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Hackney Wick Wolves 1935-39


Pre-war records and statistics are very far and few between. Information comes in this section from the books 'Hackney Speedway Friday at Eight' by Chris Fenn, 'Homes of British Speedway' by Robert Bramford, my own collection of pre-war programmes and www.speedwaygb.co.uk



Hackney Wick Stadium was completed in 1932 to stage the then massive sport of greyhound racing that was sweeping the country. It wasn’t until 1935 that speedway was staged at The Wick for the first time. Stadium manager Fred Whitehead who opened the stadium in 1932 employed Fred Evans to be the speedway manager. Walthamstow Wolves had raced one season at Walthamstow in 1934 racing in the National League that would have been the equivalent of today’s Elite League. It’s estimated 11,000 people attended Walthamstow Wolves first match at home to West Ham, which incidentally West Ham won.


However, as a result of noise complaints the Walthamstow Club were forced to relocate at the end of their first season, they moved to Hackney Wick Stadium for the 1935 season. They were to be known as the Hackney Wick Wolves.


- The late Tony Barnard recalls how it all started -


Hackney Wick Stadium opened its gates to speedway in 1935. The Wolves as the team was known at the time joined the six most successful tracks from the 1934 season to form a National League of seven teams. Absentees from the previous year where Birmingham, Plymouth and Walthamstow.


The Wolves finished fifth in their first year, the final pecking order being Belle Vue, Harringay, West Ham, Wembley, Hackney Wick, New Cross and Wimbledon. For the Aces it represented a hat trick of Championships success as they had also triumphed in 1933 and 1934.


It was not until the following year (1936) that


I witnessed my first speedway meeting when a neighbour took me to see what the new rage was all about. I was eight years old at the time and was hooked from the very first race - and I have been ever since.


There was controversy before the season started. New Cross Rangers had 'signed' two American brothers names Jack and Cordy Milne.


But they got locked into a foreign rider allocation work permit debate and yes it still rages on, so what's new? The outcome of it all was that the ACU refused to allow New Cross to have both of them, and allocated Cordy to Hackney Wick.


High profile though he was, Cordy did not have it all his own way in the popularity stakes. Dicky Case had established himself as leader of the pack in 1935 and was very much the man the kids in our street wanted to be. So much so, that I was able to bask in his reflected glory. For I was the only one who had SEEN the great Australian in the flesh, and I had his autograph to prove it.


In addition to Milne and Case, the Wolves had Bill Clibbet, Morian Hansen (the first Great Dane), Baltzar Hansen (no relation to Morian), Tiger Hart, George Wilks, Ken Brett, Frank Hodgson and, until his fatal crash later in the year, 'Dusty Haigh. A contrasting mixture of styles invariably complemented by those of the opposing team.


With foot-forward exponents seeking the shortest way round, and leg-trailers taking a wider but faster route, there was none of today's battles for a single racing line. Black leathers and identical body colours gave riders a similarity in appearance, but their contrasting styles made them instantly recognisable.


There is no denying that there is much more colour in speedway today than in those halcyon days of the past. But a personal view is that- the sport was more colourful then than now. That may sound like a contradiction in terms, but it is not. It was the characters that gave speedway both spectacle and colour of a different kind in the 1930's.


Maybe I was more impressionable then, but plain, bold body colours seemed to make the riders look more like gladiators. Black leathers added a slightly sinister touch to their appearance, which helped heightened the air of mystery and excitement. Pudding basin helmets left them with the problem of protecting their eyes and faces, which they did with goggles and scarves.


These quickly became their trademark and were highly prized as souvenirs. Sometimes they where less effective than they might have been. That led to cinders, churned up from the track, leaving shadowy blue smudges on faces of riders, which were a tell-tale sign of their occupation in those early days.


Nowadays, with so many riders having similar styles and racing for the same line, an unannounced replacement rider can cause all manner of confusion. Trendy psychedelic body colours tend to look more and more alike under floodlights. Multi-coloured leathers and logo's, presumably designed to make riders look different, sometimes give them a greater uniformity of appearance than black leathers ever did.


With the size of helmets increasing, some of them take on the appearance of technicolour tadpoles when they dismount from their machines.


