh Speedway, Mike Kemp, John Chaplin, Martin Appleby, Tom Marriott, Brian Darby, Triss and Brian Sharp, Nigel Bird and John Skinner of www.defunctspeedway.co.uk.
“Last, but by no means least, I would like to thank my wife, Linda, for all her help with getting the photographs ready for publication.”
Conclusion
Norman Jacobs writes: “Crystal Palace Speedway was born in the age when humans were pushing the boundaries as never before. The early meetings at High Beech had brought a whole new exciting and exhilarating sport to the British public and they loved it. Over the next couple of years, dozens of tracks opened all around the country as people flocked to see the leather-clad warriors tearing round the track, seemingly defying death at every turn.
“One of the earliest of these new tracks was Crystal Palace, the second to open in London, just three months after the first meeting. The racing was some of the best in the country and it brought to the public heroes such as Triss Sharp, Ron Johnson and Tom Farndon. In the early 1930s, Crystal Palace was on top of the world attracting crowds of 20,000 or 30,000 through the turnstiles regularly every week.
“Sadly, however, the management of the Crystal Palace itself never fully understood speedway crowds and what made the racing so exciting, they saw it as just another money-making attraction. Their refusal to install floodlights to allow evening racing and their proposal to increase the rent led the promoters, Fred Mockford and Cecil Smith, to say ‘enough is enough’. They moved operations to a new purpoe-built track.
“Crystal Palace’s own attempts at staging speedway in the latter years of the 1930s was a disaster, and so the track that had once attracted tens of thousands and been acknowledged as one of the best in the country closed down never to reopen. When the real speedway boom set in after the Second World War, Crystal Palace was in no position to take part. Precious relics such as badges and programmes and the fading memories of an ever-dwindling number of fans who actually saw racing at Crystal Palace are all we have left to remind us of the glory years at at what was once one of speedway’s premier tracks.”
Bibliographical information: Publication August 2012; ISBN 978-1-78155-063-5. Price £14.99. Format (mm) 235 x 162 mm. Binding Paperback. Page extent 128. Illustrations 50 black and white. Rights World all languages. Bic Codes WSPM.

 

[iris123]

It is indeed a good book and let’s hope this does at least give the sales a boost

[norbold]

It certainly looks like an excellent book. I must get a copy. 

[Guest]

Crystal Palace on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Palace_Glaziers

 

Edited January 2, 2019 by Guest

[Guest]

There are some speedway items to be found in the Crystal Palace Museum. Check Link for Museum details:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186338-d288053-Reviews-Crystal_Palace_Museum-London_England.html