Name The Rider

Let's have a bit of fun on this page!

 I get pictures and questions sent to me where the sender doesn't know the name of the rider or wants information concerning our past and I don't have the answers!  Any help is appreciated because it would be wrong not to include historical items just because we have no idea what the subject is about! 

I leave the pictures on the Name The Rider page until it is clearly established who, what and when they are of, then I will move them to the appropriate page on the site.

Can you name these rider's? send me an email John

Provincial Riders Championship Final at Belle Vue on 28^th September 1963. The riders are George Hunter, Ivan Mauger and Jack Kitchen.

Is this Joe Owen against Boston down at New Hammond Beck Road, can you confirm and supply the year and the Boston rider John

Diamonds at Berwick could be Tom Owen on the inside.  Do you know who the riders are and can you say what year John

One of my all time favourites Rod Hunter in front of two Mildenhall riders can you say who they were and the year, Rod is in Y/B so I presume the picture was taken in the Fens John

Keith Bloxsome in the lead at Brough Park, can you say who the visitors are, name them all and supply the year John
Update: Former rider, Tony Richardson has been in touch he says: -  It's Newcastle v Middlesbrough Tigers. The year is either 1979 or 1980 more like 1980 (the body colour). The rider in white is Pete Reading, the rider in Y/B not sure could be a guest as I don’t recognise the leathers
Thanks Tony, I remember your name from second halves etc John
Update: Former rider, Tony Richardson has been in touch again he says: - The rider in Y/B is Bernie Collier

I think Tom Owen but maybe not! Can you confirm and put a year to it John

No idea who the riders are or where the track was John
Update:

Tony Robinson has been in touch he says: - Again the Middlesbrough riders are in white & Y/B Martin Dixon is in Y/B & I think it is Paul Stead (ex Newcastle ) in white.  The track is Newcastle (looks like the old back straight stand) as the second diamond rider has a blue helmet on.  The rider that should have the red helmet is Dave Bargh, the rider in blue could be the late Chris Prime, the year 1978.
Thanks Tony

Not sure of the year, the venue must be New Hammond Beck Boston and I think I recognise Tom Owen in white. Help please with the rest. John

Rear of photo says Taylor Squibb Goldfinch and Lonsdale, can you confirm John

Ivan Mauger with one hand on a trophy who is the other rider and is the man in the jacket Brian Craven? and what is the year. John

Larry Says:  I think it could be Ivan and Bill Andrews, as Brian Craven presented them with an International Best Pairs Trophy on 18^th July 1964. (I know it’s difficult to say for certain its Bill, but looking at several photos I have of him. I think it could be)
Terry Stone has been in touch and he says "it looks like Bill Andrew".  Dave train confirms Ivan Mauger, Bill Andrew and Brian Craven

I recognise Ivan Mauger (centre) but not the other 3 can you help  John

Dave Train says this is Mike Watkin, Ivan Mauger and Vargana's Gote Nordin

1960's Newcastle V Belle Vue can you name the riders  John
Dave Train says the Belle Vue riders name is McGregor
Larry thinks it is Sandor Levai leading Ken Sharples

Could this be Peter Kelly or maybe you recognise the track staff guy John
Dave Train says this is Peter Kelly as I thought

Newcastle v Middlesbrough at Brough Park.  Can you name the riders and maybe the year John
Dave Train says Vic Lonsdale Johnny Fitzpatrick, Gil Goldfinch. possibly Torpie in background

Ivan Mauger leading 3 unknown riders. A Long Eaton Archer, an Edinburgh Monarch and a Middlesbrough Bear, do you know who they are and what meeting it was John

Update: Colin says: 1964 photo, because of the Bears reverse red and white quarters and my guess at the Bears rider is Bluey Scott
Can anyone name the other two riders
Dave Train says: This is from a Provincial League Riders Championship Round.  Ken Adams Alf Wells. Ivan Mauger Bluey.Scott

I think this could be Russ Dent, I know he had handlebars like those shown.  Can anyone confirm and supply the year  John
Dave Train Says: This is Brian Craven in 1965

Pre War action in front of a packed Brough Park grandstand can you name the riders and guess the year  John

Dave Train says: I think it's Ern Brecknell in the centre from 1949.  Don't like to disagree but the handlebars suggest pre war to me.  Colin Greenwell from Middlesbrough points out that 1949 Newcastle were named the magpies.  I agree! I would expect a "N" race jacket and as the riders are wearing a diamond I maintain that this photo is probably pre war 1938 or 1939.  Help please with this one and who are the riders? John

