Norwich

The Firs Stadium, Aylsham Road, Norwich. Speedway took place between 1931 and 1965.

Jane Best says: to see your web site, brings back many fond memories of Saturday evenings in the 1950s early 60s. It was so exciting - and dirty with all the red shale !!
Can you tell me the exact location of the Firs Stadium? Was it where the houses now are opposite the Firs pub and Fifers Lane or was it further out of the City towards the present P&Ride??
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
If you can help Jane locate the track send me an email John
Mike Kemp says: Hello John -- just seen the letter from Jane Best asking the location of the Firs stadium on the Norwich page on your great site She was right when she says the Stadium was opposite the Firs pub and Fifers Lane.

Eric Williams Photo courtesy of Mike Kemp
The bobble hats worn by many riders in this era were usually knitted by the riders fans

I note that the heat times were given in 10ths of a second. When I started watching speedway in Newcastle in 1961 the times there were given in 5ths of a second ie 72.4 at Norwich would have been given as 72.2/5 at the home of the Diamonds

Roland Picket says: We lived next door to the Firs Stadium where I grew up. My dad was a second half rider and also the night watchman at Norwich. Dick Wise was the best man at his wedding, Many of the riders on your website have been round to our house for parties etc. and my aunt actually went out with Billy Bales. Amazingly, I met Ove Fundin when the World finals were at Peterborough and he remembered me from the Norwich days. We kids would spend hours helping Trevor Hedge in his workshop during the evenings.

Norwich 1964 with world class Swedes Olle Nygren and Ove Fundin. Trevor Hedge too became a stalwart for his country England

The Firs Stadium was developed from a grass/dirt track near Norwich through the early 1930’s. Some riders like Fred Leavis rode under assumed names or some like Geoff Pymar and Fred Wilkinson were riding under their own names. In the mid 30s the track went into a decline until Max Grosskreutz took over the reins following his retirement at the end of the 1936 season. Max entered the Stars in the National Provincial League for 1937 and on 1^st May Wilf Jay won the first heat of Max’s opening meeting. Crowds in that first season gradually improved and the signings of Bert Spencer and Wal Morton put Norwich on the right tack for the future. In 1938 Max made a comeback to lead the Stars and they took 2^nd place in Division Two and knocked Harringay out of the National Trophy. They also won the Provincial Trophy. 1939 was an anti-climax. The Stars lost in the Final of the English Trophy to Newcastle but were only mid-table when Speedway closed down at the outbreak of World War II.

For the 1946 resumption Norwich were in the Northern League led by Spencer and Jay. Paddy Mills and Ted Bravery joined and Stars had an excellent season finishing 3^rd and winning the Northern K O Trophy and the A C U League Cup. Both Spencer & Jay (as reserve) qualified for the British Riders Final at Wembley. In 1947 Stars were entered in the new 2^nd division and finished 3^rd. Unfortunately Jay had been transferred and Spencer missed many matches through injury and then Cyril Anderson lost his life shortly after joining. 1948 saw the signing of Fred Rogers but a top 3 placing was missed. Bill Wilson of Middlesbrough lost his life following a crash at the Firs. 1949 saw the advent of Bob Leverenz and another 3^rd placing. The season saw the retirement of Spencer who had served the Club so well. 1950 finally saw a League title as Stars won the 2nd Division. Phil Clarke and Leverenz were well supported by Mills and the rest of the side. Jock Shead of Halifax became the tracks fourth fatality. 1951 saw a repeat title. Though Norwich had been finalists in their section of the National Trophy before in 1951 they won and moved on to meet 1^st Division teams, they beat Bristol before losing to Harringay in the 36^th heat of the tie. They also finished 2^nd in the Kemsley Southern Shield and Leverenz became the first Norwich rider to qualify for a World Final

The 1952 season saw Norwich in the 1^st Division but it was not a happy season when Clarke and Mills were injured early on and Leverenz was late arriving and returned home mid-season. On the plus side Billy Bales had a great season as did Fred Rogers and Bill Gilbert. The Stars finished bottom and were eliminated from the Trophy by Poole from the 2^nd Division. The 1953 season saw the arrival of Aub Lawson on the Firs scene. It was to be a good signing for the Stars. Cyril Roger followed when New Cross folded and the final position saw an improvement.