The Wolves finished fourth in the National League Division 1 in that first year of mine. But they won the London Cup. That may not sound much of an achievement until the makeup of the League is considered. Of the seven teams in Division 1, six were based in London. In fact speedway was dominated by teams from the capital to such an extent that the world-famous Aces where designated Belle Vue


(Manchester). For the record, the finishing order in the League in 1936 was Belle Vue (for the fourth time in row), Wembley, Harringay, Hackney Wick,


Wimbledon, New Cross and West Ham.


On the individual front, the Wolves had no fewer than three riders completing in the inaugural World Speedway Championship Final at Wembley. Cordy Milne was the most successful. He finished equal forth, with Frank Charles; while Dicky Case finished equal sixth, along with Vic Huxley and Jack Ormston. Morian Hansen finished in tenth place. The winner was Lionel van Praag.


My saddest recollection of 1936 was the fatal crash, which claimed the life of 'Dusty' Haigh. I was not present at that meeting, but I remember it put my attendance at speedway under threat. There was a big debate in our household about whether it was suitable sport for an eight-year old boy.


By the time the 1937 season came along, some of my friends had pestered their parents to a point where they were occasionally being taken to see what had me hooked. This meant I was not entirely dependent upon a neighbour, so I missed fewer meetings.


A newcomer to the team in 1937 was Vic Duggan. I would like to claim that I immediately spotted his potential, but the truth is that he did not make much of an impression on me as a nine-year old. It would be a very different story ten years later when he came over to ride for Harringay Racers. In 1947 there was nobody, and I mean nobody, who could fail to be impressed by him. The Wolves line-up for the 1937 season was: Dicky Case, George Wilkes, Cordy Milne, Bill Clibbett, Morian Hansen, Vic Duggan, Frank Hodgson, Stan Dell, Ken Brett, Jim Baylais, and Tiger 'Hart'. Cordy Milne had a superb season, but it was a disappointing one for the Wolves collectively. They dropped a place in the league to finish fifth. The final league table read: West Ham, Wembley, New Cross, Belle Vue, Hackney Wick, Harringay and Wimbledon (editors note what a shame the Don's finished bottom). The Wolves also surrendered the London Cup to a very consistent New Cross team.


Cordy Milne's big moment came in the World Championship where the Americans made a clean sweep of the honours. Brother Jack was crowned, with Wilbur Lamoraeux runner-up and Cordy joining them on the podium. No two brothers had ever made it on to the podium before, or since. It is doubtful if they will ever again so long as the Grand Prix system is in operation. For brothers to maintain the level of consistency, and freedom from serious injury, required throughout the whole season is surely asking too much.


By the 1938 season I had drummed up enough interest among my mates to assemble a small group fans. Our parent decided that there was safety in numbers and allowed us to make the three-mile trek across Hackney Marshes on our own. This meant we were no longer dependent upon neighbours and parents to take us and we rarely missed a meeting. But that was not the only change that took place in 1938.


It was all change at the Wick as well. Division 2 champions Bristol were promoted to Division 1 and Hackney Wick dropped down to Division 2. There were nine teams in the lower division. Three were based in London, and six in the provinces.


Hackney Wick were still known as the Wolves, but there broad black and white hoop body colour had given way to what the less erudite called 'red and yeller squares' they were nothing of the sort. The official colours were a very up-market claret and champagne quarters!


An even bigger change was taking place on the riding front. Case and Wilkes moved across London to Wembley; while Milne, Clibbert, Hansen and Duggan went to newly promoted Bristol. Foot-forward riding was taking over from the old leg-trailing style and the difference was very noticeable. It bought success, and that was very popular. But those of us who had been weaned on the styles of yesteryear still yearned for some of the old swashbuckling favorites we had in years gone by.


Frank Hodgson was retained as captain, along with Stan Dell, Jim Baylais, and Tiger Hart. Newcomers were Nobby Stock, Doug Wells (a great stylist I recall), Archie Windmill (a lanky rider who could never be called a stylist, and George Saunders.


Windmill was so tall he looked impossibly uncomfortable on a bike. He was also known as 'spider' because of the way he could spread himself all over the track with his great long legs. But he could be very effective and was still the holder of the four-lap track record when the 1939 season was brought to a premature close by the outbreak of World War Two.


