Post by Administrator on Feb 18, 2009 21:00:55 GMT
Originally published in 'Vintage Speedway Magazine' which was succeeded by the excellent 'Classic Speedway' magazine. Article by John Hyam.
CANADA has always been very a much a backwater of speedway racing. Only two riders - both from the 1930s and 1940s - have achieved recognition at international level. They were Eric Chitty, who made his mark with West Ham, and Jimmy Gibb, who had two pre-war seasons alongside Chitty at Custom House in 1938 and 1939.
Post-war, Chitty had several excellent seasons with the Hammers while Gibb came back for the first time in 1949 when he rode for Wimbledon. He stayed in the USA in 1950, but had another season with the Dons in 1951.
There were other Canadian riders who came to Britain in the immediate pre-World War Two seasons. Undoubtedly the best of these was George Pepper, who first turned up at West Ham in 1938, but was posted by the First Division club’s promoter Johnnie Hoskins to his newly formed Second Division track at Newcastle.
In 1937, Pepper was on the verge of dropping out of cross-Atlantic speedway to follow a career in road racing, but was persuaded by Chitty and Gibb to try British speedway racing. He actually arrived in Britain in 1938 with the purpose of riding in the Isle of Man TT.
Pepper was an immediate star at Newcastle and became the track record holder, which stood well into the post-war seasons. He developed into one of the Second Division’s top riders and many experts predicted that he was destined for the sport’s highest honours. Had war not started in 1939, it is certain he would have joined Chitty and Gibb at West Ham for the never held 1940 season.
Jeff Lloyd, who was a post-war star at Newcastle, New Cross and Harringay, had some vivid memories about the hard racing style of Pepper. When racing for Middlesbrough in 1939, Lloyd was going for a maximum against Newcastle when he met Pepper who went on to beat him. Lloyd said of Pepper’s tactics: “Considering my inexperience, Pepper was far more aggressive than he need have been in beating me.” But that was probably typical of Pepper - as it was of Lloyd. Both wanted to be the best and rode to achieve that.
Pepper volunteered for war service in September 1939 and after initial pilot training served with the RAF’s 29 Squadron, firstly flying Blenheims, then the Bristol Beaufighter. He distinguished himself by shooting down six German aircraft and was awarded the DFC and Bar. Pepper was 26 years old when he died in a flying accident on November 17, 1942, and is buried in his home town Belleville, Ontario, Canada.
Eric Chitty recalled the tragedy that befell his fellow countryman. He said: “One day he took a plane up for a test flight. The engine cut out and Pepper failed to get out before it crashed into the ground.”
Pepper’s last meeting for Newcastle was on August 28, 1939, when 10,862 fans saw them beat Sheffield 48-38. He scored a maximum 12 points. The following Sunday, September 3, war was declared and speedway virtually closed down in Britain. He did, however, race in a handful of the 1940 war-time meetings at Belle Vue.
Chitty arrived at West Ham in 1935 to fulfil an invitation made to him some years earlier by Hoskins who had seen him racing on tracks in the USA’s Eastern States. He struggled for some two years to make the grade, but when he did show improvement, Hoskins decided he wanted more Canadian riders.
There were restrictions on European and American riders getting contracts with British teams but, as was the case with Australian, New Zealand and South African riders - who were citizens of British Empire countries - there were no restrictions on Canadians.
Gibb made his mark in Britain from the start, and was probably a shade ahead of Chitty in racing ability. Besides his experience in the USA and Canada, Gibb had also campaigned with Americans Jack and Cordy Milne in Australia in the mid-1930s, When war broke out in late 1939, Gibb was the tenth highest scorer in the National League’s Division One, although Chitty was only a few places behind him in the charts.
For their part, both riders were proving themselves on a par with their Trans-Atlantic cousins from the USA like Jack and Cordy Milne, Wilbur Lamoreaux and Benny Kaufman. But while the Milnes and Lamoreaux made a major impact on the World Championship scene in the immediate pre-war years, Canada did not enjoy the same success.
In 1937, Chitty was 16th with four points and in 1939 was the 10th leading qualifier in a final postponed because of the start of World War Two. Gibb went to the 1938 world final as a reserve but did not ride in the meeting In the post-war British Riders Championship, which replaced the World Championship between 1946-48, Chitty qualified for all three finals. In 1946 he was seventh with nine points. The 1947 championship saw him move up to fourth place with 10 points, and the following season he was 12th, scoring five points.
Chitty had come to the forefront in 1938, starting that season with a sensational win in the London Riders Championship at New Cross. This was then a highly regarded event - attracting the top riders from the host track as well as Wembley, Wimbledon, Harringay and West Ham. Such was the wealth of talent assembled for the LRC, it was generally regarded as a pointer towards who might be crowned that season’s world champion.