In 1954 there was an event which was to have a far-reaching effect on the Norwich team for years to come. Ove Fundin rode in the World Championship Round at the Firs and it was this meeting which led to him joining the Stars. The 1954 season saw Stars reach the National Trophy Final but they lost to Wembley and finished in mid-table. The start of the 1955 season saw the Stars struggling and so the meetings with the S C B eventually saw agreement for Fundin to join for the season. Though only riding a few matches the prowess was immediately obvious. Stars reached the Trophy Final again but Lawson was injured and SVEMO refused to let Fundin ride in the home leg. A good win at Wembley and a fine performance from Clarke saw the Stars home. Norwich had 5 riders in the World Final. The 1956 season saw the death in an early season meeting of Malcolm Flood. The season’s big event was the World Championship victory at Wembley by Ove Fundin. This was the start of a run of ten years when he occupied a top three placing in the Contest. The Stars ended in mid-table yet again.

1957 saw the Divisions merged and the birth of the National League. In the Britannia Shield the Stars won the Southern Section but went down to Belle Vue in the Final but it was again a mid-table League season. 1958 saw the best season yet as Stars finished in 2^nd place and reached the Trophy Final again. Belle Vue, however, again proved to be our stumbling block. Ove Fundin’s record was phenomenal with 140 wins and 16 seconds in 159 heats. 1959 saw the retirement of Phil Clarke after 13 years service and he was the top scorer of all time. Bales again missed matches due to injury but the team took 4^th place again and reached the Trophy semi-final. In 1960 Norwich said goodbye to the great Aub Lawson who finally retired. Second-string riders proved lacking as Stars again finished mid-table and reached the Trophy Final but Wimbledon proved too good. Again Fundin was superb winning 139 and getting 2^nd place in 15 of his 155 heats. He won the World Final and added the Match Race to his collection of Honours. A youngster, Terry Betts made his appearance in second-half racing. The season also saw the death of “Tink” Maynard of Belle Vue after a crash at the Firs. 1961 was a poor season with a lowly place in the League, however Fundin carried on in his usual way and won his 3^rd World Title in Malmo, Sweden.

1962 was another poor season coupled with Fundin being handicapped as one of the big 5 of National League racing. Betts and Jimmy Gooch had reasonable seasons and Olle Nygren joined as the season came to a close. 1963 opened and rumours of the track’s closure were dispelled. Nygren was eventually allowed to ride after numerous meetings with officialdom and Norwich had a Swedish spearhead. Betts led the support riders and Stars took 2^nd place behind Belle Vue. The National Trophy saw positions reversed as Stars took the victory in the Final. It was in the days between the two meetings of the final that Peter Craven lost his life so any such celebrations were decidedly muted. Ove Fundin gave the fans a lift amid the continued rumours by winning his 4^th World Title at Wembley. The 1964 season opened with a report that the Stadium had been sold, but a refusal to development plans had been delivered. The team took 3^rd place in the League and won the Easter Cup. The highlight of the year was the appearance of the 4 Russian riders with an all action performance. At the end of the season we knew it was finished. “Tich” Read won the last race. A special event saw Phil Clarke, Jack Freeman, Wilf Jay and Len Read perform in memory of the “old days”.

Leading Riders – Billy Bales, Terry Betts, Fred Brand, Ted Bravery, Phil Clarke,

Syd Littlewood, Paddy Mills, Wal Morton, Olle Nygren, Fred Pawson, Geoff Pymar, Cyril Roger, Fred Rogers, Bert Spencer, Derek Strutt, Reg Trott, Dick Wise

Just one meeting was staged at the Hevingham Raceway, a proposed “New Norwich” on

Allen, Buck, Chapman, Crane, Framingham, Harrison, Shirley, Taylor & Wordingham are readily recognisable names. Andrew Bales is a son of Billy and the Cox brothers were twins who second-halved at Kings Lynn for a while along with the others named.

The crowd was “quoted as 2,000” and the meeting was staged to support an application to use the site for a new Speedway Stadium.

This track HEVINGHAM RACEWAY must be the shortest - lived track on the website? lasting just one meeting.