1960's could be Mike Watkin on the left, I have no idea who the other Newcastle rider is, can you supply names and year John
Dave Train says: It's Bill Andrew

I cannot name the rider in foreground but I do recognise the lack of hair on Don Wilkinson's head behind, help me with the foreground rider please John

Joe Wake has been in touch he says: - John, Some excellent additions to the site. The rider in the foreground you cannot identify in front of Don Wilkinson is
Gil Goldfinch. Regards, Joe
 

Tom Owen and Dave Perks in 1986, can you tell me why Tom is wearing the Diamond John

Ex-Newcastle junior Tony Richardson has been in touch with an explanation of the race jackets, Tony says:
"Was this the meeting for Joe Owen when Newcastle staged a 4 team tournament between 1986 Newcastle team, Joe Owen select team Middlesbrough team & The Collins family team."
Thanks Tony It rings a bell

Help please the riders and the year John
Update: Terry Stone has been in touch and he says: "The Poole rider could be Geoff Mudge and the Newcastle rider Bill Andrew"
Dave Train says: This is Ross Gilbertson and Bill Andrew in 1964

Here we have a National League team at Brough Park in 1962, can you name the riders John  

Joe Wake has named the NL Team he says:- John, the NL team from 1962 (L to R) is Dick Fisher, Gerald Jackson, Peter Vandenberg, Colin Goody, Jimmy Gooch and Jim Tebby  Joe

Jack Hides and Keith Dyer have also named the team

Thanks John

So can anyone name the 1962 PL team

Terry (Mr Rayleigh) Stone has been in touch he says: -
Hi John, The PL team are Brian Craven, Wayne Briggs, Ivor Brown, Doug Templeton, Eric Boothroyd, Gil Goldfinch. Regards Terry.  Does anyone disagree? John

Joe Wake noticed that Terry had missed the rider at far right and Joe says it's Brian Mckeown

Thank you Joe for tying the photo up.  I will be putting both photos on the 1960's 1 page in the near future but I will leave both here for a while to see if anyone dares to disagree!

The Handlebars on this shot stand out, why don't BSPA bring them back, racing would be so much more entertaining.  Anyway can you help with names and year  John
Keith Dyer has been in touch he says its Mike Watkin at a guess
I think its Mike too can anyone confirm?
Dave Train says: I think it's Peter Kelly and possibly Jon Erskine (Long Eaton) 1963

Looking for the names and year John

Hi John
It’s a photo of Don Lawson with Son Mitchell standing behind taken in 1950. Just look at that crowd behind Don and Son in the photo, wouldn’t you love a crowd like that now?

Yes all of the photos on the site from the 40's 50's and 60's show a packed stadium.  The modern sport just isn't well supported and there is always the threat of track closures John

A photo without a name on the back is a challenging thing.  I want to say this is Ivan Mauger but I am not at all sure.  What do you think John

Keith Dyer has been in touch he thinks it is Ivan too

Who are these 2 riders The Long Eaton guy looks to be pretty tall, and can you say the year John
Terry Stone thinks the Newcastle rider is Peter Kelly
Larry says: I think the Long Eaton rider is Jon Erskine
So was Jon Erskine quite big then?

Tom Owen is easy to recognise but I cannot say the same for the other rider, can you name him and say which year this picture was taken John

Keith Dyer has been in touch he says: - Tom Owen photo is from 1979 and the meeting was against Red Star Prague who with a strong team won 45-33. If that's a number 1 on the jacket it is Jiri Stancl

Thanks John

Looking for names of the above, I can only name 5  John

Joe Wake says: - The Newcastle team shot where you can only name five is from 1962 and is (L to R) Maurice Morley, Vic Lonsdale, George Glen, Don Wilkinson, Brian Craven, Gil Goldfinch, Pete Sampson, Bill Andrew and Mike Parker.
Regards,  Joe
Keith Dyer has also named this team thank you Keith. John

Who are these two/three riders. Newcastle at home, can you help

Who are these three? Early 60's Newcastle V Monarchs. Please put me right.
Update: Terry Stone says the rider in white leathers is Ken Cameron
Dave Train says: M Watkin Ken Cameron Dudley Mckean Diamonds v Monarchs 63.