With the outbreak of war, Chitty stayed on in Britain, and after serving briefly as a War Reserve policeman, tried to enter the Army. By then, he was also engaged on essential war work and his bid to enter the forces was refused because of the work he was doing.
Although speedway to all intents and purposes ground to halt for the war years between 1939-45, a few meetings took place in early 1940 at Crystal Palace, Southampton and Rye House. As a London-based rider, Chitty appeared a couple of times at Rye House. In later war years, he became a regular in the Saturday afternoon war-time meetings at the old Belle Vue track at Hyde Road, Manchester.
It was in these meetings, racing against topline stars including Jack Parker, Ron Johnson, Bill Kitchen, Frank Varey, Eric Langton and Joe Abbott, that Chitty honed his racing skills. Proof of this was his victories in a couple of the unofficial British Riders’ Championships. And when the war ended in 1945, Chitty was also a member of a NAAFI team that went to Germany for a series of international meetings to entertain British soldiers. He was very much the star rider of the group.
This sort of form made Chitty a ‘must’ for the West Ham side when speedway resumed on a league basis in 1946. Former Hammers’ rider Arthur Atkinson and his partner Stan Greatrex, the old New Cross favourite, who had taken over the Custom House promotional reins from Hoskins, had no hesitation in appointing Chitty as their team captain.
Gibb, however, was missing from the riders who returned to Britain for the early post-war seasons. In the early 1930s, Gibb had flourished on a series of tracks centred on New York State and had also been winner of both the Canadian and USA Eastern States Championships. He preferred the cut-and-thrust of individual racing, and after the war resisted offers to come back to Britain.
By then, Gibb was also holding down a well paid job as a film studio cameraman in Hollywood, and was combining this work with racing at various tracks in California against old rivals like the Milnes, Lamoreaux, Charles ‘Pee Wee’ Cullum, Manuel Trujillo, Bud Reda and Chuck Basney.
It was something of a surprise when Wimbledon promoter Ronnie Greene enticed Gibb to Plough Lane just after the start of the 1949 season. He immediately added much-needed punch to a flagging Dons team and showed all the brilliance associated with him by British fans some 10 years earlier.
But the late 1940s and early 1950s were a time of economic depression. When the pound sterling was devalued against the US dollar just before the opening of the 1950 season, Gibb decided it was not financially viable to make another racing trip to Britain. But he was back for one more try in 1951 at Wimbledon and also raced in Sunday meetings at Shelbourne Park (Dublin). And, to add debate about his nationality credentials, some claimed he was really an American, he also rode for the touring USA team in their test series against the England ‘C’ squad.
CANADA has always been very a much a backwater of speedway racing. Only two riders - both from the 1930s and 1940s - have achieved recognition at international level. They were Eric Chitty, who made his mark with West Ham, and Jimmy Gibb, who had two pre-war seasons alongside Chitty at Custom House in 1938 and 1939.
Post-war, Chitty had several excellent seasons with the Hammers while Gibb came back for the first time in 1949 when he rode for Wimbledon. He stayed in the USA in 1950, but had another season with the Dons in 1951.
There were other Canadian riders who came to Britain in the immediate pre-World War Two seasons. Undoubtedly the best of these was George Pepper, who first turned up at West Ham in 1938, but was posted by the First Division club’s promoter Johnnie Hoskins to his newly formed Second Division track at Newcastle.
In 1937, Pepper was on the verge of dropping out of cross-Atlantic speedway to follow a career in road racing, but was persuaded by Chitty and Gibb to try British speedway racing. He actually arrived in Britain in 1938 with the purpose of riding in the Isle of Man TT.
Pepper was an immediate star at Newcastle and became the track record holder, which stood well into the post-war seasons. He developed into one of the Second Division’s top riders and many experts predicted that he was destined for the sport’s highest honours. Had war not started in 1939, it is certain he would have joined Chitty and Gibb at West Ham for the never held 1940 season.
Jeff Lloyd, who was a post-war star at Newcastle, New Cross and Harringay, had some vivid memories about the hard racing style of Pepper. When racing for Middlesbrough in 1939, Lloyd was going for a maximum against Newcastle when he met Pepper who went on to beat him. Lloyd said of Pepper’s tactics: “Considering my inexperience, Pepper was far more aggressive than he need have been in beating me.” But that was probably typical of Pepper - as it was of Lloyd. Both wanted to be the best and rode to achieve that.
Pepper volunteered for war service in September 1939 and after initial pilot training served with the RAF’s 29 Squadron, firstly flying Blenheims, then the Bristol Beaufighter. He distinguished himself by shooting down six German aircraft and was awarded the DFC and Bar. Pepper was 26 years old when he died in a flying accident on November 17, 1942, and is buried in his home town Belleville, Ontario, Canada.
Eric Chitty recalled the tragedy that befell his fellow countryman. He said: “One day he took a plane up for a test flight. The engine cut out and Pepper failed to get out before it crashed into the ground.”
