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Post by mrsgustix on Jul 16, 2009 15:47:59 GMT
Fay Taylour at Crystal Palace in 1928 must surely have been the first woman speedway rider? And Jessica Lamb at Wimbledon in 2004 was definitely the last woman to race on a London track. I also remember Maxine Hill at Hackney in about 1989 - I think she was helped by Steve Schofield.
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Post by thebaldeagle1932 on Jul 17, 2009 15:42:51 GMT
I found this on the site Midget Car Panorama. It briefly mentions Fay's speedway career as follows:
On the speedways, Fay used to feature in match races against other women riders like Jessie Hole and Eva Asquith. And at Wembley in 1928 she proved she could go faster than the men when she broke American star Ray Tauser’s one-lap record of 36.81mph with a speed of 37.18mph. Fay managed to keep racing for a time on speedway even after the ACU’s ban on women, but in the 1930s started to concentrate on car racing.
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Post by Administrator on Jul 17, 2009 16:10:11 GMT
According to Dr Brian Belton's book 'Queen of the Speedways', at the instigation of then West Ham team manager Frank Arnold, Fay planned a Custom House comeback in 1946. But the ACU stood firm over its ban on women riders and the matter quickly faded away.
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Post by fastfire212 on Jul 18, 2009 10:54:37 GMT
According to Dr Brian Belton's book 'Queen of the Speedways', at the instigation of then West Ham team manager Frank Arnold, Fay planned a Custom House comeback in 1946. But the ACU stood firm over its ban on women riders and the matter quickly faded away. This book was a reasonable read IMO but left so many questions also unanswered about Fay Taylour and her life on and off the track.
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Post by olddon on Jan 14, 2011 18:10:55 GMT
From the South London Press some years ago - 2006 or 2007 maybe. FAY TAYLOUR QUEEN OF SPEEDWAY Author: Brian Belton RRP: £16.99 plus p&p. www.panther-publishing.dsl.pipex.comISBN: 095479212 4 X Hardback, 224 pages, 18 photos and illustrations THE speedway career of woman rider Fay Taylour was limited to just three seasons, between 1928 and 1930. Then the Auto Cycle Union banned women riders after one of them fell off her bike and broke her collar-bone in a pre-meeting parade at Wembley. Generally, a handful of women speedway riders were used by promoters as a promotional gimmick. Taylour, however, was an exception and raced regularly against the top men. She was a special favourite at Crystal Palace, where a legtrail style of racing saw her record many fast times. She also regularly rode in match races against early male speedway stars like Ron Johnson, Sprouts Elder and Roger Frogley. In the winter of 1928-29 she spent £500 to pay her fare to Australia and New Zealand where she appeared at several tracks. Her last British speedway meeting was at Southampton where she defeated another woman rider Eva Asquith in the meeting’s fastest time. Her speedway career ended abruptly when the ACU then banned all women riders. Taylour switched to midget car and big circuit car racing for a number of years, an interesting and successful period that is scarcely mentioned. In 1947, Taylour tried to get back into speedway, with south London track New Cross and their East End rivals West Ham showing some interest in her. But the ACU refused to lift its ban. The author also mentions that she went to New Cross on a Thursday evening - which may explain her lack of success. New Cross’ race night was on a Wednesday - it was Wembley who raced on Thursdays. And while on New Cross, there’s a mention of 1946 Rangers’ rider Phil ‘King of Crash’ Bishop, who Belton suggests finished his track career at West Ham. In fact, it was at Southampton in 1949 and early 1950. Brian Belton’s book is supposed to be an insight into Fay Taylour’s brief speedway career. In analysis, her career was so brief, the book has to dwell heavily on her personal life, and on aspects of speedway that are in no way connected to the woman speedway rider. A main factor that constantly crops up is her inability to take a long-term relationship with a man but finding no rational explanation for this. I found whole reprinted wedges of her own views on matters completely unrelated to speedway or car racing boring. After speedway, she was involved in various types of car racing until well into the 1950s. For sports readers that is of more interest than her presumably failed love life.
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Post by thebaldeagle1932 on Oct 6, 2011 17:15:38 GMT
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Post by thebaldeagle1932 on Mar 1, 2012 15:26:15 GMT
The late 1920s early 1930s woman rider Fay Taylour, a great favourite, especially at Crystal Palace. Attachments:
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Post by Administrator on Mar 10, 2018 22:04:11 GMT
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Post by Administrator on May 6, 2018 6:21:17 GMT
.1930s. Fay Taylour, left, and Eva Askwith before a match race at Wembley.Attachments:
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Post by toadys4 on Aug 13, 2018 14:18:39 GMT
1929 'Fabulous' Fay Taylour at Crystal Palace.Attachments:
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Post by Administrator on Aug 20, 2018 20:53:25 GMT
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Post by toadys4 on Nov 1, 2018 20:22:58 GMT
.1930s. Fay Taylour, left, and Eva Askwith before a match race at Wembley. Here's another 1929 photo of 'Fabulous' Fay Taylour at Crystal Palace.Attachments:
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