1960 Queries

[daveallan81]

Can anyone clear these up:

 

12th May Coventry v Ipswich (Britannia Shield) - confirm result was declared void and match was not restaged.

 

28th June Southampton v Leicester (Nat Lge) saw an amendment to the result of heat 14. Did this take place on the night or after the event?

 

13th July Poole v Bradford (Prov Lege) was rained off and not restaged. Conflicting information over whether or not the points were awarded to Poole, so what's the real story?

 

26th August Liverpool v Sheffield (Prov Lge) - confirm match was rained off, not listed on either Researcher file.

 

6th September Southampton v Swindon (Nat Lge) - confirm match was rained off, not listed on Swindon Researcher file and there's no Southampton file to refer to.

 

Last thing for now, to confirm these race points totals from the Britannia Shield South:

 

New Cross 255-462; Norwich 369-349; Southampton 361-358; Swindon 382-336; Wimbledon 427-289.

[BL65]

Can anyone clear these up:

 

12th May Coventry v Ipswich (Britannia Shield) - confirm result was declared void and match was not restaged.

 

28th June Southampton v Leicester (Nat Lge) saw an amendment to the result of heat 14. Did this take place on the night or after the event?

 

13th July Poole v Bradford (Prov Lege) was rained off and not restaged. Conflicting information over whether or not the points were awarded to Poole, so what's the real story?

 

26th August Liverpool v Sheffield (Prov Lge) - confirm match was rained off, not listed on either Researcher file.

 

6th September Southampton v Swindon (Nat Lge) - confirm match was rained off, not listed on Swindon Researcher file and there's no Southampton file to refer to.

 

Last thing for now, to confirm these race points totals from the Britannia Shield South:

 

New Cross 255-462; Norwich 369-349; Southampton 361-358; Swindon 382-336; Wimbledon 427-289.

12th May was actually Ipswich v Coventry at Foxhall Heath. The appeal by Ipswich led to the meeting result being declared void at the end of May and it was not restaged, however it was decided the points scored by riders should stand. The fixture would have no bearing on the Britannia Shield North table as unbeaten Belle Vue finished top with 16 points from 8 matches, with Coventry on 6 points and Ipswich 4.

 

28th June Southampton lost 44-46 to Leicester on the night and the result was reported as such in Speedway Star on 9th July. The appeal by Southampton that Alf Hagon was ineligible to take a 5th ride in heat 14 led to the result being amended to 45-45 a few weeks later, when the league table was adjusted accordingly. An appeal by Norwich also saw the result of their meeting with Leicester on 14th May amended from 45-45 to 45-39 in early June, but a counter appeal saw the original result reinstated.

 

13th July Poole v Bradford was rained off and not restaged. Speedway Star reported on 24th September that Bradford could not fulfil the fixture and the league table reflected the fact that Poole had been awarded the match points. On 10th September Speedway Star had also reported that Yarmouth were unable to restage the home meeting with Sheffield and the match at Sheffield on August 25th counted for double points.

 

26th August Liverpool was rained off in a wet week which also saw meetings called off due to waterlogged tracks at Poole, Coventry, Cradley Heath and Stoke. The meeting had been rained off on 5th August and it was finally staged on 2nd September in the rain, in what was the last ever meeting at the track.

 

6th September Southampton was postponed due to a waterlogged track after a referee's inspection.

 

The race points shown for the Britannia Shield South teams correspond with the table published in Speedway Star 18th June, except for New Cross where the magazine omitted the result of the meeting at Wimbledon on 6th June from its race points totals, although the meeting was included in the number raced and lost. The Speedway Researcher Wimbledon and New Cross files incorrectly record this meeting as a National League fixture, with the NL match actually taking place on 5th September. The complete season fixtures and results section on Researcher incorrectly shows the meeting as a challenge.

Edited June 18, 2017 by BL65

[norbold]

 

 

The race points shown for the Britannia Shield South teams correspond with the table published in Speedway Star 18th June, except for New Cross where the magazine omitted the result of the meeting at Wimbledon on 6th June from its race points totals, although the meeting was included in the number raced and lost. The Speedway Researcher Wimbledon and New Cross files incorrectly record this meeting as a National League fixture, with the NL match actually taking place on 5th September. The complete season fixtures and results section on Researcher incorrectly shows the meeting as a challenge.