Hackney Wick won the league in 1938. They finished level on points with Norwich, but scored nine more race-points and had a six points greater points difference. Southampton were third, followed by West Ham Reserves, Lea Bridge (London), Newcastle, Sheffield, Birmingham, and Leeds. A measure of the popularity of the sport at that time can be gauged from the fact that the aggregate attendance figure for the Waterden Road venue in 1938 was 160,628.


The real success story of 1938 though was that of West Ham. A staggering 659,860 fans passed through the Custom House turnstiles in the course of the season. In Division I they finished runners-up, and their reserves only finished fourth in Division II. But they produced one of the most popular world champions of all time when 'Bluey' Wilkinson triumphed at Wembley.


When the 1939 season begun, the war clouds were already gathering. In spite of much publicised peace efforts, there were clear signs of the trouble ahead. Parks where being excavated so that air raid shelters could be built. Young men were being mobilised for the armed forces. London, in particular, was being put on a war footing.


In the unsettled environment this created, West Ham Reserves, Lea Bridge (London), Birmingham and Leeds decided not to run. Bristol dropped back to Division II, but were replaced by Southampton which kept the Division One numbers up to seven. Division II reverted to its 1937 size of six teams when Belle Vue decided to join the lower league.


On September 1, 1939 - two days before the outbreak of war - the season was brought to a dramatic close. Hackney Wick occupied third place in the league, but had no chance of overtaking the two teams above them. Sheffield in second place looked set to overhaul Newcastle on the run-in. They were only four points behind the Geordies with six matches in hand.


As the curtain came down, little did we all realise that it would be 24 years before the roar of speedway exhausts would be heard again at Waterden Road. Or that the whole of Hackney Marshes would be raised by 12 or 15 feet in the intervening years but that's another story!


Image:

Image:

The new speedway track being laid at ‘The Wick’ in readiness for the 1935 season

1935

Image:

1935 HACKNEY FIXTURE LIST AND RESULTS

















































































































































































































HOME AWAY
03-May New Cross L29-43   01-May New Cross L43-24
10-May Harringay W40-30   07-May West Ham L38-34
17-May Wembley W43-28   13-May Wimbledon L43-29
24-May Harringay L46-61   21-May West Ham L65-43
31-May Wimbledon L29-43   25-May Harringay






L64-44

07-Jun West Ham W38-33   29-May New Cross L63-44
14-Jun Belle Vue L35-37   20-Jun Wembley






W28-42

21-Jun New Cross L42-62   13-Jul Harringay L70-35
28-Jun Star Championship     16-Jul West Ham






L69-39

01-Jul Belle Vue D35-35   20-Jul Belle Vue L45-27
08-Jul Harringay L41-67   27-Jul Wimbledon W26-46
15-Jul West Ham L48-57   31-Jul New Cross W35-37
22-Jul New Cross L31-41   08-Aug Wembley L45-26
29-Jul East London v North London W37-16   10-Aug Harringay L43-29
05-Aug West Ham W54-53   24-Aug Belle Vue w30-41
12-Aug West Ham W37-31   31-Aug West Ham at Harringay L27-26
19-Aug Kangaroos v Bulldogs W31.5-22.5   24-Sep West Ham  
26-Aug Wembley W40-32   19-Oct Harringay  
02-Sep Wimbledon W47-25  
06-Sep Hackney Reserves v West Ham Reserves    
09-Sep Harringay L34.5-37.5  
16-Sep The Champions v The Rest    

1935 NATIONAL LEAGUE






























































































 



Team



Mts



Won



Drn



Lst



For



Agn



Pts



1.



BELLE VUE 'Aces'



24



18



2



4



957



752



38



2.



Harringay 'Tigers'



24



13



0



11



874½



823½



26



3.



West Ham 'Hammers'



24



12



1



11



856



852



25



4.



Wembley 'Lions'



24



11



0



13



855



852



22



5.



Hackney Wick 'Wolves'



24



10



1



13



824½



879½



21



6.



New Cross 'Lambs'



24



10



0



14



822



889



20



7.



