History

Speedway racing returned to New Cross in 1945 for several open meetings including the London Riders CHampionship which was won by Ron Johnson. A full season of events resumed in April 1946. Many changes was made to the team who were without pre-war favourite MIlne who had not returned from the USA after the hostilites had ceased. Australian Johnson and Bill Longley were the only riders to line up for the post war Rangers team.

Left: The stadium on views, most likely taken after the war.

The following few season started off well but by the end of the year performances had deteriorated with the team finishing second from bottom of the league. Personal success was enjoyed by Ron Johnson by winning the London riders championship, though due to injury was out of luck in the British Riders Championship final which was ran as a replacement for the World championship final. There was also a benefit match for Georgie Newton who had still not returned from before the war due to illness. The very first world champion Lional van Praag joined for some of the 1947 season which culminated in New Cross winning the league championship once again. 1948 was the year that George Newton returned after being out of action for a decade who was surprisingly still the holder of the track record. With Cyril Roger having joined and now riding alongside his brother his brother Bert.

1949 was the twentieth anniversary of the Freddie Mockford Ron Johnson tie up. The team was much the same as the year previously except that Newton still suffering from illness had moved on to Fleetwood.

The late 40's and early 50's had mixed fortunes with New Cross finshing well in the league in 1949, but after starting the 1950 season in devasting form gradually things started to go wrong with injuries to riders they finished 4th in the league after being unbeatable early in the season. The 50's brought problems to the succesful running of a speedway track by a Entertainment Tax. Live sport should have been excempt from this tax but somehow speedway was included. Finishing 2nd from bottom in the league in 1951 and none of its riders achieving any kind of individual success either. Hoping to sign the swede Olle Nygren for thw 1952 season in the end due the decision of the control board they actually ended up with Sune Karlsson. Who only managed to take part in 8 matches for the Rangers. Cyril Rogers form was yo-yoing due to illness. Ronnie Genz moved up from reserve berth.

The new 1953 season started with optimism with the structure of the league championship restructed and Freddie Mockford managed to secure finally the services of Olle Nygren. Though things were not going well for speedway generally with an unusually long wet summer and people having spent a lot of their hard earned cash on the coronation celebations speedway was suffering. Mockford being plagued and beset by all these problems plus the financial problems of the so called 'Entertainment Tax'. The Ministry of labour refusing to extend the work permit of Olle Nygren, in the year of celebrating his 25 years involved in the sport he closed down New Cross speedway, and simply turned his back on the sport.

Above: The 1961 team with captain Split Waterman on bike

New Cross speedway re-opened in 1959, under the management team of Johnnie Hoskins and Phil 'Tiger' Hart. Intially, they obtained an open license and they ran six matches with a team mostly made up of guest riders. The events consisted of 4 team challenge matches plus two individual events including the Tom Farndon memorial trophy event, which was won by Belle Vue's Peter Craven, who had also guested for New Cross in the challange matches.

Johnnie Hoskins declared that from the begining of 1960 New Cross would run and take part in league racing with a team made up of all their own riders. The 1957 and '58 World Champion Barry Briggs, was recruited to ride alongside skipper Split Waterman, Eric Williams, Jimmy Gooch, Arne Carlsson, Leo mCAuliffe, Reg Luckhurst, Tommy Sweetman and Bobby Croombs.
Briggs obviously a world class rider he by his own admission could at perform at his best on the small New cross track even though it had been enlarged to 278 yards. The most consistent of the team was Eric Williams with occasionaly Waterman showed flashes of his old form. Hoskins was unable to secure the services of Briggs for the 1961 season, the team from the previous year was joined by South African champion Doug Davies, and swede Bengt Brannefors. Though Brannefors stay only lasted for four matches. Again, the bulk of the points were won by Eric Williams with Split Waterman back on his best form but team success was distinct by its absence and none of the riders achieved any success on an individual basis apart from Waterman who rode for England in the world team championship qualifying round.

Though the 1961 season finished not on any high notes as such, Hoskins gave the impression that speedway racing would continue the following season. Though this was not mean to be. Over the winter period Hoskins and his business partners of Ken Brett and Nobby Atwell decided to split and disband with the result of racing not continuing into the 1962 season. Once again speedway racing had come to an end at New Cross.

However, speedway racing did return to New Cross when promotors Pete Lansdale and Wally Mawdsley entered a team in 1963 to participate in the provincial leaque. A team was built around father and son duo of Reg and Eddie Reeves, Bobby and Johnny Dugard, Geoff Penniket, Des Lukehurst and Jimmy Squibb. They started off quite well but by the middle of the season the team went into a losing streak. In turn, the crowds started to dwindle away due in part perhaps to a lack of the very top riders no longer taking part at the 'Frying Pan'. The writing was on the wall and the meeting against the visitors of Poole Pirates on Friday the 6th of August they lost, and that it was to become the final meeting of Speedway racing at New Cross stadium.

New Cross Speedway

'Speedway the New Way'

History