Yes, Wimbledon v. New Cross on 6 June was definitely a Britannia Shield match. Unfortunately it is omitted from the back of New Cross programmes, which gave fixtures and results for the year. Apart from my own manuscript note on several programmes that just says New Cross lost! But no score sadly.

[BL65]

Yes, Wimbledon v. New Cross on 6 June was definitely a Britannia Shield match. Unfortunately it is omitted from the back of New Cross programmes, which gave fixtures and results for the year. Apart from my own manuscript note on several programmes that just says New Cross lost! But no score sadly.

Adding the 31-56 defeat to the Speedway Star table gives the same totals as listed by Dave.

[norbold]

Thanks BL. At last, a mere 57 years later, I can complete my New Cross programmes!

[BL65]

Thanks BL. At last, a mere 57 years later, I can complete my New Cross programmes!

Glad to help, I have the programme from the Wimbledon meeting stored away.

[daveallan81]

Many thanks for the input as always.

 

The lack of a Southampton file isn't helping so can someone explain what was going on with the World Championship semi-finals. I have an entry for a rain-off on the 9th August, restaged on 16th August with Jack Young winning. Wikipedia has the 16th as the British Final, won by Ken McKinlay.

 

Was there a British 'final' as such, or were there just 4 semi-finals then the top 7 to Wembley?

 

The Wiki page is here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Individual_Speedway_World_Championship

 

I believe the 2nd June date at Belle Vue should be 2nd July.

[BL65]

Many thanks for the input as always.

 

The lack of a Southampton file isn't helping so can someone explain what was going on with the World Championship semi-finals. I have an entry for a rain-off on the 9th August, restaged on 16th August with Jack Young winning. Wikipedia has the 16th as the British Final, won by Ken McKinlay.

 

Was there a British 'final' as such, or were there just 4 semi-finals then the top 7 to Wembley?

 

The Wiki page is here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Individual_Speedway_World_Championship

 

I believe the 2nd June date at Belle Vue should be 2nd July.

A report on the washout on 9th August included a comment that the rearranged staging on 16th August would become the final meeting in the semi-final stage of the championship. The top 9 scorers from the 4 semi-finals qualified for the final, with each qualifier for the semi-finals having been drawn to ride in two meetings. Wikipedia is incorrect, there was no British Final. Ronnie Moore was seeded to the final as the title holder and Chum Taylor replaced injured qualifier Ron How in the final.

 

The Belle Vue qualifying round was indeed staged on 2nd July.

[daveallan81]

Thanks. So who won the restaging, Young or McKinlay? Can you also confirm the 5th July Soton round was won by Neil Street?

[BL65]

Thanks. So who won the restaging, Young or McKinlay? Can you also confirm the 5th July Soton round was won by Neil Street?

McKinlay beat Young in a run-off. Street won the meeting on 5th July with 14 points.

[daveallan81]

Cheers for that. The first of two of those pesky mini-competitions to sort out now.

 

I'm assuming the Northern Cup was 2 semi-finals and a final? The fixtures I have are:

 

13th June Liverpool v Sheffield (36-58)

 

2nd July Stoke v Cradley (60-35) The Cradley file has this as a KOC tie but the Stoke file is showing Northern Cup - was this a 'double' meeting?

 

14th July Sheffield v Liverpool (64-32)

 

1st September Sheffield v Stoke (57-39) Final 1st leg

 

1st October Stoke v Sheffield (64-32) Final 2nd leg

 

No outstanding Cradley v Stoke fixture on the list. Should the first one even be there? Help!

[BL65]

Cheers for that. The first of two of those pesky mini-competitions to sort out now.

 

I'm assuming the Northern Cup was 2 semi-finals and a final? The fixtures I have are:

 

13th June Liverpool v Sheffield (36-58)

 

2nd July Stoke v Cradley (60-35) The Cradley file has this as a KOC tie but the Stoke file is showing Northern Cup - was this a 'double' meeting?

 

14th July Sheffield v Liverpool (64-32)

 

1st September Sheffield v Stoke (57-39) Final 1st leg

 

1st October Stoke v Sheffield (64-32) Final 2nd leg

 

No outstanding Cradley v Stoke fixture on the list. Should the first one even be there? Help!

Speedway Star published the draw for the KO Cup on 7th May, as follows:

Round 1: Edinburgh v Sheffield, Liverpool v Cradley Heath

Round 2: Stoke v Liverpool or Cradley Heath, Poole v Rayleigh, Bradford v Bristol, Edinburgh or Sheffield v Yarmouth.