Wimbledon 'Dons'



24



8



0



16



780



921



16

































































































































































































































National Trophy Round One
Harringay Lost 73-137
1935 League and Cup Scorers
Rider League Bonus Pts Cup Bonus Pts Total Max's
Dicky Case 207 3 117 3 330 5
Dusty Haigh 153.5 18 82 5 258.5
Wally Lloyd 108 23 42 8 181
Bill Gilbert 106 12 42 6 166
Fred Tate 57 13 59 8 137
Morian Hanson 74 7 45 2 128
Cyril Burton 54 7 11 2 74
Mick Murphy 27 3 16 2 48
George Wilks 16 5 4 0 25
Clem Thomas 9 2 7 1 19
Cliff Parkinson 3 0 9 0 12
Jack Hobson 10 2 0 0 12
Phil Hart 0 0 2 0 2
Leading League Averages CMA
Matches Rides Points Bonus Pts Total Pts CMA
Dicky Case 23 84 207 3 210 10
Dusty Haigh 22 87 153.5 18 717.5 7.89

Image: Dicky Case Players Cigarette Card

1936

Image: Hackney Wick Wolves 1936

1936 HACKNEY FIXTURE LIST AND RESULTS























































































































































































































































HOME       AWAY    
24-Apr West Ham W43-28   29-Apr New Cross L39-30
01-May Belle Vue W44-21   09-May Wimbledon L37-33
08-May Harringay W42-29   12-May West Ham L63-32
15-May West Ham  W57-39   16-May Belle Vue L47-23
22-May Harringay L45-51   23-May






Harringay

W44-51
29-May Wembley L30-42   06-Jun Belle Vue L65-30
01-Jun All Americans W66-27   10-Jun New Cross L55-51
05-Jun Belle Vue L38-57   18-Jun Wembley L43-29
12-Jun New Cross W65-42   27-Jun Harringay L51-21
19-Jun WCQR plus v West Ham W33-21   30-Jun West Ham L44-27
26-Jun Dusty Haigh Trust Fund Meeting     13-Jul Wimbledon L37-34
03-Jul Wimbledon W51-19   18-Jul Harringay L55-52
10-Jul New Cross L26-44   08-Aug Harringay W34-38
17-Jul Harringay W58-50   12-Aug New Cross L43-29
24-Jul Belle Vue L32-39   22-Aug Belle Vue L73-31
31-Jul Wembley L30-42   29-Aug Belle Vue L47-25
07-Aug Harringay W41-31   01-Sep West Ham W33-38
14-Aug WCQR  Second Round     02-Sep New Cross L54-52
21-Aug Belle Vue W59-49   24-Sep Wembley W26-46
28-Aug Wimbledon W46-26   26-Sep Harringay W49-58
04-Sep New Cross W63-43   28-Sep Newcastle  
11-Sep New Cross L32-40
18-Sep West Ham W48-24
25-Sep London v Australia L34-38
02-Oct Harringay W69-39
09-Oct Fred Tate Benefit Meeting  


1936 saw tragedy hit The Wick with the death of Dusty Haigh racing for the Wolves at home to West Ham. Three Hackney Wick Wolves made it to the first official Speedway World Final, won by Lionel Van Pragg. The three Wolves were American Cordy Milne, Dane Morian Hansen and England’s Dicky Case. In the league it would be an upward step from the previous season finishing forth.


Image: Dusty Haigh Poster












































































































1936 NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION 1
Team Mts Won Drn Lst For Agn Pts
1 BELLE VUE 'Aces' 24 18 1 5 973 731 37
2 Wembley 'Lions' 24 15 0 9 891 826 30
3 Harringay 'Tigers' 24 12 0 12 848 868 24
4 Hackney Wick 'Wolves' 24 11 0 13 855 851 22
5 Wimbledon 'Dons' 24 11 0 13 785 923 22
6 New Cross 'Tamers' 24 9 0 15 844 863 18
7 West Ham 'Hammers' 24 7 1 16 788 922 15








































































































































































































































































National Trophy Round One
New Cross Won 116-97
Semi Final
Harringay Won 110-105
Final
Belle Vue Lost 122-90
1936 League and cup scorers 
Rider League Bonus Pts Cup Bonus Pts Total Max's
Dicky Case 203 6 186 2 397 3
Cordy Milne 140 19 163 20 342 4
Morain Hansen 179 8 139 15 341 6
George Wilks 87 16 80 18 201
Bill Clibbett 74 16 61 16 167
Baltzar Hansen 63 15 69 9 156 2
Dusty Haigh 48 2 10 0 60
Fred Tate 16 1 39 6 62
Phil Hart 11 2 31 7 51
Stan Dell 19 3 10 2 34
Jack Dixon 14 2 15 0 31
Jack Hobson 1 0 1 0 2
Leading League and Cups CMA
Matches Rides Points Bonus Pts Total Pts CMA
Dicky Case 40 175 389 8 397 9.07
Cordy Milne 36 164 303 39 342 8.34
Morian Hanson 40 178 318 23 41 7.66

Image:

1937

Image:

1937 HACKNEY FIXTURE LIST AND RESULTS









































































































































































































































































HOME AWAY
29-Mar West Ham L37-46 13-Apr West Ham L57-25
09-Apr Trail Match HW v Austrains W 17-Apr Belle Vue L47-37
23-Apr New Cross L40-42 26-Apr Wimbledon L44-40
30-Apr West Ham W42-41 13-May West Ham
07-May Wembley L38-46 15-May






Harringay

L54-30
14-May Coronation Cup ? 17-May West Ham L67-29
18-May West Ham L47-48 19-May Dagenham W27.5-42.5
21-May Harringay W46-37 26-May New Cross L44-39
28-May Belle Vue W45-39 17-Jun






Wembley

W40-44
04-Jun Wimbledon W53-31 29-Jun West Ham L55-53
11-Jun West Ham W60-48 06-Jul West Ham
18-Jun WCQR ? 17-Jul Belle Vue
26-Jun West Ham W65-43 14-Aug Belle Vue
02-Jul New Cross W43-40  17-Aug West Ham
09-Jul West Ham 25-Aug New Cross
16-Jul Belle Vue 28-Aug Wembley
23-Jul Wembley 31-Aug






West Ham

30-Jul Harringay 04-Sep Harringay
02-Aug ????? 09-Sep Wembley
06-Aug West Ham 20-Sep Wimbledon
13-Aug WCQR 2nd round
20-Aug Wimbledon
27-Aug Belle Vue
03-Sep West Ham
10-Sep ??????
17-Sep ??????
24-Sep ??????
27-Dec Second Yuletide Meeing

Image: Bill Clibbett Players Cigarette Card


1937 saw several changes to the side from the previous year. After a couple of matches it became clear the Wolves needed to strengthen as they were on a losing streak having lost matches at West Ham, Belle Vue and at home to New Cross. They signed Australian new comer Vic Duggen [picture below], who would go on and become a post war star, he replaced Ted Bravery. Duggen rode until 1950. His brother Ray Duggen and Norman Clay were both killed in a track crash at Sydney Showground. This is the only double fatality ever in speedway. It’s believed this had a major influence on his retirement.    


Interestingly on the 4th June the Wolves beat Wimbledon. Riding for Wimbledon was Wal Morton who scored 5 points, incredibly some 26 years later would ride for the Hackney Hawks in 1963.

Image:

Image: Morain Hansen Players Cigarette Card


1937 NATIONAL LEAGUE






























































































 



Team



Mts



Won



Drn



Lst



For



Agn



Pts



1.



WEST HAM 'Hammers'



24



18



0



6



1129



859



36



2.



Wembley 'Lions'



24



16



0



8



1054



943



32



3.



New Cross 'Rangers'



24



16



0



8



1042½



957½



32



4.



Belle Vue 'Aces'



24



13



0



11



1094



909



26



5.



Hackney Wick 'Wolves'



24



10



0



14



935½



1062½



20



6.



Harringay 'Tigers'



24



9



0



15



929



1064



18



7.



Wimbledon 'Dons'



24



2



0



22



799



1188



4







































































































































































































































































National Trophy Round One
West Ham Draw 106-106
West HamReplay   Replay Won 118-98
Semi Final
Belle Vue Lost 95-121
1937 League and cup scorers 
Rider League Bonus Pts Cup Bonus Pts Total Max's
Cordy Milne 222 3 147 2 374 5
Dicky Case 180 11 134 0 325
Morain Hansen 182 1 102 3 288 1
George Wilks 106.5 23 60 10 199.5
Bill Clibbett 68 11 41 11 131
Vic Duggen 50 9 30 9 98
Stan Dell 42 8 21 3 74
Frank Hodgson 38 8 13 5 64
George Greenwood 10 3 14 1 28
Dug Wells 12 5 1 0 18
Ted Bravery 11 2 2 1 16
Archie Windmill 8 1 1 0 10
Leading League and Cups CMA
Matches Rides Points Bonus Pts Total Pts CMA
Cordy Milne 36 160 369 5 374 9.35
Dicky Case 35 152 314 11 325 8.55
Morian Hanson 36 156 284 4 288 7.38

Image:

1938

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HOME AWAY
09-Apr All Star Cup Ind 13-Apr Birmingham L48-35
16-Apr Wembley W54-30 17-May Nottingham L60-48
18-Apr West Ham l41-43
23-Apr Birmingham w55-29 06-Jun Leeds L56-50
30-Apr New Cross W45-36 08-Jun Southampton L64-20
07-May Norwich W60-22 15-Jun Birmingham L57.5-49.5
14-May West Ham W47-28 02-Jul Norwich L72-36
21-May Nottingham W59-49 04-Jul Newcastle L27-57
28-May West Ham W50-32 07-Jul Sheffield W40-44
04-Jun Leeds W72-36 16-Jul Norwich L55-25
06-Jun New Cross v Wembley ? W52-30 20-Jul Southampton L58-26
11-Jun WCQR 27-Jul Birmingham Rnd Off
18-Jun Birmingham W66-42 01-Aug Leeds W27-54
25-Jun Newcastle W58-26 05-Aug West Ham Reserves L53-31
02-Jul West Ham/Dagenham W31-22/W34-29 08-Aug Lea Bridge L46-37
09-Jul Norwich W58-49 13-Aug Norwich L75-33
16-Jul 21-Sep Birmingham
23-Jul New Cross W49-35 24-Sep Norwich
30-Jul Wembley W58-24
06-Aug Southampton L38-43
20-Aug Norwich W62-44
27-Aug West Ham Reserves W54-29
03-Sep Eng v Dominions
10-Sep Leeds
17-Sep Norwich
01-Oct Southampton
08-Oct Sheffield
15-Oct Birmingham
22-Oct Lea Bridge
Special Meeting

1938 HACKNEY FIXTURE LIST AND RESULTS


Crowds had gradually dwindled and in an attempt to increase attendances the decision was taken to swap the Friday race night to a Saturday night. The Wolves swapped licences with National League Division Two side Bristol seeing the Wolves dropping down a league and Bristol moving up to National League Division One. It proved a master stroke as Hackney Wick Wolves won the league!
The climax of the season came against their closest rivals Lea Bridge on the 22nd October. The Wolves target was to get 48 points or more to secure their first triumph. With just two races to go the Wolves had 45 points. In the penultimate race Archie Windmill and Jack Tidbury gained a five-one and the Championship was won!

1938 NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION 2



















































































































 


Team


Mts


Won


Drn


Lst


For


Agn


Pts


1.


HACKNEY WICK 'Wolves'


16


12


0


4


759


574


24


2.


Norwich 'Stars'


16


12


0


4


749


560


24


3.


Southampton 'Saints'


16


9


0


7


736


590


18


4.


West Ham 'Hawks'


16


8


2


6


691


608


18


5.


Lea Bridge 'Cubs'


16


8


0


8


685


646


16


6.


Newcastle 'Diamonds'


16


7


1


8


621


713


15


7.


Sheffield 'Tigers'


16


6


1


9


552


766


13


8.


Birmingham 'Bulldogs' (Hall Green)


16


6


0


10


633


679


12


9.