Pepper’s last meeting for Newcastle was on August 28, 1939, when 10,862 fans saw them beat Sheffield 48-38. He scored a maximum 12 points. The following Sunday, September 3, war was declared and speedway virtually closed down in Britain. He did, however, race in a handful of the 1940 war-time meetings at Belle Vue.
Chitty arrived at West Ham in 1935 to fulfil an invitation made to him some years earlier by Hoskins who had seen him racing on tracks in the USA’s Eastern States. He struggled for some two years to make the grade, but when he did show improvement, Hoskins decided he wanted more Canadian riders.
There were restrictions on European and American riders getting contracts with British teams but, as was the case with Australian, New Zealand and South African riders - who were citizens of British Empire countries - there were no restrictions on Canadians.
Gibb made his mark in Britain from the start, and was probably a shade ahead of Chitty in racing ability. Besides his experience in the USA and Canada, Gibb had also campaigned with Americans Jack and Cordy Milne in Australia in the mid-1930s, When war broke out in late 1939, Gibb was the tenth highest scorer in the National League’s Division One, although Chitty was only a few places behind him in the charts.
For their part, both riders were proving themselves on a par with their Trans-Atlantic cousins from the USA like Jack and Cordy Milne, Wilbur Lamoreaux and Benny Kaufman. But while the Milnes and Lamoreaux made a major impact on the World Championship scene in the immediate pre-war years, Canada did not enjoy the same success.
In 1937, Chitty was 16th with four points and in 1939 was the 10th leading qualifier in a final postponed because of the start of World War Two. Gibb went to the 1938 world final as a reserve but did not ride in the meeting In the post-war British Riders Championship, which replaced the World Championship between 1946-48, Chitty qualified for all three finals. In 1946 he was seventh with nine points. The 1947 championship saw him move up to fourth place with 10 points, and the following season he was 12th, scoring five points.
Chitty had come to the forefront in 1938, starting that season with a sensational win in the London Riders Championship at New Cross. This was then a highly regarded event - attracting the top riders from the host track as well as Wembley, Wimbledon, Harringay and West Ham. Such was the wealth of talent assembled for the LRC, it was generally regarded as a pointer towards who might be crowned that season’s world champion.
With the outbreak of war, Chitty stayed on in Britain, and after serving briefly as a War Reserve policeman, tried to enter the Army. By then, he was also engaged on essential war work and his bid to enter the forces was refused because of the work he was doing.
Although speedway to all intents and purposes ground to halt for the war years between 1939-45, a few meetings took place in early 1940 at Crystal Palace, Southampton and Rye House. As a London-based rider, Chitty appeared a couple of times at Rye House. In later war years, he became a regular in the Saturday afternoon war-time meetings at the old Belle Vue track at Hyde Road, Manchester.
It was in these meetings, racing against topline stars including Jack Parker, Ron Johnson, Bill Kitchen, Frank Varey, Eric Langton and Joe Abbott, that Chitty honed his racing skills. Proof of this was his victories in a couple of the unofficial British Riders’ Championships. And when the war ended in 1945, Chitty was also a member of a NAAFI team that went to Germany for a series of international meetings to entertain British soldiers. He was very much the star rider of the group.
This sort of form made Chitty a ‘must’ for the West Ham side when speedway resumed on a league basis in 1946. Former Hammers’ rider Arthur Atkinson and his partner Stan Greatrex, the old New Cross favourite, who had taken over the Custom House promotional reins from Hoskins, had no hesitation in appointing Chitty as their team captain.
Gibb, however, was missing from the riders who returned to Britain for the early post-war seasons. In the early 1930s, Gibb had flourished on a series of tracks centred on New York State and had also been winner of both the Canadian and USA Eastern States Championships. He preferred the cut-and-thrust of individual racing, and after the war resisted offers to come back to Britain.
By then, Gibb was also holding down a well paid job as a film studio cameraman in Hollywood, and was combining this work with racing at various tracks in California against old rivals like the Milnes, Lamoreaux, Charles ‘Pee Wee’ Cullum, Manuel Trujillo, Bud Reda and Chuck Basney.
It was something of a surprise when Wimbledon promoter Ronnie Greene enticed Gibb to Plough Lane just after the start of the 1949 season. He immediately added much-needed punch to a flagging Dons team and showed all the brilliance associated with him by British fans some 10 years earlier.
But the late 1940s and early 1950s were a time of economic depression. When the pound sterling was devalued against the US dollar just before the opening of the 1950 season, Gibb decided it was not financially viable to make another racing trip to Britain. But he was back for one more try in 1951 at Wimbledon and also raced in Sunday meetings at Shelbourne Park (Dublin). And, to add debate about his nationality credentials, some claimed he was really an American, he also rode for the touring USA team in their test series against the England ‘C’ squad.