Raymond Arthur "Billy"  Bales passed away shortly after his 94th birthday. As a teenager he was a member of the Hellesdon cycle Speedway team whose track was in the car park of The Firs stadium, home of Norwich Stars.
Diminuitive Billy, he was barely over five feet,  started out with Yarmouth Bloaters, scoring double figures on his debut in 1948 and had six maximums and an average of over 7.00, not bad for a youngster. He boosted his average to over 10.00 the following year making him the top scorer in NL3. His 1950 season had barely started when his Speedway career was interrupted by National Service. On his return to "Civvie Street" in 1952, he was the centre of a dispute between Yarmouth and Norwich who both wanted to sign him. He settled for the Stars for whom he rode until the track closed at the end of 1964. During this time he rode in  245 matches, scoring 1,580 points, placing him third behind  Phil Clarke and Ove Fundin in the Stars all time lists.

He qualified for the 1955 World Final when he finished eleventh with six points. This was his best year, achieving an average of just under 9.00. In all he represented England about a dozen times in various internationals.
He probably would have stayed with the Stars for his whole career had they not closed but was allocated to Sheffield in 1965 where he filled the third heat leader role, riding for them until he retired in 1969, aged 40.