Dave Collins - The English South African

[Guest]

By JOHN HYAM

WHEN Dave Collins arrived from South Africa in the mid-1950s for trials with Swindon the general option was that he was a South African.

And that was again the trend of thought in the early 1960s when he was at Sunderland. That view never wavered when Collins later moved on to have track time at Newcastle, Leicester and Plymouth.

But Collins was far from being a South African. He was actually born in London's East End, and saw his first meeting at West Ham in 1938. He once told me, "I was a very small boy and there was a gap in the stadium fence where I was able to squeeze in without paying. I vividly recall seeing Bluey Wilkinson in action."

After wartime service in the Royal Navy, Collins was determined to become a speedway rider and in late 1947 emigrated to South Africa to work in the gold mines to earn enough money to buy speedway equipment.

His arrival in South Africa coincided with the start of a boom for speedway in that country. He was encouraged to ride by the leading South African rider and promoter Buddy Fuller. Collins conceded, "I owe a lot to Buddy for getting me started in the sport. He was a real inspiration."

And while his name was little known to fans in Britain, Collins was a good class performer in South Africa and actually raced for an England team against the South Africans in the late 1940s. It was in 1953 Collins that Collins decided to have his first try at racing in England when he turned up at Swindon, and soon after was in a touring party which tried to popularise speedway in Spain.

In South Africa, Collins was prominent rider for some 20 seasons, his best spell probably being with the famed Durban Hornets in the mid-1950s where one of his team-mates was the legendary Norwegian star Leif 'Basse' Hveem.

These days, now into his mid-eighties, Collins lives in Durban, where his passionate interest is restoring vintage speedway bikes.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Guest

[racers and royals]

By JOHN HYAM

WHEN Dave Collins arrived from South Africa in the mid-1950s for trials with Swindon the general option was that he was a South African.

And that was again the trend of thought in the early 1960s when he was at Sunderland. That view never wavered when Collins later moved on to have track time at Newcastle, Leicester and Plymouth.

But Collins was far from being a South African. He was actually born in London's East End, and saw his first meeting at West Ham in 1938. He once told me, "I was a very small boy and there was a gap in the stadium fence where I was able to squeeze in without paying. I vividly recall seeing Bluey Wilkinson in action."

After wart service in the Royal Navy, Collins was determined to become a speedway rider and in late 1947 emigrated to South Africa to work in the gold mines to earn enough money to buy speedway equipment.

His arrival in South Africa coincided with the start of a boom for speedway in that country. He was encouraged to ride by the leading South African rider and promoter Buddy Fuller. Collins conceded, "I owe a lot to Buddy for getting me started in the sport. He was a real inspiration."

And while his name was little known to fans in Britain, Collins was a good class performer in South Africa and actually raced for an England team against the South Africans in the late 1940s. It was in 1953 Collins that Collins decided to have his first try at racing in England when he turned up at Swindon, and soon after was in a touring party which tried to popularise speedway in Spain.

In South Africa, Collins was prominent rider for some 20 seasons, his best spell probably being with the famed Durban Hornets in the mid-1950s where one of his team-mates was the legendary Norwegian star Leif 'Basse' Hveem.

These days, now into his mid-eighties, Collins lives in Durban, where his passionate interest is restoring vintage speedway bikes.

Did Scurvy cause the sailor`s warts ?

[The White Knight]

Great bit of History there for me.

 

I remember Dave Collins from his days at Sunderland.

 

Thanks for that gustix.

[racers and royals]

 

Thank you for the learned comment. Can you explain what you mean a little more fully and I will attempt to answer your query.

If you re-read your post line by line you then might get my attempt at humour !!

[Guest]

More about Dave Collins:

http://www.speedway-sa.com/resources/other_pdfs/Dave%20Collins%20Pts%201%26%202.pdf

[The White Knight]

More about Dave Collins:

http://www.speedway-sa.com/resources/other_pdfs/Dave%20Collins%20Pts%201%26%202.pdf

Great stuff gustix. :approve: