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| Belle Vue Speedway |
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Hyde Road
Part 2
(The Later
Years) |
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| Zoological Gardens, Hyde Road, Gorton, Manchester, M12
5PX, This was the Aces home between 1929 and 1987. Manchester speedway
fans were lucky. The City had another stadium (Kirkmanshulme
Lane first operated 1928) which served the Aces well from 1988 to 2015 |
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Belle Vue Badges
Peter Craven
Belle Vue Colts
Sandor Levai
Chris & Geoff Pusey
Alan Wilkinson
Peter Collins
Belle Vue v Sheffield 1965 |
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Belle Vue
In Sweden |
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| Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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The Aces were on their travels
during 1950, visiting Swedish league sides: Vargana and Griparna |
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Belle Vue's Aviation Scare |
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8th October 1950 |
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| Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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Belle Vue Bulletin |
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Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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Belle Vue In Poland 1955 |
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Jack
Babrovskie says:
Hi, john,
Been looking again at your Aces web page. Hope the following will
help: Re photo of ‘Belle Vue in Poland 1955’ on your
Hyde Road site: Riders are (left to right) Ken Sharples,
Fred Rogers, Peter Williams, Ron Johnston, Peter Craven, Bob
Duckworth (behind), Arthur Wright, Dick Fisher. Promoter
Johnnie Hoskins at far right.
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Warszawa v Manchester |
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| Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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Programme Scorechart Courtesy of Tom Roe |
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The Captains Exchange Pennants |
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Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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Wlad Swenbroski and Ken Sharples |
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Jack
Babrovskie says: You
have a photo of Ken Sharples
exchanging team pennants with the captain of the Polish
touring team at Hyde Road. The name of the Polish rider is in
fact Wlodz Szwendrowski.
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Belle Vue Team Pics |
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Jack
Babrovskie says:
L to R: Slant Payling, Peter Williams,
Ron Johnston, Peter Craven, Lew Grepp, Dick Fisher, Bob
Duckworth.
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Jack
Babrovskie says:
Harry Edwards, Ron Johnston, Jack Parker,
Ken Sharples, Louis Lawson. Peter Craven, Dick Fisher,
Bob Fletcher.
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| Brothers Jack & Norman Parker |
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Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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John says:
Belle Vue's Jack Parker with his brother Norman Parker who looks
as if he was being beamed down from the Starship Enterprise!
I couldn't improve this photo so it is on the website regardless. |
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Jack
Babrovskie says:
Peter Craven, Dick Fisher,Ron Johnston, Don
Cuppleditch, Bob Duckworth, Harry Edwards, (on bike) Ken Sharples. |
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Jack Babrovskie says:
Peter Craven,
Brian Craven, Bob Duckworth, Peter Williams, Slant Payling, Dick
Fisher. (on bike) Ron Johnston. |
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Jack Babrovskie says:
Bob Duckworth, Ken Sharples, Jack Parker, Ron
Johnston, Dick Fisher, Harry Edwards,
(?), Peter Craven
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| Lady Fan's Headscarf |
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Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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Note for younger browsers of my websites. In the 1950/60s
ladies fashions dictated that they covered their heads either with
hats or scarves. Belle Vue came up with this novelty "team
headscarf". Did you see anyone wearing one around the track
or on the high street? |
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| Graham Gleave's Photographs |
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Graham's Supporter's Club Membership Card |
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Double World Champion Peter Craven, Golden Helmet winner |
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Henry Long Dick Fisher and Louis Lawson |
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George Smith and Bob Fletcher |
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Alf Webster and Brian Craven. John says: Brian was my boyhood hero (at
10 yrs of age) when he rode for Newcastle Diamonds in the early
1960s. I switched allegiance when Ivan Mauger arrived in
1963. So sorry Brian |
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Frank Johnson and Harry Edwards |
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V Long &
Dent Oliver |
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Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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Belle Vue In Austria 1962 |
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A World Championship Round At
Hyde Road |
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Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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Peter Kelly |
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John says: I was supporting my local team, Newcastle
Diamonds in the 1960s and along came Peter Kelly. He was no
Ivan Mauger/Ove Fundin etc but Peter was a great team man picking up
points in each of his heats. I remember him riding around
Brough Park with a clean, white silk scarf, blowing in the wind |
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Tony Robinson |
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Help please. Who is this and when
did he ride for the Aces
Colin Greenwell says: Hi John, The photograph is of
Tony Robinson. Tony rode for BV late 1950's /60. Rode
for Sheffield 1960/63. That means Tony rode in the
first speedway meeting I ever saw at Cleveland Park
in 1961. If the programme is correct, he scored 6
points........Programme scan is on your Middlesbrough
page. I have to be honest and say it was John
Somerville who named him . I got info about him from a
book...as usual.!! |
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John Says: All knowledge
comes from books/newspaper archives/websites etc so we all
should salute those like John Somerville whom have made it
their duty to write books etc, on our favourite topic! but
where does their knowledge come from? Some will have read
it in other books etc. I can say that many of my
items/articles on my websites have come a roundabout route
handed down by the riders to their sons/daughters, and
grandchildren. who have then sent me the pictures and
stories that appear on the site. |
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Danny Dunton |
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Danny in Belle Vue Aces Racejacket 1959-60.
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| Belle Vue v Wimbledon |
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%20Programme.jpg) |
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%20racecard.jpg)
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| Name The Riders |
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& The Year |
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| Courtesy of Tom Roe |
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| I wonder about this photo, the
bigger wheels on the Rotrax JAP indicate this line up was late
1950s and the absence of Cyril Maidment & Soren Sjosten also lead
me to think it isn't the early 1960s. If you can help then
send me an email John
Graham Gleave says: Jim Yacoby, Jack Kitchen, Dick Fisher, Peter
Craven, Bryce Subritzky, Bob Duckworth On Bike Ron Johnson this
was weeks before Duckworth had his bad accident.
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Belle Vue
1962 Team |
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| John says: 1962
Aces team. I can name Peter Kelly, Sandor Levai,
Peter Craven and Soren Sjosten please help
John |
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Terry Stone has been in touch he says: Is
the first rider Ian Hindle, Peter Kelly, Cyril Maidment, Tall rider
is Jim Yacoby, Dick Fisher, Soren Sjosten and Peter Craven on the bike
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Alan Bristow says: The rider on the extreme left is not Ian Hindle;
he would have been too young in 1962 became active last 60's early 70's
Also had long blond hair and a thin face. Rider is Nick Nicholls signed
for Belle Vue from Coventry for the 1962 season he rode only the one or
maybe 2 seasons for BV Regards Alan |
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Ian Thompson says: Sandor Levai is definitely not on this
photograph |
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Peter Craven |
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Peter Theodore Craven
born 21 June 1934 he died 24 September 1963 as a result of a
riding accident at Edinburgh's Old Meadowbank Stadium (Old
Meadowbank also a
defunct speedway). Peter
started riding in 1951 for his home town team Liverpool Chads an
obviously talented rider, he was signed for 1952 by the North's
premier club Belle Vue. Peter stayed with the Aces until
that black day in September 1963. |
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The Wizard of Balance: Hanging Tough!
Peter Craven at speed! |
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Peter Craven &
Barry Briggs |
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Peter Craven and Barry Briggs. Two of the
"greats" from the 1950s and 1960s
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| Peter Craven |
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An Iconic pose, on his bike, from arguably the greatest British rider of all time?
John says well I think he was the greatest British rider of all
time. RIP Peter
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| Peter Craven's Achievements |
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| Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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| Peter With
His 1955 World Championship
Trophy |
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Bringing
The World
Championship Trophy Home to Belle Vue |
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| Above left: Peter Craven With Ove Fundin
and Peter On the BV Tractor With
His 1955 World Championship
Trophy |
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The Unique
Style Of
Peter Craven
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| Peter was known as "The Wizard of
Balance". He was
small in stature and the "big" handlebars on his bikes allowed him
to be "acrobatic" on a bike. Here he is shown cornering in his
unique style. |
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| Peter with Norman Wisdom |
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| Courtesy of Tom Roe |
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| CRAVEN &
NORMAN WISDOM WHO PRESENTED THE TROPHY 1962 |
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Belle Vue
Early
1960s |
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| Courtesy of Tom Roe |
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Graham Gleave says: BV 1960s Bill Powell, Gordon McGregor,
Jim Yacoby, Bill Kitchen, Dick Fisher, Cyril Maidment, Soren
Sjosten and Peter Craven
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| Igor & Peter |
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| Courtesy of Tom Roe |
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| CRAVEN & PLECHANOV MALMO
WORLD FINAL 1961 |
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| One Of
Peter's Bikes |
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Courtesy of John McCluskey |
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Courtesy of John McCluskey |
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show the typical mount of riders of Peter's era 1951-1963 a
totally British made bike, the Rotrax JAP, which stands for the makers
name
John
Alfred
Prestwich.
