1928 High Beech First Daily Mirror Report

[Robbie B]

Here is some lovely pre-war speedway related information.

Taken from the first report of Dirt Track racing in the Daily Mirror from 1928

From The Daily Mirror 13 February 1928 (page 2)

NEW SPORT FOR MOTOR-CYLISTS

Britain's First Dirt Track Race Meeting

GREYHOUNDS RIVAL?

Skidding Thrills When Taking Bends at High Speed

Dirt Track racing, the motor-cycling sport which thrills Australia, is being introduced into England.

The first meeting in this country will be hold at King's Oak speedway, near Loughton, Essex, next Sunday.

Two crack riders from Australia, Billy Galloway and Keith McKay, will compete against some of the leading South of England motorcyclists.

The Englishmen are particularly looking forward to the meeting, for it will be their, experience" in a, sport which is claimed to be one of the most exciting in the world.

[Robbie B]

From The Daily Mirror 20 February 1928 (page 22) 

Th news report of the meeting at High Beech in 1928

 SIX HOURS OF

RACING THRILLS

Skidding Feats in Dirt Track Motor-Cycling

CRQWD 30,000

Huge Success of Sport New to This Country

FROM OUR SPECAL. CORRESPONDENT

LOUGHTON (Essex), Sunday.

Over 30,000 people flocked here today to watch the first dirt-track motor-cycle races held in this country.

This sport has proved such a tremendous success in Australia that it equals the popularity of greyhound racing in that country, and if yesterday's crowd is any criterion it should arouse equal enthusiasm over here.

There were thrills in plenty motor-cyclists tearing around the track, and, in some cases, landing on their heads with their machines skidded from under them.

But the enormous size of the crowd which gathered at King’s Oak speedway provided the greatest surprise of them all.

The races were time to be run from 10:30 a.m until 1:20 p.m. and there were to be eight events with several “heats” in each race.

Crowds Across Track

With such a fest of thrill offered, motor-cyclist turned up in their thousands while motorist and other rolled up throughout the day.

Considerable difficulty was found in accommodating the large crowd, as all spectators, owing to the danger of being ran into by the machines, are supposed to be confined to the inside of the track only.

As this was impossible, even the hundreds of stewards present could not restrain the euthanistic crowd from crossing the track and watching races from the outside.

Those who desired a “grandstand” view climbed trees, where, both in climbing and swinging from the branches, they supplied as many thrills as the motor-cyclists.

Two Australian “cracks” Mackay and Galloway, were competing, all the others being Englishman wo have never ridden on a dirt track before.

“CORNERING” CHEERS

They made a brave show skidding round the bends in a cloud of cinders and with their machines leaning over at a precarious angle to the accompaniment of tremendous cheering form the crowd.

Although there is little actual danger for the contestants, many of the women spectators of whom there were thousands with the “pillion girl” well to the fore could not repress screams as some of the riders subsided gracefully on to the cinders, while their sporting machines careered away like wild horses.

To minimise the danger all the riders wore crash helmets and special steel-shoed left boots which took the brunt of any scrapping when cornering.

In addition, Mackay who is very tall, wore a special pad on his knee in case the later touched the ground.

When the English riders have attained a sufficient skill in the sport, speeds will increase and send up the thrills by leaps and bounds, for the whole art of the sport is experience.

 

Edited January 12, 2020 by Robbie B

[steve roberts]

Great posts! Wish that I'd been there at the start of something big and which caught the imagination at the time.

Edited January 13, 2020 by steve roberts

[iris123]

Footage of the meeting can be found here

 

[Robbie B]

Same here Steve I also wished I was born to watch the birth of this sport.

In the Daily Mail from May 1928 from a meeting at Stamford Bridge there is news story where the reporter called speedway no-more than a circus with no thrills whatsoever. But the following moth in 10 July the same newspaper report plenty of thrill from a meeting at Stamford Bridge. With Art Peacher in a neck-and-neck race breaking the track record at 43.38 mph, beating the mile rolling start record, at Stamford Bridge.

In this Stamford Bridge meeting "cyclone" Billy lamont of Harringay won the handicap 'silver wheels' prize of scratch beating Vic Huxley's record averaging 34.45 mph.

Fay Taylour beating L.Barker at Hove speedway by 10 lengths averaging nearly 33 mph in a mile match. With Crystal palace Roger Frogley won the handicap in this meeting at Hove in 1 min 34 2-s secs thereby beating the standing start record for the 1 mile course averaging 38.14 mph.

Not bad att for all these records in 1 newspaper report.

I also found a meeting at Wimbledon in 1928 with Malcolm Seagrave presented a trophy to Vic Huxley in front of a 12,000 crowd the biggest so far at Wimbledon.

Edited January 13, 2020 by Robbie B

[iris123]

Art Pechar and Fay Taylour

[Robbie B]

Sorry about the misspelling of the names iris123 watching darts when typing and never noticed I will change them.

[Lefty]

Hope to be there or.....  (somewhere near in 2028)