 

The Stoke v Cradley Heath meeting on 2nd July was a KO Cup tie, the Cradley file is correct and the Stoke file copies the Northern Cup tag from the Speedway Star match report. Cradley programme notes from the week before commented on the forthcoming KO Cup match at Stoke and reported on the KO Cup defeat the week after.

 

The Northern Cup comprised one semi-final between Liverpool and Sheffield, with Sheffield then meeting Stoke in the final. Cradley Heath did not appear to have been included in the Northern Cup at any stage.

Edited June 19, 2017 by BL65

[daveallan81]

OK, thanks. The Cradley history website gives no mention of their participation in a Northern Cup so I thought they might be a red herring.

 

What about the Western Cup? It looks incomplete. Here's what I have:

 

16/08 St. Austell v Bristol (36-36)

02/09 Bristol v St. Austell (38-34)

06/09 St. Austell v Bristol (rained off)

08/09 Plymouth v Bristol (36-36)

13/09 St. Austell v Bristol (40-31)

19/09 Exeter v Plymouth (38-34)

26/09 Exeter v Bristol (42-30)

03/10 Exeter v St. Austell (45-27)

 

I also have a Plymouth v Exeter match on 22/09, tagged as a challenge, but it doesn't appear on either Researcher file so I don't know if it was a Western Cup affair or the result.

 

Not sure about there being two St. Austell v Bristol matches, seems strange.

[BL65]

OK, thanks. The Cradley history website gives no mention of their participation in a Northern Cup so I thought they might be a red herring.

 

What about the Western Cup? It looks incomplete. Here's what I have:

 

16/08 St. Austell v Bristol (36-36)

02/09 Bristol v St. Austell (38-34)

06/09 St. Austell v Bristol (rained off)

08/09 Plymouth v Bristol (36-36)

13/09 St. Austell v Bristol (40-31)

19/09 Exeter v Plymouth (38-34)

26/09 Exeter v Bristol (42-30)

03/10 Exeter v St. Austell (45-27)

 

I also have a Plymouth v Exeter match on 22/09, tagged as a challenge, but it doesn't appear on either Researcher file so I don't know if it was a Western Cup affair or the result.

 

Not sure about there being two St. Austell v Bristol matches, seems strange.

There is an interesting account of the competition at

 

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speedwayyears/1960.html

 

The article records that this was the Western Cup competition that never was, with Bristol unable to run some of the home fixtures and pulling out, leaving the other meetings to be classed as challenge fixtures by the Control Board, including any that had already been staged in the competition, although this decision may well have been ignored by reporters in the press.

 

Although a fixture may have been planned for 22/09 I have a strong suspicion it was ditched. I have never seen or heard of a programme for this one at any time in the last 57 years or so. It could possibly have been called off early, as there was heavy rain throughout 21st and 22nd September.

Edited June 19, 2017 by BL65

[daveallan81]

That puts that to bed, thanks.

 

New Cross 66 Norwich 24 (challenge) - the results list I'm working from and a New Cross programme has this meeting down for 13th April. Both Researcher files are saying 11th April. Which date is correct?

 

The following meetings aren't included in their respective Researcher files, can you confirm the dates and winners:

 

2nd May at Liverpool: Merseyside Trophy won by Hole (Johnny?).

 

24th June at Wigan: Promoters Trophy won by Anderson (Dave?).

 

15th September at Plymouth: Provincial League Riders Championship QR won by Eric Hockaday.

[BL65]

That puts that to bed, thanks.

 

New Cross 66 Norwich 24 (challenge) - the results list I'm working from and a New Cross programme has this meeting down for 13th April. Both Researcher files are saying 11th April. Which date is correct?

 

The following meetings aren't included in their respective Researcher files, can you confirm the dates and winners:

 

2nd May at Liverpool: Merseyside Trophy won by Hole (Johnny?).

 

24th June at Wigan: Promoters Trophy won by Anderson (Dave?).

 

15th September at Plymouth: Provincial League Riders Championship QR won by Eric Hockaday.

Speedway Star included the New Cross-Norwich meeting in forthcoming fixtures as Wednesday 13th, the usual race night for New Cross, with Wimbledon at home on Monday 11th. The results section and the match report section in the Star following the meeting both stated Wednesday 13th as the date of the meeting.

 

The Merseyside Trophy on 2nd May was won by Johnny Hole with 15 points, from Brian Craven on 14 and Cliff Cox on 13.