(If you are interested in seeing more about this type of machine
and all the other bikes in use from the 1920s onwards. Visit my
"bikes" pages from the links on the right hand column). |
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A Battered Photo Of
Peter Craven
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Courtesy of Nick Short |
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| John says: A battered photo of Peter Craven.
I have made no attempt to clean up the image, preferring to show
the picture as it was sent to me. I often "improve"? old
photos, but sometimes I think it is a mistake to alter an old pic
by removing creases, tears etc. so this pic is untouched. |
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Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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Peter collecting more silverware |
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Peter &
Older Brother
Brian Craven
A Newcastle Diamond
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John says: As a Newcastle fan I was
always pleased to see our Brian Craven's superstar, younger
brother, Peter, in the Newcastle pits supporting older bro Bri's
evenings racing. Brian was so devastated by his younger
brother Peter's track death in 1963 that he took a whole season
off without turning a wheel. Brian has since joined Peter in
the afterlife where I hope there is a speedway track for the
Craven brothers!
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1962
World
Champion
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| Courtesy of Nick Short |
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| The World Championship winged wheel trophy, what every rider wanted. Peter
won The World Title twice in his short career. He was World Champion 1955 and 1962.
He may well have added more successes if he had survived his fatal
crash in 1963. |
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A Peter Craven Car
Window Sticker |
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| Peter Craven Tribute |
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| Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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| John says: I remember Peter's death
on every anniversary. He died on my 11th birthday 24th September 1963. I will never
forget his passing when I celebrate my birthdays! |
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| 3 More Early
1960s Aces |
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| Photos courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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| Willie Wilson, Tink Maynard and Dick
Fisher. The JAP machines always catch my attention. They were
heavy machines by modern day standards and the handlebars were big to cope with the "deep"
tracks in that era. The Aces were in demand then and the
team rode in Ireland and a number of European countries. |
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| Norman Nevitt |
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| Courtesy of Tom Roe |
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Dick Fisher &
Olle Nygren |
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Belle Vue
Early 1963 |
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Belle Vue v Coventry |
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5th June 1965 |
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Courtesy of Wattie Dunlop |
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Courtesy of Wattie Dunlop |
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| Belle Vue Quiz Winner |
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| Courtesy of Tom Roe |
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| Courtesy of Tom Roe |
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Belle Vue v Sheffield |
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| 3rd July 1965 |
Tom Roe's Photographs
ICT Trophy
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| Courtesy of Tom Roe |
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| Garry Middleton |
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| Courtesy of Tom Roe who says:
Garry Middleton, an interesting photograph. Would suggest 1967 |
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Belle Vue Badges |
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1949 |
1950 |
1964 |
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| 1967 |
1968 |
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| Badge scans are courtesy of
Wattie Dunlop |
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1968 |
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| 1968 |
1968 |
1969 |
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| 1968 |
1968 |
1969 |
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| 1969 |
1970 |
1970 |
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1970 |
1971 |
1971 |
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| 1971 |
1972 |
1972 |
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1972 |
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1973 |
1973 |
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| 1974 |
1975 |
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1975 |
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| 1976 |
1976 |
1976 |
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1977 |
1977 |
1977 |
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| 1977 |
1978 |
1978 |
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1978 |
1978 |
1979 |
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| 1979 |
1979 |
1980 |
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1980 |
1980 |
1980 |
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| 1980 |
1981 |
1981 |
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1981 |
1981 |
1981 |
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| 1981 |
1981 |
1981 |
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1982 |
1982 |
1982 |
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| 1982 |
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| 1983 |
1983 |
1983 |
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1983 |
1983 |
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| 1984 |
1984 |
1984 |
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1984 |
1984 |
1985 |
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1985 |
1985 |
1985 |
