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Your memories of the sheffield "tigers" speedway

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My cousin was motor bike mad and used to be what you would call now a groupie.

She was a friend of Tommy Allot all her life and I think at the time of his death he was visiting her family for a few days..

hazel

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In the early 70s I worked For Simms Motor Units on Petre Street and Jim Airey used to bring in the injectors off his bike for cleaning and resetting. He was a great bloke and gave us all sorts of speedway bits and bobs.

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My dad, Alf Parker rode for the Tigers back in 1960. He was a good friend of both Tommy and Guy Allott. Dad had a bike shop on Spittal Hill at the time and I remember going with him to visit Tommy at his (cave like) repair shop on several occasions. I also remember Frank Varey, who I think was the team manager at the time.

 

My dad used to help out on Saturdays at your dads shop on Spital Hill in the '50s. I think he rode speedway/grasstrack in the '50s as well. I remember my father saying Alf was suffering from double vision due to a crash whilst racing.

Edited by Tradescanthia

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Dad had quite a bad speedway accident at Sheffied in 1960 and took quite a while to recover his health. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1966 and involved himself with developing a swash plate pump which he invented and patented. He died in 1997.

 

I remember the shop at 64 Spittal Hill very well although no trace of it now remains. It was opposite the old Coliseum cinema.

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During the 1950s I was a regular at the Speed way.The acu steward was a man by the name of Stan Jenkins. I have a news paper to commemorate the birth of dirt track as it was then known. The said Jenkins was then known as Dusty Jenkins and won the first race at Sheffield. He must have been about eighteen at the time

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The smell of fuel, the roar of engines, grit in your face and Del Shannon belting out 'Runaway'

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I was,nt a speedway enthusiast, but I did go a couple of times, I see there's lots of stories about Guy Allott but who was Tommy Allott? Obviously a relative, I know I'm going back many moons, but I recall, he seemed to be the 'star' at that time.

ionce saw him ride in 1946or7 there was another rider split waterman

only ever went that once

any help

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My dad used to help out on Saturdays at your dads shop on Spital Hill in the '50s. I think he rode speedway/grasstrack in the '50s as well. I remember my father saying Alf was suffering from double vision due to a crash whilst racing.

i think the cycle shop on spital hill was arthur smith his brother and a place on fawcet street

his name was frank

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i think the cycle shop on spital hill was arthur smith his brother and a place on fawcet street

his name was frank

 

There was a Smiths shop further down the hill towards the Wicker, Arthur and Frank both being in the motorcycle business. In this case we are talking about Alf Parker, further up the hill, opposite 'The Colisseum' cinema.

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Yes, to Entry of the Gladiateurs. I knew one of them, he was called "Spike" Waterhouse and used to go to Wednesday away games.

 

Do you remember the mascot leading the gladiators out? That was 61 years ago. That was me. I was the mascot between 1948 and when it closed in 1952 (I think it was 52).

 

Trevor Vevers

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Went to Vintage Motorcycle Clubs Festival of 1000 bikes at Mallory Park at the weekend. What memories!!!! The Noise Meter must have been conveniently mis-placed. Loads of JAP engined bikes were fired up and run at pretty high speeds, the silencers having been 'lost in transit'. All the noise and the smell of Castrol 'R', pure heaven. Even older stuff was fired up as well, Douglas and Scotts [Frank Varey used to race a Scott], a howling 2 stroke twin. Grown men had tears in their eyes. Old road racers were out as well, Manx Nortons, 7r's ,G50's and a total of 18 four cylinder Honda racers from the days of Hailwood, Tommy Robb and Jim Redman, the noise was magnificent. Go next year if you have chance, best day out I've had in years. Nostalgia rules!!! The noise regulations are killing modern motor sport. Racing bikes with silencers on? Humbug!!!

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I have been looking through an old autograph book of mine that's come to light, probably dating from 1961 and hopefully some of you old un's will remember some of the names that I can decipher, Ronnie Genz Oxford, Harry Bastable Cradley Heath, Colin Smith Sheffield, Vic White Cradley Heath, Roy Craighead Rayleigh, Stuart Hickman Sheffield, Jack Winstanley Sheffield, Chum Taylor Southampton, Stan Stevens Rayleigh, Ken McKinlay Leicester, Len Glover Rayleigh, Johnnie Chamberlain Norwich, Neil Street Swindon, the father in law of Phil Crump and grandfather of Jason Crump, and last but certainly not least the speedway legend of the thirties, forties and fifties Ron Johnson New Cross. But it's Johnnie Chamberlain I want to talk about, I don't think he rode at Owlerton but I saw him at Belle Vue, and I swear he was the fastest rider I ever saw go down the Belle Vue back straight, he didn't manage the corners quite so well, so he didn't trouble my hero Peter Craven, but he gave a great display that night, so much so that I still remember it after forty eight years, and I can still hear the words of the Belle Vue fans who we're stood behind me "whats gorrin't Chamberlain t'neet". The Yarmouth page of Defunct Speedway Tracks say's Johnnie Chamberlain was only four feet nine inches tall (I can't believe this). Having stood at the side of both Johnnie Chamberlain and Billy Bales I always thought Billy Bales Yarmouth, Norwich and Sheffield was the shortest rider I have seen, I believe he was around five foot. At the time of writing I am looking at a photograph of the 1961 Norwich Stars, Johnnie Chamberlain is on the extreme left and Billy Bales is on the extreme right, at first glance it looks like Bales is the smallest, but he's stood closer to the camera so it's inconclusive. So put me out of my misery does anyone know who was the tallest/smallest.

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