Tony Hurren says: I have just browsed through the Norwich section of the Defunct Speedway Tracks and thoroughly enjoyed it. I used to go to The Firs as often as I could. I was a West Ham supporter from 1946 until the track closed at the end of the 1955 season. My favourite was Aub Lawson. There is a pic of him on the site which shows him kneeling with a caption: Aub Lawson 1952. Aub rode for West Ham until the end of 1951 and was then replaced by Jack Young. I don't think Aub raced in Britain in 1952, so it could be the pic in question was taken in 1953.

Can you name the riders John
Update: Mike Kemp says: LtoR Fred Brand- Arthur Wright - Billy Bales - Arthur Forrest -- Norwich V Bradford 1955

Norwich team of 1956 LtoR Harry Edwards,Geoff Pymar,Gorden Parkins,Ove Fundin,Fred Brand,Phil Clarke, --- front row Billy Bales,Aub Lawson on bike and Reg Trott ---

Belle Vue's Peter Craven looking for the inside line to pass Norwich's Ove Fundin. Probably not the line to take against Ove as he has that line himself

Sheffield V Norwich. Tommy Allott, Syd Littlewood, Len Williams and Bert Spencer. Great action shot the cameraman must have been very close to the action

This is Bert Spencer (Norwich, riding for 2nd Division Stars) leading Eric Chitty at the West Ham track in 1948. Bert was, like Charlie Spinks, a fantastic sight in the old leg-trailing days.

Wasn't Dirt Track a much more adult term than Speedway?

Syd Littlewood

The career of Australia, Norwich and Newcastle leg trailing star Syd Littlewood began on the dirt tracks and grass tracks of Victoria in 1936. Syd who was born in 1914, had an early love of motorcycling in general. After he completed his apprenticeship as a fitter and turner he embarked on a 17 year career as a professional speedway rider. Syd was always insistent that his name was spelt Syd and not Sid. After obtaining rides in Melbourne in 1937 he made the overland trek to Western Australia to begin his voyage to England in March 1938. On the way from Victoria to the West he raced at Adelaide and Claremont in Perth. It was to be 12 years before he would see his homeland again

On arrival in England he was signed by Max Grosskruetz for the Norwich Stars where he made his home base. His first meeting in the Norwich colours was at Birmingham on Saturday April 23 when he scored 2 paid three from 2 rides. In that first season he had 4 home meetings and 8 away meetings as reserve and was a regular in the second half events at the Firs. he also appeared in the 1938 World championship round on June 4 but failed to score. In his last meeting for Norwich on November 5^th he won the Eastern Counties Championship and Willmott Cup, which today is proudly displayed at his son Trevor’s home in Brisbane. A rewarding climax to his first year in England.

1939 saw Syd join the Newcastle Diamonds team in the same division as Norwich. Syd had a regular team place with his new team and in July Norwich supporters saw just how much Syd had improved as he was in the team that won the English Trophy final at the expense of the Stars. Syd scored 7 in each leg of the final as his team edged home winners by 84-82. Newcastle were at the top of the League table when racing stopped for the duration of the war.

On the outbreak of war which curtailed the 1939 season,, Syd’s attempt to join the Australian forces was denied due to the fact his engineering skills were required for the war effort in England. He spent the war years making secret equipment for submarines. Syd married a Norwich girl Gladys in 1940, their only son Trevor was born in Norwich in 1941

The war did not prevent some speedway action and reports indicate that Syd rode for a Norwich team at Dick Case’s track at Rye House on June 29 and August 24 1941. The first post-war meeting for Syd was an unofficial test match against Australia v England held at Odsal in August. He scored 2 points from the reserve position

In early 1946 the Speedway Control Board pooled all riders for allocation. Riders were also graded and paid according to their respective grade. As a number 4 grade rider Syd was entitled the sum of fifteen shillings a start and the same amount per point. He was allocated back to Newcastle under the Johnny Hoskins promotion, Syd had a great respect for “Roaring Johnny” and held in high esteem

In 1946 Syd was again a regular in the Diamonds side and held his team place throughout that first post-war season. He scored 112 points in that season to give him the third heat leader position alongside Jeff Lloyd and Norman Evans. Also in the Diamonds team was fellow Queenslander Charlie Spinks. At the end of the year he returned to Norwich in an exchange deal for Wilf Jay.

Syd passed away aged 86 at a Logan, Queensland nursing home on 24/11/2000, he is survived by his wife Gladys at 96 and his son Trevor.

Syd Littlewood and Charlie Spinks 1948