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| 1985 |
1986 |
1987 |
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| Badge Scan's
Courtesy of Wattie Dunlop |
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British League Riders Championship
Final Badges |
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| Wattie Dunlop has sent me these scans of his BLRC Finals badges, which
we are happy to show below. |
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| 1970 |
1971 |
1972 |
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1973 |
1974 |
1975 |
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1976 |
1977 |
1978 |
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1979 |
1980 |
1981 |
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1982 |
1983 |
1984 |
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1985 |
1986 |
1987 |
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1987 |
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| Belle Vue is historically the home of the league riders
championship final. 1987 was the last year the final was
staged at BV Hyde Road. 1988 onwards the city staged the BLR
Championships at
Kirkmanshulme Lane. I will
move the post 1987 badges to the Kirky Lane page when you send me
badge scans from 1988 or later |
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Hyde Road's world famous "Belle Vue" track, home of the
ACES closed it's doors to speedway in 1987 and Manchester's
Speedway fans turned their attention to the city's Kirkmanshulme
Lane venue. Any more badges 1988 or later will be shown on
my Kirky Lane page in the A-Z |
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| Tom
Roe's Photographs |
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Courtesy of Tom Roe |
| Pic 1:
Cyril Maidment |
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Courtesy of Tom Roe |
| Pic 2:
Soren Sjosten |
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Courtesy of Tom Roe |
| Pic 3:
Ivan Mauger |
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Courtesy of Tom Roe |
| Pic 4:
Bill Powell |
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Courtesy of Tom Roe |
| Pic 5:
Dick Fisher |
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Courtesy of Tom Roe |
| Pic 6:
Tony Robinson |
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Courtesy of Tom Roe |
| Pic 7:
Derek "Tink" Maynard |
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Courtesy of Tom Roe |
| Pic 8:
Chris Pusey |
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9: Chris
Bailey
10: Paul
O'Neil |
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Courtesy of Tom Roe |
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Tommy Roper, Soren Sjosten and Ivan Mauger |
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Gordon McGregor Pic 13:
Russ Hodgson |
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| Pic 14:
Gote Nordin |
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GB v Soviet Russia |
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Courtesy of Wattie Dunlop |
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Courtesy of Wattie Dunlop |
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Courtesy of Wattie Dunlop |
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Belle Vue v Newport
1966 |
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| Courtesy of Tom Roe |
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Getingarna (Sweden) v
Belle Vue |
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Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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Magyar Valogatott |
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The Hungarian National Team v
Belle Vue |
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Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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Belle Vue v Leningrad |
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| ZZ Top! No It's The Leningrad Neva Team |
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The "Name the Rider" photo to stump you all.
They appear to be mounted on identical ESO/Jawa machines making them eastern
Europeans. Please email any ideas
John
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| Jim Henry says:
It's the Leningrad Neva team - probably the one that visited Belle Vue sometime
in the 1960s/1970s is the best I can do. The race jacket motif is the give away. |
| John says: I asked Dave Gifford for his views on the men and machines
in this great photo. |
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Giffy says: When we first used Jawas in 1968 they had a
rear mudguard with a valance on the right side. An
 oil tank was mounted on the
valance. The rear downtube of the frame diamond was 30 mill same as the other
tubes. About 1969 or 70 they did away with the valanced guard and the oil tank
and put the oil in the frame and increased the size of the downtube, if you
look at most Jawas they have an oil filler cap on the frame above the fuel
tank. I have a picture of an Eso which also had an oil tank. I have been told
by a reliable source that 80% of the Jawa production went to the Soviet Union. Now
if this is the case I have a little bit of doubt about the date of the picture
being 1971as there are no filler caps on the frames and I think they would
have wrecked all the old type frames by 1971! The bikes also have Lucas
magnetos which were used on the earlier model. I do have an early model Jawa
awaiting restoration, my next project. Giffy
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| John says: Maybe the Soviets had older bikes and equipment in 1971? So can anyone name the riders? |
| Bob Andrews says: The masked men photo was Team Leningrad, taken in 1971
at Belle Vue |
| Alan Charles says: Here are scans from the match
programme which was 1968 not 1971 |
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| Russian/Eastern Bloc speedway teams
visiting the UK in the cold war era were mysterious and great
crowd pullers. |
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Belle Vue Bertie! |
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Wattie Dunlop's 1969 Badge |
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Kathy Hitchen's Photographs |
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These are Kathy Hitchen's photographs of the Belle Vue track taken in
November1987, shortly after closure.