Picture from Joe Wake who doesn't know who these 2 1960's diamonds are, neither do I although I think the rider on the left maybe Mike Watkin?  Please email if you can shed any light. John
Update: It’s Ole Olsen leading Mike Watkin in 1968. L

Where did speedway start?  Most of us say it was in Australia in 1923.  However a school of thought suggests the Americans were racing their bikes around oval dirt tracks well before 1923.  Here we have a picture of a dirt bike attached to a side car at the time the picture was taken and this was around 1910.  An American friend says this about the photo: -

Well Christine the sidecar and the lights don't really qualify this bike as a solo dirt track racing machine as we know them from around 1928.  Who is to say that your excellent photo from around 1910 is not that of a racing machine?  I now turn the matter over to visitors of my website who may possess more knowledge than I do of the old bikes.

Does anyone have any views of the old bike? John

I know that this is Aussie Reg West, I know he's on a Rudge and guess the picture was taken around 1930.  His daughter in law has been in touch asking if we can tell her more about father in law. Colleen writes as follows: -

Would someone be able to help us find out anything more on Reginald Aldgate West. He was born in Tasmania but the family moved from there to Melbourne. He travelled all over Australia racing he was also known to have done some wrestling in his time.
I have a Photo of him having won a race on his motorbike wearing his winners sash.
He was my father-in-law. We know very little of his racing career.

He travelled over to the UK with the Australian team to race at the Isle of Man/Wight in the early 1930's. We believe he raced all over the UK.  He never went back to Australia. Seems he stopped racing at the start of the war. Could have been from serious injury?

Any info would be great. Thanks

Colleen Thorne
 

Update: Bryan Tungate has been in touch he has "found" Reg West in a 1939 Norwich programme

Thanks Bryan

Update: Stuart Towner has been in touch: -

Picture from Mick Alexander taken around 1930. The bike could be a Velocette KTT. Can you supply any information John

Could be Russ Dent, what do you think?

1948  Sheffield v Norwich. Can you name the riders?

Michael Kemp has named all 4: Tommy Allott, Syd Littlewood, Len Williams and Bert Spencer.  Great action shot the cameraman must have been very close to the action

e mail John

Not sure about the above photo.  Is it genuine or trick photography? John

Anyone care to put names to this photo? Which is attributable to the Daily Record

Jim Henry has been in touch and supplied the following info about these 2 Douglas mounted riders: -

Thanks Jim love the photo.

Can you name the leg trailer?  He's not a Newcastle rider I just love the photo: John

Jim Blanchard has been in touch about the rider shown above: "I think you will find is Aub Lawson at West Ham. He was a leg trailer and had short bars etc once. 
Kind regards,"
Jim
 

Thanks Jim

Custom House West Ham can you supply the year, the riders and the occasion? John

Eric Watson says:-

Who is the brylcream boy shown above.  His race jacket shows what appears to be a devil

Update: Jim Henry has been in touch and says this is Derek Close in an England jacket.  Thanks for that Jim

This is action from Brough Park 1949.  Seems Cradley Heath suffered from a lack of imagination as well as Newcastle as regards the racejackets and also the caption names the two "Heathens" but not the Newcastle rider.  Help me with this please is it Frank Hodgson?

Eric Watson says: -

Thanks Eric

Brough Park

Can you say what year?

Who is this white ghost? Email

A book by Johnnie Hoskins, maybe 1938? can anyone say the year and what it was about.  I have emailed New Zealand to see if Ian Hoskins remembers this book.

Who was the last true leg trailer to ride for Newcastle?  Perhaps someone knows whom the last leg trailer was. Sorry the photo quality isn’t too good. 

Do you know whom the two scrapbook pictures above are of? John

Picture 1: Photo courtesy of Dave Rowland.

We don't know who this is or when it was taken (Apart from saying I know he's not a Newcastle Rider). Only included because it is a great action shot.  The girder forks were standard on older bikes so either this is a 1950's shot, or the bike was a few years old and the photo was taken during the '60's Send me an e-mail if you can identify the rider, it could have been taken at Brough?. John

Update: 

 Thanks John for the identification. Anyone care to confirm or disagree?

A little more info on the above picture has been received: -

Picture 2: From the Glasgow Transport Museum

Behind the bike is a photograph of a Glasgow rider leading a Diamond.  Can anyone name the rider's?

Send me an e-mail if you can  John

Update: Jim Henry says:

Picture 3: Can't remember where I got this photo from

Who is the Diamonds rider pictured above? Send me an e-mail if you know

Update:

Mystery Rider :- Was the the one I thought it was first time, namely the one and only Ivan Mauger ( confirmed by George). 

Bob Grainger

Thanks Bob & George. I thought it was Ivan but what a gaff if I had got it wrong!  The boots were putting me off!

