West ham speedway history books

Riders top 20 the top twenty west ham riders as voted in speedway 72 magazine published in 1972. We travelled to swindon, west ham, new cross, birmingham, wembley, st austell, long eaton, wolverhampton, hackney, harringay, and a few more. In 1954, the new craze of stock car racing was sweeping the nation, and west ham s first meeting in august of that year was won by allen briggs 8. Christer lofqvist west ham hammers speedway 19701971. The motorsport returned to the nowdemolished west ham stadium in april 1964, having previously been home to the west ham hammers between 1929 and 1955, with the exception of the second world war.

Newcastle was cigar shaped and west ham one of the largest tracks in the country would have suited him better, he moved. The book was compiled from hundreds of surveys completed by fans and other speedway personalities over the summer. At that time, he was actually a wembley rider, but had been loaned to west ham. My dad used to go to a lot of the meetings with les in different areas of england. This is a site purely for the sales of speedway memorabilia i have collected in my private collection over 6 decades of following the sport of speedway both here in australia and overseas. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. British speedway memories is their latest publication, a compilation of great tales looking back over years gone by. West ham mayor thomas wooder opens the first wartime meeting at west ham stadium. I guess everyone sees this differently, but for me supporting west ham is something you are born to rather than become. The sport of dirt track and asphalt automobile and motorcycle racing in australia on small, enclosed, circular tracks can be traced, in embryonic form at least, to the 1900s however it was during the 1920s that it really became popular with world famous tracks opening such as the sydney showground and west. In 1938 arthur george wilkinson became the first west ham speedway rider to win the world championship. I can now tell you that the unknown year was 1949, because george wilks is in the photo.

The roads on the new estate were all named after former west ham riders, mostly from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. I have been collecting west ham speedway memoribilia, programmes etc for a few years now so i. The stadium was built in 1928 on prince regent lane, near the site of the presentday prince regent dlr station the venue was used for greyhound racing and speedway on weekdays and. West ham book personalised edition historic newspapers. Antti pajari, who rode for coventry in 1958, was billed as both the turkish and egyptian champion champion by sections of. The track opened in 1928 and staged a few meetings during the early war years. Feb, 2008 brian belton is the author of several best selling books about west ham. In the years on either side of the second world war, london was the center of the speedway world at a time when the sport was seriously challenging soccer. He joined wembley in 1934 but left for west ham later that year.

The sport does not have the vast financial reserves to weather this catastrophe out. Shots of man waving flag as west ham bikers cross the line for the last. This site is not an official website for the track shown here and is neither approved or endorsed by the speedway team. Jack began the 1932 season with sheffield but moved to belle vue part way into the season.

Meanwhile, munday wrote his name in the swindon history books on 4 may. From left back are tommy croombes, eric chitty, bronco dixon, charlie spinks, tiger stevenson captain johnnie hoskins, ken brett, bluey wilkinson and rob stobbart. By 1935 the fame of west ham was such that the great johnny hoskins arrived as manager. If it didnt let me know and i will get it to you somehow. West ham 5454 wimbledon london cup semi final 2nd leg west ham aub lawson 21 jack parker golden helmet britsh match race championship southampton 5331 newcastle national league division two yarmouth 5925 fleetwood national league division two glasgow ashfield vs cradley heath national league division two rained off. The first is brian foote, the second is kevin holden, the third is stan stevens. The stadium was built in 1928 on prince regent lane, near the site of the presentday prince regent dlr station the venue was used for greyhound racing and speedway on weekdays and had. I have many speedway books stacked in the spare room. Please contact me if you can help you will find a contact button on this page. I was a west ham supporter from 1946 until the track closed at the end of the 1955 season.

The pocket size history of defunct speedway tracks. The chris morton story rayleigh rockets history of canterbury speedway west ham memories ivan. The stratford express on saturday the 4th may 1929, carried an report on the speedway meeting at custom house stadium on thursday 2nd may. The first event was staged on 28th july 1928 and proved to be a success for sprouts elder. West ham s team certainly justified their selections when they beat coventry city 31 points to 11 in their intertrack race on thursday night. Mick murphy the photo should probably appear in the west ham section as, in norman jacobs book speedway in london, a rider of that. The book widely acclaimed to be among the bestever in speedway is now available in two formats from amazon books. The west h am hammers wer e a speed way team, first promoted by jimmy baxter in 1929. Shop from the worlds largest selection and best deals for photographs. This photo shows part of the lineup for the british final of the world championship at west ham on tuesday 31st august 1965. I left a message with my email address in the site guest book, but i dont know if it downloaded properly. Speedway enthusiasts are sure to find this an informative read and even readers who dont know much about this hairraising sport are in for an entertaining treat. It places the west ham club within the historical context of 1930s great britain, and covers team management, major players e. Rogers was another west ham fan who remembers the cruel events of july 1970.