I have placed her photos throughout the Belle Vue webpage. Could these pictures be of the finest race track the UK has ever known? |
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Ivan Mauger |
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Since the death of Peter Craven in 1963
the Aces had a massive void to fill . The Aces made a
move for Newcastle's unsettled star and current world champion Ivan Mauger joined the
Belle Vue Aces in 1969, where he enjoyed his greatest team
and individual achievements. As a Belle Vue Ace he won the world
title in 1970, 1971 and 1972, thereby becoming the only rider to
complete the 'Triple Crown' Three championships in a row. |
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John says: As a Newcastle fan I was
almost suicidal when Ivan left us to join the Aces but looking
back I think it was the best thing for my hero's career. He
was brilliant for the Diamonds but somehow he stepped up another
gear and he was even better with the Aces and possibly wouldn't
have achieved so much had he stayed at Newcastle with Mike Parker. |
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John says: Ivan and I have kept in touch for many
years. He has told me many things about his career (as the
greatest speedway rider of all time). If you want to read
more try my Ivan Mauger pages on this website and also on my
www.newcastlespeedwayhistory.co.uk website. However,
this is about Ivan at Belle Vue so read on: - |
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Probably the best signing made by Belle Vue in their long
history. Bringing Ivan in from Newcastle gave the fans a man to
idolize as they did Peter Craven before him. |
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Courtesy of Jack Longley |
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Courtesy of Jack Longley |
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| Ivan's Gold Bike displayed on the centre green at Hyde Road |
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Courtesy of Ivan Mauger |
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John says: One of my favourite photos of Ivan.
He sent me the photo a few years ago. Ivan has been a great
friend to me, this website and also to my
History of
Newcastle Speedway Website Where the 1960s pages
chronicle Ivan before his transfer to Belle Vue |
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A Belle Vue Fans Memories Of Ivan Mauger |
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Dave Hobson says: Hi John, I hope you
enjoy my story, which follows below: - |
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Sadly my story starts with the death of
my father from cancer in August 1972. His death prompted a visit
to our family home in Bredbury near Stockport from my uncle Phil
Waine, who was also my godfather. Uncle Phil was from the posh
side of the family and lived in Bramhall! |
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During my uncles visit he came to chat to
me in my bedroom. The walls of my room were festooned with
pictures of Belle Vue speedway riders from the souvenir shop,
black and white printed posters with the Aces body colour
predominant picked out in red. As he slowly turned looked around
my room he said “so you follow the speedway” then he said “we had
a speedway rider that lived next door to us, he’s just moved”
being a slightly disinterested teenager I replied “oh, who?”
thinking it was going to be some kid who rides second half races
that I never heard of but uncle Phil said “Ivan Mauger” what! Not
some unheard of second halfer but my hero, former world champion
and captain of Belle Vue, Ivan Mauger and he followed that with
“we’ll go for tea, I’ll arrange it”. Which is how, a few months
later I ended up sat in the Mauger family home. |
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Initially Ivan was out when we arrived
but Raye, made us welcome, soon enough the lounge door open and in
walked Ivan, my uncle stood and said “I don’t have to tell you who
this is” as I got up to shake hands with a sporting icon. Then
followed a tour of the workshop/garage and trophy room with it’s
hundreds of gold, silver and quite a lot of ceramic trophy’s as I
remember. Next I was allowed to sit on the gold bike, there are
not many people in the world who can claim to have sat on that, I
also got to hold the world wheel trophy that Ivan had won again in
September 1972. |
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There were gifts a well, he gave me a
triple crown enameled badge and copy of Ivan Maugers Speedway
book, both of which I still have but for some inexplicable reason
I never got around to asking him to sign the book, I think I was
just awestruck. My aunt, uncle and I were there for a few hours
and what a fantastic treat is was for a sixteen year old kid whose
father had recently passed away. |
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As the years went by I would spend a few
minutes every season talking to Ivan in the pits at Belle Vue, I
just used to turn up at the gate, say who I was and in I went,
this continued even after he left the Aces. |
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At one of our little chats I mentioned I
was thinking of trying speedway and Ivan’s advice was “get the
best machinery you can afford”. My speedway career started and
ended shortly afterwards at Crewe training school where I
sustained a broken shoulder, my mother made me give up training
after that, stating “speedway riders are born not made” it was
years later that I realised how wrong that was, you can be what
you want to be if you put the hard work in, Ivan proved that
himself by coming back from the disappointment of his early days
at Wimbledon in the fifties. |
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Time moved on and as Peter Collins career
blossomed at Hyde Road and speedways loudest fan Soldier Boy
arrived on the scene to offer vocal support at home matches. Ivan
had left the Aces by now and would be racing against Belle Vue or
riding in individuals meetings such as the Peter Craven Memorial
Trophy or the British League Riders Championship but my support
was always unwavering, I would always be there next to Soldier Boy