Picture 4: Photo courtesy of Jane Stobbart

Clues? Well one of these riders is Rol Stobbart who rode for West Ham, Bristol and for the Diamonds at Newcastle's Brough Park.  Can you identify Rol the others and the track?

Update:

Colin Greenwell says:-

Rol is indeed in the centre and the track is Barrow but I am not sure about the year.  I think it is later than 1930 any advance on 1930? and who are the other two riders? email

Picture 5: Photo courtesy of Jane Stobbart

Another picture featuring Rol Stobbart. Which is he and who are the others? where was this track? and what is the year?

Barry Wallace has been in touch and he says this about the above picture

Thanks Barry, a Salmon sandwich eh? The 4 riders couldn't be closer.

Picture 6  courtesy of Jane Stobbart

Rol Stobbart second from right.  Can anyone help with a date, venue and the other riders names?

Update:

Col Greenwell says: -

Picture 7  courtesy of John Skinner

So whose this Russian then?  Clue: Picture taken at Brough during USSR tour I believe 1966?  Can you answer this another clue: His surname ends in either 'Ski or 'Rov

Send me an e-mail John

Update:

Many e-mails on this rider: -

But most information about the Russian came from a Danish friend Joachim Neilsen who says this.

This was Gab Kadirov. I had Kadirov as a referee in Oslo at an international ice racing meeting in 1994. At the banquet at the Oslo City Hall he ate everything (50 times as much as all others) coming straight in from Siberia.

Thanks Mick never knew Gab was an ice skater too.  Who cares about the spelling anyway!

Picture 8  courtesy of Gordon Byers

Picture appears to be taken on a ship? Gordon Byers is 4th from the left at the back, these were his team mates whom toured New Zealand and Australia in 1932 -33.  care to name them anyone?

Update: Jim Henry says: Harry Whitfield and Bluey Wilkinson are in this shot.
Update: Terry Stone says: Eric Langton is sitting on the ground

Picture 9  courtesy of Gordon Byers

Another of Gordon Byers photographs. I only know 3 names here. Jack Ormston seated in centre, Parker and Johnnie Hoskins so if you can name the rest and say what the occasion was then please get in touch. John

Update : possible id by Jim Henry:

Sidecars

Picture 10  courtesy of Aussie Rod Webb

2 Australian sidecar units came over to the UK and here we see them at Brough Park during the 1960's. They are 1000cc Vincent's with chairs on the other side hence the opposite direction they are racing in.  Can anyone advise anything about this? John

I remember being there that night but I don't know the names race times etc.  3 names suggested are Harry Denton, Len Bowes and Brian O'shea.

Update:

I think the sidecars are Len Bowes & Harry Denton. They appeared at Norwich during that tour. Olle Nygren wanted to have a go in the chair at the Firs but the Meeting Controllers flatly refused to let him try it. Harry Denton later rode both Speedway and Sidecars at Kings Lynn.

Bryan Tungate

Picture 11

The only way to get knowledgeable before the Internet came along was via the Speedway Star here is a 1960's edition can anyone put names to faces? Why is the lady giving the rider a big white square thing? John

The only way to get knowledgeable before the Internet came along was via the Speedway Star here is a 1960's edition can anyone put names to faces? Why is the lady giving the rider a big white square thing?

Update:

My name is Iris Charlesworth and I’ve been looking at your website the Brough Park link. Re the photo on the front of a 1960’s Speedway Star the people in the photo are Rider - John Dews the lady giving him a large white box was Edna Cain and the man with the Mike is Tony Royston. They were giving John a wedding present from the Sheffield Speedway Supporters Club. Hope this has helped you.

Thanks Iris

1946 - A Norwich rider leading a West Ham rider can you name them? John

Who is this and can you tell me anything about the venue and the rider?  John

Update from Paul Brassell  This is Dave de Temple  who  is American  

Update from US rider Jim Painter:-

Who is this and can you tell me anything about the venue and the rider?  John

Update from Paul Brassell. This is Brent Werner  he has TMS  on his  right arm  and fork covers.  

Who is this and can you tell me anything about the venue and the rider?  John

 Update Paul Brassell This is David Nagel  who was from  Haydon Bridge  hope  this has been some help  to you cheers for now......

VSRA

Veterans at Rye House.  Kenny Smith in the Nelson Jacket who are the rest John

This is the programme from the 75th anniversary meeting at Rye House which Kenny took part in but unfortunately it hasn't been completed so I still don't know who the other riders with Kenny are.