East Anglian Speedways

[Guest compost]

On the Speedway Researcher website is a file called Eastern Speedways.

 

Reading through it (it is mainly about Norwich Speedway up to the end of 1936) I note that it lists a number of other venues that hosted Speedway which don't appear to be listed anywhere else. The venues given are -

 

1932

Bradwell (11 mtgs)

Fakenham (2 mtgs)

Lowestoft - Crown Meadow (1 mtg)

Oulton Broad (1 mtg)

 

1933

Lowestoft - Kessingland Rd (at least 1 mtg)

 

1934

Gunton Hall (2 mtgs)

 

1934-36

Pakefield

 

Does anyone know anything more about any of these venues (especially Pakefield which operated for at least 3 seasons) ?

 

I suspect that most (all ?) will be Grass venues but should they be included, as is Barnet and Aintree, in the list of Speedway tracks ?

 

Cheers

[norbold]

A meeting was held at Lowestoft Road, Oulton Broad on 9 April 1932, organised by Lowestoft and District Speedway. Eleven meetings were held at Doles Meadow, Bradwell, run by Waveney Speed Track, who also ran one meeting at Crown Meadow, Lowestoft on 13 August 1932. Two meetings were held at the greyhound track in Caister Road, Yarmouth, two at Fakenham and another at Downham Market on 14 July 1932.

Moving on to 1935, Norwich only ran one meeting, on Easter Sunday. Pakefield took over the dirt track licence and ran a number of meetings, including matches with a team called Lowestoft against 'London' and Hackney Wick. Several meetings were also held in 1936 and it became known as 'The Track by the Silver Sea.' I do have a photo of Pakefield, which I can't lay my hands on at the moment, but could probably find.

[Guest compost]

A meeting was held at Lowestoft Road, Oulton Broad on 9 April 1932, organised by Lowestoft and District Speedway. Eleven meetings were held at Doles Meadow, Bradwell, run by Waveney Speed Track, who also ran one meeting at Crown Meadow, Lowestoft on 13 August 1932. Two meetings were held at the greyhound track in Caister Road, Yarmouth, two at Fakenham and another at Downham Market on 14 July 1932.

 

Moving on to 1935, Norwich only ran one meeting, on Easter Sunday. Pakefield took over the dirt track licence and ran a number of meetings, including matches with a team called Lowestoft against 'London' and Hackney Wick. Several meetings were also held in 1936 and it became known as 'The Track by the Silver Sea.' I do have a photo of Pakefield, which I can't lay my hands on at the moment, but could probably find.

Thanks Norbold.

 

So Pakefield was a bona fide Speedway Track and should be added to the list of known tracks.

 

The source (see on the Researcher website at - http://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/easternspeedway.pdf) states (on page 42) that Pakefield ran at least one meeting in 1934 (Norfolk defeated Suffolk 28-24).

 

Do you know if any of the other tracks listed above were 'dirt tracks' or are they Grass venues ?

 

It is also worth pointing out that Yarmouth's 1932 meetings were not held at the Caister Road venue that ran post war Speedway.

 

 

Added :

The meeting at Downham Market (as stated in the above quoted source) was advertised as 'Grand Prix Motor Cycle Racing' and took place in a field with 'natural hazards' (source page 19). Sounds more like a cross between scrambles and grass track than Speedway (which is why I didn't list it initially).

Edited July 10, 2017 by compost

[norbold]

Thanks Norbold.

 

So Pakefield was a bona fide Speedway Track and should be added to the list of known tracks.

 

The source (see on the Researcher website at - http://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/easternspeedway.pdf) states (on page 42) that Pakefield ran at least one meeting in 1934 (Norfolk defeated Suffolk 28-24).

 

Do you know if any of the other tracks listed above were 'dirt tracks' or are they Grass venues ?

 

It is also worth pointing out that Yarmouth's 1932 meetings were not held at the Caister Road venue that ran post war Speedway.

 

 

Added :

The meeting at Downham Market (as stated in the above quoted source) was advertised as 'Grand Prix Motor Cycle Racing' and took place in a field with 'natural hazards' (source page 19). Sounds more like a cross between scrambles and grass track than Speedway (which is why I didn't list it initially).

I'm not entirely sure, but I think you are right that the other venues were all grass track venues.

 

Yes, the meetings at Yarmouth were held on a site to the south of the later venue.

[Guest]

I recall reading on a now defunct forum some excellent comments in regard to East Anglian speedwa/grass track racing in the early 1930s.

I think the racing was well supported by riders from as far away as Wimbledon in South London - led by a Dons' rider who rode as John Bull (I cannot recollect who he actually was). Others who raced at these meetings as I recall included Spike Rhiando, Geoff Pymar, Fred Leavis, George Wilks, Wal Morton and (possibly) Keith Harvey.