near the starting gate supporting Ivan, trying to drown out the
sergeant majors bellows and taunts, with my own words of
encouragement for the kiwi maestro, the final time being Ivan's
farewell tour in the eighties. |
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But the story doesn’t end there, when the
meeting regarding the new Belle Vue stadium was being held at
Gorton Monastery in August 2011 and I heard Ivan was attending I
decide to go along. Ivan and Raye were seated in the front row and
just before proceedings started I went up to where they were sat
and knelt down beside Ivan while I recounted the story told here
but I also took the book that I had been given in 1972 and forgot
to ask him to sign, which is why my copy now has the inscription
“to Dave, forty years late, best wishes Ivan Mauger, what a truly
great, great man he is. |
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I was a Belle Vue fan on a weekly basis
but I am an Ivan Mauger fan for life. Dave Hobson |
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John says: I am a Newcastle fan and
I echo your words Dave. "I am an Ivan Mauger fan for life"
too. |
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Courtesy of Dave Hobson |
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Belle Vue Colts |
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Belle Vue like other successful clubs
ran team(s) in the lower league(s) You will remember some of
the BV Colts from the following team pictures, if you are old
enough! |
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Colts Picture 1 |
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Steve Wilkes says: Taken in 1968 at Belle Vue Back row
- Ken Eyre, Peter Thompson, Alan Middleton (Manager), Johnnie Hoskins, Brian
Bentley, Dave Brockbank Front row - John Woodcock, Taffy Owen, Ken Moss, Chris
Bailey, Eric Broadbelt. |
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Phil Masters says:The year 1968.This photo was taken after they won the
British League Division 2. Johnnie Hoskins donated and presented the trophy |
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Colts Picture 2 |
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Steve Wilkes says: Photo taken in 1969 probably at
Doncaster. Left to Right : Ken Moss, Peter Thompson, Steve Waplington, Alan
Middleton (Manager), Eric Broadbelt, Taffy Owen, Bill Moulin, Chris Bailey (on
bike) |
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Colts Picture 3 |
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Can you say the years and name the riders?
John
Steve Wilkes says: Taken in 1969 at Belle Vue. Bill
Moulin, Ken Moss, Peter Thompson, Alan Middleton (Manager)Steve Waplington,
Eric Broadbelt, Ken Eyre, Chris Bailey (on bike) |
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Sandor Levai |
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| Sandor Levai
possibly the greatest Hungarian rider of his era and a great
accent too. I would have paid to hear him utter some of
Bela
Lugosi's Count Dracula lines. |
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Ace & Diamond |
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John says:
I had this picture sent to me and as a Newcastle fan I recognised
the Diamond, it is Peter Kelly an Ace turned diamond. I am told Dick Fisher and Sandor Levai are the other two riders. Peter of course, was also a
Belle Vue rider from days gone by, before joining Newcastle in the
1960s. |
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Chris &
Geoff Pusey |
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| Northern brothers Chris and Geoff Pusey
were two English lads that should have had more success for their
efforts. This is Chris Pusey, pictured in 1969 before he
grew his hair and sideburns! He was a gritty racer who on
track, would pass you if you made any slight mistake. |
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The Pusey boys were not shy, as they
proved by their appearance. They cut colourful pictures with the
polka dots and hairstyles. If I had been their promoter I
would have insisted that the rest of the team followed suit with
polka dots and hair. Team Pusey eh? |
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| Alan Wilkinson |
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| Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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| Belle Vue Ace Alan Wilkinson's speedway
career ended on Saturday, 1st July 1978 when he crashed at
Hyde Road during a BV home match against Swindon. The
accident resulted in Alan needing a wheelchair for the rest of his
life. |
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| Wilkie's Benefit Meeting |
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| Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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| Belle Vue from the starting gate area |
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| Jim McMillan |
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| Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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Peter Collins
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| How do you replace Ivan Mauger? Well
bring on an Englishman, Peter Collins. Now Ivan Mauger is
without doubt the greatest rider of all time. If you were
old enough to watch him on his home track week after week you will
agree, so Peter Collins came along and was so good Belle Vue
didn't miss Ivan too much. |
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| Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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Belle Vue |
Captained By
Peter
Collins |
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| Back row: C Morton, Unknown, J Brett, R
Maxfield, Unknown, Front: Unknown, Peter Collins and Les Collins |
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Peter Suffers
An Illness |
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Angela
Collins says: Thanks to everyone for all your kind messages of support. Peter
suffered a brain hemorrhage on Thursday 9th September 2010 and is
currently recovering in hospital. We are seeing improvements every day
and are hoping to have him back home soon.
