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Post by Administrator on Sept 8, 2009 13:33:00 GMT
George Craig, who rode for Bristol and New Cross either side of WW2, has died aged 94 years at his home in Perth, West Australia. Craig was actually a Londoner who emigrated to Australia many years ago. If anyone can supply fuller career details it would be appreciated.
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Post by mrsgustix on Sept 10, 2009 18:59:46 GMT
My memories of George Craig are when he rode for Swindon in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Vaguely recall him at Bristol but did he actually ever ride for New Cross. My thoughts are that he was a pre-war NX junior sent out on loan to Bristol but never actually turned out in the Rangers famous orange and black Maltese cross jacket. A good and dedicated rider for all that.
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Post by Administrator on Sept 10, 2009 19:12:12 GMT
This has appeared on the oldtimespeedway discussion group:
George Craig Always a thrill seeker By Tony Webb
Former Bristol, Hull and Swindon star George Craig who passed away in July at his Medina Western Australia home aged 94 years was a life long seeker of thrills. Long after his speedway riding days were over the daredevil South Londoner was taking up new challenges with extreme sports such as wind surfing, bungay jumping and sky diving .George was also a member of the World Speedway Riders Association with whom he was a regular correspondent through emails.
George was one of the last pre war riders , beginning his riding at the old Dagenham Diggers track in Ripple road. He purchased the Rudge equipment formerly owned by Harry Rodgers who was killed in practice at the Essex track .Later he bought a JAP from Stan Greatrex, who invoiced it as a road bike to get the hire purchase approved. George was spotted by New Cross scouts in 1938, Fred Mockford signed him for for the Rangers for the 1939 season. He was loaned out to Bristol before turning a wheel at the South London track,. in the Bulldogs team George rode 69 matches scoring 202 points, establishing himself as a future star. The Second World War intervened , George enlisted like many speed stars as a Dispatch Rider in the Royal Corp of Signals, seeing action at Anzio beach and finishing his war service as a radio mech. It was six years before he returned to the shale.
Riding a handful of meetings in 1946 for Bristol, the next season he failed to reproduce his pre war promise scoring only 52 points from 25 matches. The Bulldogs transferred him for ninety pounds to the new track at Hull where he seemed to find his true form. Ending the season as second highest scorer to Mick Mitchell. The ill fated Hull team were transported en bloc to the new track at Swindon late the following year, due to falling crowds at the yorkshire venue. The Blunsdon circuit suited George who remained with the Robins for the 1950 season when he was the top scorer. To the dismay of the fans he was dropped from the 1951 team, although he was brought back for a few meetings before joining his last team Plymouth in 1952
The Australian connection was through his father in law who was born in the Eureka stockade, sadly killed while trying to rescue trapped gold miners in Ballarat. A monument in the Victorian town bears his father in laws name. In 1968 George visited Australia, liked what he saw and emigrated to Perth Western Australia.
Later in life he took up Wind Surfing on the Swan River saying there was an extra thrill in for him as he was a non swimmer!. His attention then, at 72 turned to Sky diving making over 800 free fall drops from heights of 3,000 metres. When funds were being raised for a memorial stone for Ron Johnson, he did a bungy jump for publicity, he liked it so much he did one each year on his birthday.
George made a nostalgic return to Swindon in the late nineties when he was introduced to the fans. He was one of the first speedway riders to go on to the internet becoming a regular emailer.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to George’s family . Indeed a full and eventful life for one of speedway’s dusty heroes.
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Post by tungate on Oct 5, 2009 22:21:23 GMT
George came to Norwich in the Bristol team after the War and I can remember him as a leg-trailer with a style reminding me of Geoff Pymar in those days. I think his team-partner was Eric Salmon in the Bulldog team. Another of the speedway riders who "went to war"
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