West Ham and Hackney

26th June 2005 ~ Bob Jay Rogers

Followed the link from Speedway plus site. Great to see.

Defiantly added to the Favourites file along with Speedway Plus, and the West Ham and Hackney web sites.
(You can see where my speedway comes from!)

From the Newham Local history site, I see that Pat Clarke is unwell.
As both him and Colin were, and hope still are, members, could a `Get Well `message be passed to him on behalf of the West Ham fans.

Although No Team, No Track, No Stadium and No Supporters Club, we still exists and contribute to both Speedway plus and the Newham local history site to keep the Hammers memory alive.

This week end, a tribute has been placed on the Newham site in respect of the late Dave Wills (copy also on the Speedway Plus site).
It was from this that the information about Pat was raised.

Good Luck with the site, and Up the Hammers

Thanks Bob have made the websites you mention clickable ~ JH (webmaster)


Thanks for your reply.

Both Pat & Colin were recently mention on the Newham site, in the content of the Pub their Parents owned in Plaistow.

In fact at the back of this pub, there is what looks like a mini-speedway track complete with a flood light.
Although over grown it can still be seen from the window of a local tower block, but nobody seems to know what it is.

The item on Dave Wills on Newham brought a reply about some very famous old speedway names, and the old argument about who was the best of the best. (Yes, we all know there is no answer, but keeps fans happy during the winter!).

One more site is the Romford Bombers, but for some reason I cannot get it to save as a favourite.

Although many years without Speedway in West Ham, The Men in Black Show is coming to London City Airport in July.
Hopefully weather and work permitting, I will managed to get there.

LCA is about a mile from the old West Ham track.

With the European flavour of the sport now, just think what the Hammers team of today could have been, a Rider could be flying back to Europe (or parts of GB) with in an hour of flying around the old Custom House Track!

It is nice to see George Barclay getting a mention, I think we all remember `Gentleman George`, as Dave Lanning knick-named him, at West Ham.

Good luck for the site, and up the Appy Ammers!

Again My thanks Bob ~ it would seem most the now defunct sites still have supporters and the supports have websites, how did we all manage before the internet became available to all. ~ JH (webmaster)

 4th July 2005 ~ Reg Fearman 

I was most interested to read Bob Jay Rogers 26th June regarding Pat and Colin Clarke and the Black Lion at Plaistow.   Up to and including 2003, I was responsible on behalf of the VSRA for organising the West Ham Reunion which took place at The Black Lion, Plaistow, usually a Saturday lunch time in June.   We always had a good gathering of ex-West Ham riders.   Wally  Green was a regular as was Vic Gooden and Stan Stevens.   Pat and Colin's father was a big shareholder in the West Ham Stadium.   The remnants of the track behind The Black Lion, complete with floodlights, was in fact a cycle speedway track but I have forgotten the name of the team which raced there.   Colin did tell us a few years ago that Pat was unwell and continues to be so.   At our last Reunion at The Black Lion, Colin and Pat arrived early and decided to go down to the Green Gate and sample some of the delicacies of the East End from a fish stall.   If my memory serves me correctly, Colin had the whelks and Pat the cockles and winkles.   During the course of the afternoon, Colin was taken very ill and we had to call an ambulance.   He subsequently spent "bed and breakfast" in the hospital which adjoins the old West Ham Speedway site.   Of course, in the old days, many of us riders had "bed and breakfast" in the Poplar Hospital adjacent to the Black Wall Tunnel - long since demolished.

  Reg Fearman

 
 


24th July 2005
From Bob Jay Rogers

Re my original mention of a possible speedway track at the back of a pub in Newham, and the reply from Reg Fearman about it being a cycle speedway track.

I asked on the Newham Local History site for any information.

Although nobody could identify this track, I got a wonderful flurry of information about the Sport in the East End of London.

The main person was Leslie, and he gave me the O/K to forward this to you.

I do not know if it would be interest to the site, but though it worth sending and you could `Pick the Bones` out of it if it may help. I have already removed the various bit of non speedway, and the comments are from about five different people.

If nothing else, there are a couple of WEB addresses that may be of interest.

As you may notice `Uncle` Len Silver gets a few mentions.
Now there's a man who deserves a MBE at least, and this is from a WEST HAM fan!!!!

Local History
Cycle Speedway
Posted By: Leslie R and forwarded By BoB Jay Rogers


I used to take part in cycle speedway in the early 60's. The team that I rode for was The Manor Park Pirates, this was East Ham Stars "B" team. We were based at Little Ilford Park, adjoining The Roding, so just 20yds. into Newham. The team managers name was Vic ????? who lived in Star Lane.
Whipps Cross Comets raced at a track to the rear of a pub at the end of Temple Mills Lane, near the old Eastway. It may have been called The White Hart? When we raced them, we used to ride our bikes there and back, no brakes, no lights and a 2:1 gear ratio. My journey was from Green St. and the rest of the team was from the Manor Park area, summer, winter, rain or shine!
Hackney Hawks and Old Ford Tigers home track was on Well St. Common.
The organisers of The East London League fixed it with Len Silver to hold a Cycle Speedway Derby during the interval at Waterden Rd. in about 1961/2. Rode my bike there and it's amazing how long Carpenters Rd. is with just that 1 racing gear.
The Derby consisted of 1 lap which was longer than our 4 lap, normal race distance. There must have been 30/40 of us behind the tapes for our big night under the floodlights and in front of a huge crowd (our normal gate of spectators was about 4). The tapes flew up, we flew(?) out of the gate and into the 1st. bend and into a crash that would put some of the pile ups in The Tour de France to shame. That was the end of my race, torn jeans, shale in my knees and a bl###y long ride home.
There was another track in the vicinity of Cyprus Place but I know not who rode there. I had no knowledge of a track in Plaistow so cannot throw any light onto the question posed.
That posting sure stirred some memories, perhaps some of you Hawks fans remember The Derby and did Vic Haines ever make it to big boys speedway?
Still picking that shale out.

Leslie R
28th July 2005

Ref:   Bob Jay Rogers letter from " Leslie " I have recently spoken to Colin Clarke-- who in turn has discussed with brother Pat--Colin tells me that prior to 1939 at the back of the Black Lion in Plaistow, was tennis courts a bowling green and a water garden.  During the war the family lived in the cellar and in fact had a stick of bombs fall in the grounds. With the re-emergence of speedway racing and the new cycle speedway craze in 1945/6 a cycle speedway track was built at the back of the pub with the help of Harry Eyre, Vic and Lou Dole, Ray Black and "Bomber " Brown.  The Becton Aces moved from their track to the Black Lion and became the Black Lion Monarchs in 1947.   Harry Eyre was killed on the track at West Ham Speedway in a novices race in 1953.     Vic White and Len Silver are a mine of information on cycle speedway.

Reg Fearman

 

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