I would add that the LINK given in the third Post to this thread is a thoroughly interesting read and that I thoroughly enjoyed the trip Down Memory Lane that it stimulated.

Edited July 10, 2017 by Guest

[norbold]

Johnny Bull rode in Norwich's first-ever team, on 13 September 1931 against Staines. The last I heard there was some controversy over who Johnny Bull actually was. I'm not sure if it was ever resolved. He was reputed to have weighed over sixteen stones.

Others who rode under pseudonyms were Fred Leavis (Arthur Reynolds), Allen Kilfoyle (Jack Williams), Bert Garrish (Herb Peters), Jack Newlands (Speedy Jack) and Jack Sharp (Jack Smythe). The reason this was done was because many clubs had signed riders on exclusive contracts. To get round this, some of the riders took these false names to allow them to earn money at non-league tracks like Norwich.

[Guest compost]

I recall reading on a now defunct forum some excellent comments in regard to East Anglian speedwa/grass track racing in the early 1930s.

I think the racing was well supported by riders from as far away as Wimbledon in South London - led by a Dons' rider who rode as John Bull (I cannot recollect who he actually was). Others who raced at these meetings as I recall included Spike Rhiando, Geoff Pymar, Fred Leavis, George Wilks, Wal Morton and (possibly) Keith Harvey.

I would add that the LINK given in the third Post to this thread is a thoroughly interesting read and that I thoroughly enjoyed the trip Down Memory Lane that it stimulated.

Is it George Wilks or should that be George Wilkie ? George Wilkie was a pseudonym used by Rube Wilson when riding at Eastbourne circa 1932.

Johnny Bull rode in Norwich's first-ever team, on 13 September 1931 against Staines. The last I heard there was some controversy over who Johnny Bull actually was. I'm not sure if it was ever resolved. He was reputed to have weighed over sixteen stones.

 

Others who rode under pseudonyms were Fred Leavis (Arthur Reynolds), Allen Kilfoyle (Jack Williams), Bert Garrish (Herb Peters), Jack Newlands (Speedy Jack) and Jack Sharp (Jack Smythe). The reason this was done was because many clubs had signed riders on exclusive contracts. To get round this, some of the riders took these false names to allow them to earn money at non-league tracks like Norwich.

I thought that they rode under pseudonyms to get around riding at unlicenced tracks mainly and not being 'black listed' by the ACU ?

 

Other pseudonyms I've come across for this period (and from the Eastbourne files on the Speedway Researcher website) are - Rube Wilson (George Wilkie & L Bull), Jack Polley (Jack Thomas), Jack Riddle (Jack Kirby), Stan Lemon (Stan Johns), Bert Lyons (Bert Linn), Harvey Swanson (Charlie Lumsden), George Newton (Bill Bennett), Ivor Hill (Bill Roberts) and Ken Brett (Jack Esmond)

[Guest]

I recall reading on a now defunct forum some excellent comments in regard to East Anglian speedwa/grass track racing in the early 1930s.

I think the racing was well supported by riders from as far away as Wimbledon in South London - led by a Dons' rider who rode as John Bull (I cannot recollect who he actually was). Others who raced at these meetings as I recall included Spike Rhiando, Geoff Pymar, Fred Leavis, George Wilks, Wal Morton and (possibly) Keith Harvey.

I would add that the LINK given in the third Post to this thread is a thoroughly interesting read and that I thoroughly enjoyed the trip Down Memory Lane that it stimulated.

 

 

Is it George Wilks or should that be George Wilkie ? George Wilkie was a pseudonym used by Rube Wilson when riding at Eastbourne circa 1932.

I thought that they rode under pseudonyms to get around riding at unlicenced tracks mainly and not being 'black listed' by the ACU ?

 

Other pseudonyms I've come across for this period (and from the Eastbourne files on the Speedway Researcher website) are - Rube Wilson (George Wilkie & L Bull), Jack Polley (Jack Thomas), Jack Riddle (Jack Kirby), Stan Lemon (Stan Johns), Bert Lyons (Bert Linn), Harvey Swanson (Charlie Lumsden), George Newton (Bill Bennett), Ivor Hill (Bill Roberts) and Ken Brett (Jack Esmond)

 

I tend to think you are correct compost.

To further check, I went through the original Link http://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/easternspeedway.pdf you provided and the rider name given in the article is indeed George Wilkie and not George Wilks.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Guest

[norbold]

 

I thought that they rode under pseudonyms to get around riding at unlicenced tracks mainly and not being 'black listed' by the ACU ?

 

 

Yes, I think you are probably right. Norwich held its first meeting under an ACU licence on 25 June 1933, after which Leavis, Sharp and others used their real names.