 

The Promoters Trophy at Wigan on 24th June was won by Dave Anderson. In the qualifying heats he was 7th highest scorer, with the top 8 qualifying for two semi-finals. He finished second to Terry Betts in his semi, with only two finishers, but then won the final when again there were only two finishers.

 

Eric Hockaday won the Plymouth qualifier on 15th September with a 15 point maximum, from Harry Bastable on 14 and Cliff Cox on 13.

[daveallan81]

Good stuff, we're getting there. Can you confirm the following Southampton dates and results please:

 

5th April Supporters Trophy won by Ronnie Moore

 

19th April v Stockholm 47-43

 

24th May Southern Riders Championship QR won by Ronnie Moore

 

14th June Pride Of The South won by Barry Briggs

 

26th July v Poland 55-35

 

4th October sheet says Brad 8 v Holes 8 result 48-36 - I assume this was Dick Bradley's 8 v Johnny Hole's 8?

[BL65]

Good stuff, we're getting there. Can you confirm the following Southampton dates and results please:

 

5th April Supporters Trophy won by Ronnie Moore

 

19th April v Stockholm 47-43

 

24th May Southern Riders Championship QR won by Ronnie Moore

 

14th June Pride Of The South won by Barry Briggs

 

26th July v Poland 55-35

 

4th October sheet says Brad 8 v Holes 8 result 48-36 - I assume this was Dick Bradley's 8 v Johnny Hole's 8?

5th April was Supporters' Club Trophy, won by Ronnie Moore with 15, from Brian Crutcher 14 and Ron How 12

 

19th April was Southampton 47 Swedish Touring Team 43. The meetings at Belle Vue, Ipswich, Leicester, New Cross, Norwich, Oxford and Wimbledon were also labelled in the fixtures and match reports in Speedway Star as being against Swedish Touring Team, although commonly also referred to as Stockholm. As with many tours in that era, the visiting teams for meetings against club teams were drawn from more than one club, hence the use of 'Swedish' or 'Polish' touring teams to describe the fixtures.

 

24th May the Southern Riders' Championship QR was won by Ronnie Moore with 14, from Bjorn Knutson and Bob Andrews, both on 13.

 

14th June the Pride of the South Trophy was won by Barry Briggs after a run-off with Peter Craven, both scoring 14, with Bjorn Knutson third with 13.

 

26th July Southampton 55 Polish Tourists 35. See above comments about the Swedish Touring Team. Speedway Star labelled the visitors as Poland, but it was not the national team as it comprised riders of varying abilities drawn from club teams in Poland. Other examples of this were the 1965 tour by Gornik Rybnik, who borrowed Andrzej Pogorzelski from Stal Gorzow and the Edinburgh visit to Poland in the same year, when the team included riders from Newport and Long Eaton. Earlier previews had referred to 'the Polish Touring Team'.

 

4th October was The Ernie Rawlins Memorial Trophy, in which Dick Bradley's Eight beat Johnny Hole's Eight 48-36. The top four scorers qualified for The Trophy Race, which was won by Cliff Cox from Jack Scott, Tony Lewis and Ken Middleditch.

Edited June 21, 2017 by BL65

[daveallan81]

Cheers. To further confuse the Sweden/Poland matter the match programmes I've seen bill the meetings as Stockholm (11/4 at Wimbledon, 15/4 at Leicester & 20/4 New Cross) and Poland (16/7 at Coventry, 20/7 at New Cross (in fixture list) & 23/7 at Swindon). And covering all the bases the Coventry researcher file bills it as both!

[daveallan81]

Hopefully the last of my queries: I've no file for Aldershot, can you confirm the following:

 

4th June Whitsun Trophy won by Osborne (Bill?)

 

1st August Hampshire Trophy - abandoned at what heat and was a winner declared?

 

13th August Aldershot v Young Overseas - result required

 

Stoke now:

 

14th May Cavalcade of Speed - any results from this event?

 

9th July Trent Trophy - Reg Fearman & Geoff Mudge tied on 14 points but no note of any run-off. Who won?

 

29th October Best Pairs - Les Jenkins & Tommy Roper tied with Ivor Brown & Pat Flanagan on 17 points but no note of any run-off. Again, who won?

 

That just leaves confirmation of a rain off on 18th September at Rye House v Ipswich 'B' (challenge) and 12th September at Exeter, has any kind of 'result' been uncovered since the Researcher file was published?