Leeds 'Lions'


16


2


0


14


511


801


4

Image: Hackney Wick Wolves 1938 Division Two Champions

Above 1938 League Division Two Champions L to R Ken Brett [wearing helmet] Charlie Appleby, Jack Tidbury, Archie Windmill, Stan Dell, Frank Hodgson, Charlie Page(partly hidden), George Saunders, Jim Baylais, Tommy Bateman, Dug Wells and manager Fred Evans






















































































































































































1938 Cup Record (National Trophy Qualifying)
Round 1
Nottingham  Lost 107-109 (result expunged)
Round 2
Leeds Won 122-92
Semi Final
Birmingham  Won 115.5-99.5
Final
Belle Vue Lost 94-121
1938 League & Cup Points Scored
Rider League Cup Total Max's
Dug Wells 150 170 320 10
Frank Hodgson 149 164.5 313.5 7
Archie Windmill 86 137 223 3
George Saunders 86 77 163
Jim Baylais 80 100 180 1
Jack Tidbury 60 62 122
Tommy Bateman 39 73 112 1
Stan Dell 52 58 110 1
Nobby Stock 33 0 33
Ken Brett 11 11 22
Charlie Appleby 13 6 19


With problems in Europe, despite a guarantee from Heir Hitler that an agreement signed in Munich on September 30th 1938, little did we know that the following season would be cut short due to the outbreak of war against Germany. Ironically the Wolves were having quite a good season until that September day when the speedway season came to a premature stop.   


1939



















































































































































































































HOME AWAY
15-Apr Crystal Palace 57-27 10-Apr Norwich 46-38
22-Apr Stoke 60-24 02-May Bristol 22-59
29-Apr Norwich 65-19 23-May Bristol 48-35
06-May Bristol 56-25 25-May Stoke






68-39

13-May Stoke 80-28 29-May Crystal Palace 43-30
20-May Newcastle 46-38 16-Jun Middlesbrough Canc 
27-May Bristol 53-29 19-Jun Newcastle 54-29
03-Jun WCQR ? 29-Jun Stoke
10-Jun Middlesborough 44-40
17-Jun Sheffield 45-38
24-Jun England v Dominions 40-66
01-Jul Stoke 44-27 01-Aug Bristol
08-Jul 23-Aug Bristol 
15-Jul
22-Jul
29-Jul
05-Aug
12-Aug
19-Aug
26-Aug
02-Sep
09-Sep

Image:

1939 HACKNEY FIXTURE LIST AND RESULTS

1939 NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION 2































































































































 



Team



Mts



Won



Drn



Lst



For



Agn



Pts



1.



Newcastle 'Diamonds'



15



10



0



5



675



574



20



2.



Hackney Wick 'Wolves'



13



7



0



6



567



512



14



3.



Sheffield 'Tigers'



8



6



0



2



361



302



12



4.



Norwich 'Stars'



12



6



0



6



501



493



12



5.



Bristol 'Bulldogs'



14



5



0



9



561



596



10



6.



Belle Vue Reserves



14



4



0



10



490



678



8



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



Wd.



Middlesbrough 'Bears'



8



4



0



4



366



303



8



Wd.



Stoke 'Potters'



8



2



0



6



268



399



4



Wd.



Crystal Palace 'Glaziers'



10



1



0



9



334



495



2
































































































































1939 Cup Record (National Trophy)
Round 1
Stoke  Won 119-96
Semi Final
Middlesborough Walk Over
Final Sheffield  Lost 110-114
Rider League Cup Total  Max's
John Baylais 114 122 236 6
Frank Hodgson 77 132 209 8
Archie Windmill 85 98 183 3
Dug Wells 59 72.5 131.5 5
Stan Dell 48 81 129 1
Phil Hart 54 69 123 2
Nobby Stock 58 62 144
George Saunders 42 66 108
Ken Brett 18 12 30

Image:


This photo was taken at Hackney in late 1939. The barrage balloon trophy is being presented to Sheffield captain Ernie Evans by Hackney Wick Manager Fred Evans. Would love to know the identity if the RAF officer, and maybe his wife?  No doubt he was based at RAF Hackney as they had a barrage balloon squadron there. Any further information on RAF Hackney would be much appreciated by emailing hackneyspeedway@live.co.uk. 


Photo: Courtesy of Garry Baker from Melbourne, Australia.         


Image:


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