Hackney Wick Wolves 1935-39

Pre-war records and statistics are very far and few between. Information obtained in this section from the books 'Hackney Speedway Friday at Eight' by Chris Fenn, Chris Illman 'Homes of British Speedway' by Robert Bramford 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!

1935

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

1935 NATIONAL LEAGUE

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

1936

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.

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

1937

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.    

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

1938

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 22^nd 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!

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

1939

With problems in Europe, despite a guarantee from Heir Hitler that an agreement signed in Munich on September 30^th 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 NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION 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