New West Ham Memories Dvd

[TonyMac]

WEST HAM SPEEDWAY MEMORIES

FANS who used to get their weekly ‘fix’ at the now sadly defunct Custom House stadium on Tuesday nights will be interested to know that a new double-disc DVD called West Ham Speedway Memories is to be released next month.

 

Retro Speedway, who are producing the DVD, have tracked down numerous former Hammers riders for a series of nostalgic interviews, including two members of the famous 1965 British League and KO Cup-winning side, Norman Hunter and Malcolm Simmons, plus Bengt Jansson, Tony Clarke, George Barclay and Olle Nygren, the club’s last captain when the team folded at the end of 1971.

 

There is also a section on the 1970 Lokeren Road disaster including candid accounts from two of the survivors of the crash that killed five members of the West Ham party.

 

Other former riders recall their earliest memories of watching at West Ham when legends such as Eric Chitty, Malcolm Craven and Jack Young were Hammers heroes.

 

Hammers’ supporters and their wealth of memorabilia also feature, along with archive cine footage of racing at the docklands venue, although the publishers are still keen to obtain any other action film taken at Custom House which could be converted for use on their DVD.

 

Anyone who can help should phone Tony McDonald at Retro Speedway on 01708 734 502 or email editorial@retro-speedway.com. You can also now pre-order the DVD for £16 by phoning the above number or by going online at http://www.retro-speedway.com.

 

“For anyone who attended West Ham Speedway from its earliest vintage days right up to the closure in May 1972, this DVD will evoke many fond memories,” says McDonald. “Unfortunately, action footage from West Ham is very rare, so we’d love to hear from anyone – perhaps a supporter who used an old 8mm cine camera to film the racing. We would obviously get their film converted to DVD format and return their original reels along with a complimentary copy of our new DVD.”

 

The West Ham DVD follows recent similar releases on defunct tracks by Retro Speedway recalling the history of Canterbury and Rayleigh. There are plans for a new Hackney DVD to follow.

[The White Knight]

Come on Tony - What about some Northern Tracks? Belle Vue has a great History - surely a set of DVDs for the only Club that has ridden continuously since it started.

 

Perhaps a compilation set of DVDs on Northern Tracks like Edinburgh, Glasgow, Berwick, Workington, Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough/Redcar, Bradford, Hull would be possible.

[TonyMac]

Come on Tony - What about some Northern Tracks? Belle Vue has a great History - surely a set of DVDs for the only Club that has ridden continuously since it started.

 

Perhaps a compilation set of DVDs on Northern Tracks like Edinburgh, Glasgow, Berwick, Workington, Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough/Redcar, Bradford, Hull would be possible.

 

Of course it is possible, but plse remember we're a two-man band and can only produce so many magazines, books and DVDs in a given space of time. Geographically, we have begun this latest DVD series by covering defunct tracks in the south-east, where most of their ex-riders are still based and are therefore easier to interview from a practical point of view.

 

Take your point about Belle Vue, but there was an Aces of Yesteryear series of videos produced in the 80s & 90s and I would imagine most Belle Vue supporters we would be aiming a DVD of similar ilk at would already be in possession of this older set.

Edited February 27, 2012 by tmc