Peter is still awaiting to undergo some tests, but is eager to get back
on track and get back home to his family.
Thanks once again for all your support. Kind regards,
Angela, Chris and Hayley Collins. |
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| Bruce Penhall says: "I had a couple of phone calls yesterday one from Ronnie Preston and
the other from Phil Collins, to my dismay they had told me that my mate
PC (Peter Collins) had a stroke last Thursday. This unfortunate news has
saddened all of the Penhall family as PC was instrumental to my speedway
career and became great friends with my entire family.
"I spoke with PC about 5 months ago and at that time he was awaiting a
procedure for a heart condition and apparently the angioplasty went
well, I am not sure if his heart had anything to do with the stroke. PC
is truly one of the nicest guys in the sport and took a true liking to
all of the Yanks and never hesitated to help any of us. Our thoughts and
prayers go out to PC and the entire Collins clan" |
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Peter Collins Leads
John Louis |
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Peter Collins
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A great picture of a top class Belle Vue
and England rider. For a club to have one English world champion is great
but Belle Vue had two, Peter Craven, twice a winner and Peter Collins took
a single win.
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Collins won 10 World Championships in speedway competition (one
Individual, four Pairs and five World Team Cups) making him the
most successful English rider ever in UK speedway history. |
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Back straight, looking back at the second bend
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| Looking out from the pits |
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What a fantastic venue, lost for ever |
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Courtesy of Jack Longley |
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John says: Another great English Belle Vue rider. The very popular
Chris Morton on what appears to be embroidery? |
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| Jack Babrovskie says: Hi, me again, re your picture of
Chris Morton on the site which you suggest may be ‘embroidery’
? Pur....lease! This is an example of the many badges
that were popular in the 70’s and were stitched by supporters
to jackets, scarves etc. at that time. I still have my
12 year-old son’s speedway jacket of the time around somewhere
(he’s now 44!) which is full of these patches.
Embroidery........... how dare you ? |
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| John says: Ok Jack. I
am suitably embarrassed! |
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Chris Morton Rosette |
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Courtesy of Tom Roe |
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Chris Morton
(Left) &
Les Collins |
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| Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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I could have photoshopped
these pictures but I think they look great without colour
correction just as they are. |
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Paul Tyrer (Left)
& Alan Wilkinson |
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| Courtesy of Graham Gleave |
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| Two more from Graham Gleave
with the unusual colour patina. I am showing the pics
untouched as they look great anyway. |
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| Victory
Parade |
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| Courtesy of Jack Longley |
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I only recognise Peter Collins, Andy Smith and Chris
Morton, Jack says Carl Blackbird and Kenny McKinna are on there too. If
you can name the other rider please get in touch
Update: John Downer says: It looks very much like
Mark Courtney
Update: Mark Evans says it Andy Campbell |
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| Starting
Gate Action During The 1980s |
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John McCluskey says: here is a picture from Hyde road in
the 80s,not sure of the exact year. It was Belle Vue v Hull,
you can see that some of the stands had been demolished and the scenic
railway, which towered over
the first bend has gone. Sad really, but the Belle Vue Zoo had been
going downhill with no investment
for years |
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John Mather says: The year is 1981. Belle Vue v Hull League
Cup match 18th April 1981. Heat 5. Left to right John
Eskildsen (Hull) Louis Carr (Belle Vue) Billy Sanders (Hull)
Chris Morton (Belle Vue) |
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Jack Babrovskie Remembers Belle Vue
In
Russia |
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| Jack has been an enormous help with the
Belle Vue, Hyde Rd pages 1 and 2 and Belle Vue Kirkmanshulme Lane pages. |
| Jack says: Here are a few
curiosities relating to the Belle Vue Aces in the Hyde Road days. |
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| Item 1) Russia v England 1967 |
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| 1) A programme cover from the meeting between Belle Vue and
Leningrad in Russia in 1967. The Cyrillic spelling translates
as Anglia v. Russia. The brackets below translate as
Manchester versus Leningrad. |
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Item 2) A couple of photos from
Russia 1967 |
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2) A couple of photos claiming to be Belle Vue riders in Russia
that year. These were obtained from an archive held at
Chethams library. |
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| Item 3) England v Russia 1968 |
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| 3) Also a programme cover from a meeting held in Manchester in