It turned up outside my house loaded with a bike, adorned with a massive circular structure in the shape of a crown and emblazoned with crowning sport west ham speedway. No detailed inside history of a football club has ever been published. Always a good nights racing, when the dons from wimbledon came calling. Ron on the west ham float 1953 i was picked up early saturday morning by the two jessups men bill and ted with the flat back lorry that was used to grade the track. British pathe also represents the reuters historical collection, which. Several mss of male fans being interviewed theyre actually west ham speedway riders. Speedway books and magazine speedway news and discussions. West ham speedway in speedway motor sport photographs for. Thanks to very rare and previously unseen 8mm cine footage from the 60 and 70s, plus video film from the 80s, you can now relive magical memories of speedway. Great savings free delivery collection on many items. Memories of west ham speedway on doubledisc dvd for.

The bulldozers quickly moved in and a year later, the stadium was just a memory. Buy west ham speedway in speedway motor sport photographs and get the best deals at the lowest prices on ebay. In 1945, west ham rider ernie price was the big star but the meet was won by wilf jay with 14 points. Jul 22, 2006 west ham, sadly, was most certainly phil bishops last club i have no doubt that mr hyam would be the first to understand that to claim anything else would be an insult to the many west ham fans who remember phil with a affection and reverence, his family and speedway as a sport. But by may it was all over, after 44 years speedway at west ham ceased. Would look forward to hearing from anyone who also was a speedway fan in those days. Kicking off with the earliest newspaper reports from 1904, the west ham history book covers the most memorable games and legendary players, leading right up to the latest season. Dick geary, the postwar wigan and fleetwood star, was a commercial artist before turning to speedway at west ham in 1937. The stadium was demolished later that year and the site redeveloped for housing. In the west ham section, there is a team photo with the heading that reads west ham team late 40s early 50s year unknown. This article is about one of my most memorable races despite the fact that i wasnt there to see it.

British speedway supporters handbook 2005 book 117. Shop from the worlds largest selection and best deals for speedway motor sport memorabilia cards. As a baby my mum sat with me in our yard in sampson street, e. The 1961 the stock car world championship was held at west ham stadium. A brief, chronological history of speedway racing in australia. This book traces the history of baseball as a popular british sport, concentrating on one particularly successful and notable team, the west ham hammers.

In 1938 arthur george wilkinson became the first west ham speedway rider to win the world championship, and he remains one of the great names of the sport today. Speedwayplus the first league meeting in london by. It will be continually updated, and with your help, will become a scource of historical information for the future. Speedway in the east end brian belton this is a history of speedway at the west ham stadium from its firstever dirt track meeting in 1928 to its final season in 1971. An updated and extended edition of john berrys confessions of a speedway promoter. I first started watching speedway at custom house aged 9 in 1965 and followed the ammers until their demise in 1971. Baseball will return today to a west ham stadium after an absence of 83 years.

Do you have information or images that would fit into this site, anything that is relevant to speedway in great britain, it does not need to be old as the happening of today will be the history of tomorrow and all is relevant. Cycle speedway teams down the ages is an attempt to record and display not only every cycle speedway team that ever existed, but also to include the riders who rode for these, plus any interesting facts and photos. Speedwayplus the first league meeting in london by robert j. The 2nd point is in those immediate postwar years, the name of mr sanderson was prominantly associated with west ham speedway and the arthur atkinsonstan greatrex promotion. The stadium was built in 1928 on prince regent lane, near the site of the presentday prince regent dlr station. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. A book at amazon called british baseball and the west ham club. Mar 22, 2020 speedway was in serious terminal decline well before the coronavirus struck and i fear that the consequences of the virus could be the final nail in the speedway coffin. Johnny hoskins, in his book speedway walkabout, records that the. Exhaustively researched and supplemented with detailed statistical. This personalised west ham book is the ideal keepsake for an iron. Christer has hand signed this in blue ink and it was signed at the time. How to personalise you can personalise your football book with any name of up to 22 characters over 1 line, which will be embossed on the front cover. The races were all solo, with the main stars being the australians.

Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Online shopping for west ham united from a great selection at books store. This website is dedicated to everyone concerned with west ham speedway. Phil crump, father of jason crump, riding for australia bike rider. The national league as a whole combined to reopen west ham in 1964, and. Trailer for our west ham speedway dvd, a double disc production spanning four hours. There are a few former riders included, but this is largely a book by the fans, for the fans. A restart saw the riders show more respect to the sharp turns and colin watson had the honour of winning the 1 st ever heat of speedway at odsal. The stadium also hosted local baseball sides home games in the 1930s and 1940 and stock car racing was held in the stadium in the 1950s and 1960s. Stapleton interviewing former speedway champions of the 1930s the first man seen, at 03.

Exclusive new filmed interviews with norman hunter, malcolm simmons and bengt jansson, plus audio interviews with olle nygren, tony clarke, reg fearman and others all reliving their custom house memories. Retro speedway is the place to come for all speedway fans who love to look back at the sport. West ham stadium was a stadium that existed between 1928 and 1972 in custom house, in east london it was in the county borough of west ham, in the county of essex, at the time of the stadiums construction. Buy west ham speedway and get the best deals at the lowest prices on ebay. They operated f rom the w est ham stadium until the outbreak of world war ii under several different promotions, most successfully under the control of johnnie hoskins.

Tales of scottish speedway handbooks issue 1 to 7 dispatched with royal mail 2nd class large letter. To this could be added bombers romford, west ham, barrow and there are. The only connections at custom house now are the street names on the housing estate. Read more in the years on either side of the second world war, london was the center of the speedway world at a time when the sport was seriously challenging soccer. Speedway racing first came to west ham in 1928 at the custom house stadium on prince regents lane. Their captain was taffy williams wales, and the racing colours were a plain white jacket. History of a 1930s professional team in east london explains the full history. Years of operation 19291955 19641972 nicknames hammers 19291955, 19641971 bombers 1972 tracks custom house track record ray wilson, 70. Don lived for a time at my parents home in west ham when he came down from newcastle speedway uk to west ham. Photo above is from ians book history of the speedway hoskins.

Opened originally for greyhound racing, speedway soon followed in 1929 with home matches for the west ham hammers. Amidst scenes of enthusiasm, with a thrill every second. I have just browsed through the norwich section of the defunct speedway tracks and thoroughly enjoyed it. Former canterburycrayford speedway and grasstracklongtrack rider john hibben recalled that jack was a great mentor to him and tuned his engines for him. Jack began his speedway career at middlesbrough in 1929 but made no further official appearances until racing for sheffield in 1931. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new. This west ham history book is the perfect gift for any hammers fan, on any day of the year. Malcolm simmons and brian leonard shot of the new pits area, in the middle is trevor rushbrook the west ham mascot. Speedway books for sale in uk 35 used speedway books. Baseball returns to west ham after 83 years claretandhugh. Bluey, as the diminutive australian was universally known, carved his name into the annals of speedway history with a mixture of will, concentration, boldness and power that has. Speedway books speedway motorcycles, goodwood revival, motor sport, west ham, sidecar.

At that time, he was actually a wembley rider, but had been loaned to west ham for just the 1949 season. The high spot undoubtedly took place at blunsdon on 2 october, when he breezed to a fourride paid maximum in a 5720 triumph over coatbridge. Sverre harrfeldt years gone by british speedway forum. The west ham hammers were a speedway team, first promoted by jimmy baxter in 1929. West ham being one of eight london teams taking part. Won in 1934 when their reserve team yes, the sport was so popular in the east end, that west ham could afford to race two teams in two leagues won the national league 2 nd division. The stars at west ham at the time were olle nygren, ken mckinlay and malcolm simmons. Promoting research into the history of speedway and dirt track racing. This affectionate history looks at wembley, west ham, new cross, haringay, and all the other famous tracks, and chronicles the sports development in the city. It was, therefore ironic that, because of his 1965 management of the team, he has become a true west ham speedway legend. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Join facebook to connect with west ham speedway and others you may know. The claret and blue book of west ham united is packed with fascinating facts, figures, trivia. Phil crump, father of jason crump, riding for australia.