Group Photo Info – L/R – All Riders Unknown
ID Number – 123.60
Image No – img067
Subject – Starting line up
Date – ?
Donor – TellingBarrie
Street – Unknown Street
Location – ?
Additional Info – Unfortunately due to the photographs poor quality we cannot identify either the Teams or the location. Can you help?
Cant be sure but I think this could be at Kingsdown Aces` track which was opposite The Kingsdown pub.
Have recently visited Kingsdown and alas I have to report that the track depicted could not have been the home of the Aces !
Thanks for clearing that up Nigel but the mystery remains. Maybe someone can help us
I have recently been doing some research into Cycle Speedway in the 50s and believe this is a match between the Rodbourne Rockets and the Minster Lovell Pirates. I think the middle rider in the photo has a Skull and Crossbones on his race jacket and the nearest Pirates came from Minster Lovell. Don’t forget that Cycle Speedway was really big in the 50s and teams came from all over! I don’t think this match was at Brown’s Field Rodbourne, the home of the Rockets, so I suppose it must have been at Minster Lovell-but then again I could be wrong!
As the late Barrie Telling donated this photo it is very likely that The Rockets were included in it ! As a boy I was very keen to visit Brown`s Field track to watch the Rockets and on several occasions went to watch them ride in “away” fixtures e.g. West End Tigers, Haydon Wick Devils and Kingsdown Aces. Minster Lovell Pirates, Longcot Lions and Filkins Falcons were in a different league and I remember an inter-league challenge match taking place with The Falcons visiting Rodbourne one Saturday afternoon ; so perhaps the Rockets once accepted a challenge to ride against the Pirates at the latter`s track ? However the travelling distance involved makes me think it unlikely !