1968 for England versus Russia. I don’t remember any other
details about this meeting (despite probably being there!) but
assume that it was a return fixture |
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| Race Jackets |
| John says: The following email may
interest race jacket collectors: - |
| My name is Tom
Newey, I am a race jacket collector from Manchester. In particular
I collect Belle Vue aces race jackets but I have many from other
teams across the UK. |
| I came across your website recently,
which is a great insight into speedway from the past, and wondered
if you may be able to help me? |
| I am always looking to add to my
collection of jackets, would you by chance know the location of
any original race jackets that might be for swap or sale? Or if
you know of any race jacket collectors that you could put me in
touch with that would be great, I'm always looking to find who
collects each team's jackets across the UK. |
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Any help
would be appreciated. Email me if you
are looking to swap or sell any of your race jackets
Tom |
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Belle Vue
(Hyde Road)
League Results |
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| Jack Babrovskie
says: Hi, John, Whilst
digging for stuff for your Kirky Lane page I came across the
following page from the Diamond Jubilee programme that list all
Aces results from the time they were a league team until 1987 when
Hyde Road closed...see below: - |
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The Death Of
Hyde Road |
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| Belle Vue Hyde Road Site After Demolition |
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| Courtesy of
Jack Babrovskie |
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Babrovskie says: Here are some photos taken
just after after the bulldozers had left the Hyde Road site. When
you stood in the area where the pits used to be you could still
smell the fuel that had been absorbed by the soil over the years. |
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| Well, Manchester's best known
Speedway Track BV was flattened by big business and was lost
to the sport but the Aces were lucky that the city had another
venue, namely Kirkmanshulme Lane and so for Belle Vue fans the racing
continued at "Kirky Lane" |
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1987 The Final Programme
From
Hyde Road |
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Ist November 1987. A double header:
BV v Coventry and BV v Cradley Heath. Both matches were last heat
deciders |
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| Belle Vue v Coventry |
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Belle Vue v
Cradley
Heath |
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| Individual score charts from both
meetings. The programme scans came from the Jack
Babrovskie collection |
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| John says: A really sad day when speedways
number 1 all time venue staged it's last ever meeting. As a
Newcastle supporter I didn't see Belle Vue that often but when I
did, the meetings were always excellent. I am happy to see
from this programme that ex-Newcastle rider David Bargh did well for Coventry |
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| Kathy Hitchen at Hyde Rd |
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| Kathy Hitchen at Belle Vue. Thank you
Kathy for the excellent photographs. |
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| The Meeting's Off For Good! |
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| Courtesy of Kathy Hitchen |
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| The writing was on the wall
literally.
"The meetings off for good" |
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Hyde Road 2014 |
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Chris Wallett
says: Made a visit to Belle Vue to see the mighty Wolves on Good
Friday. Thought I would drop round and see the whats happening at
the old Hyde Road site just around the corner. Sad to say no sign
of the mighty track or the Botanical Gardens and amusement park we
used to visit as a family which always made the trip to Belle Vue
speedway such an event. Sent a couple of pics taken from where the
back straight entrance would have been looking across the track.
Hope these bring the story of Hyde Road up to date. As a side
issue also took loads of pics of the current Kirkmanshulme Lane
track as judging by Chris Morton's notes in the programme this may
be the last season before the move to the new stadium so when
needed I will have them.
Hope you are enjoying the new 2014
season as much as us here.
Chris |
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| John says: Yes Chris, Belle Vue look to be
heading for a second Defunct Track, polish up your photos and send
me them when it happens or if it happens! |
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The End Of
Belle Vue
(Hyde Road) |
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| It was great whilst it lasted at
Hyde Road, but all good things must come to an end.
Manchester had a new Belle Vue venue at Kirky Lane so the BV fans
could continue to get their speedway fix. |
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| Belle Vue Kirky Lane is now also Defunct
so check it out in my A-Z in this website |
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| If you have any photos etc please send me
scans John |
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| This is BV Hyde Rd Part Two.
If you have missed BV Hyde Rd Part One visit it
Here |
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| The contents of the site are © and should not be
reproduced elsewhere for financial gain. The contributors to this site
gave the pictures and information on that understanding. If anyone has
any issue or objections to any items on the site please
e-mail
and I will amend or remove the item. Where possible credit
has been given to the owner of each item. |
