Jack Bedkober arrived in Britain, joining Exeter  in 1950  and proved almost unbeatable around the County Ground. He returned for a second season in 1951 and continued to progress well, before breaking his arm towards the end of the season. This proved to be his last year in Britain and he remained in Sydney despite being transfer listed at a fee of £500

Roy Bester was the sensation of the 1952-53 South African season and was a much sought after prospect. He chose to join Edinburgh in 1953 and went on to have an excellent season finishing with an average of just under seven points per match. The following year he was snapped up by Leicester after Edinburgh closed mid season and had an excellent spell at Blackbird Road, lifting his average to over eight points per match to finish behind Ken McKinlay in the club’s end of season figures. Roy could not agree financial terms to return to Britain in 1955 and was never seen on British tracks again, although he did ride in South Africa for several more years.

Dom Perry was the only Irish born and trained rider to have made the grade in speedway and began his career at the Shelbourne Park track in Dublin under the promotion of the Wimbledon boss Ronnie Greene  and he subsequently forced his way into the ‘Dons’ First Division line-up in 1953. He improved enormously on touring South Africa in the winter of 1953-54 and played his part in the Wimbledon championship winning side the following season, missing just one match and recording a 6.64 average. He surprisingly quit at the end of the season to concentrate on his farming activities but retained an interest in the sport and made a comeback when a short season of meetings was held at Shelbourne Park in the early 1960s. He turned down the chance of a full time return with Neath in 1962 and Glasgow in 1964.

New Zealander Merv Neil showed sensational form against the touring English test team in 1952-53 and was tempted join the Norwich ‘Stars’, proving to be a great favourite and wholehearted performer at The Firs. However, some ineffectual performances on the smaller away tracks kept his average down and he reserved his best performances for his home circuit. In 1954, Merv proved more successful, putting a point on his average and recording a maximum at home to West Ham in June. At the age of just 27 he looked to be an excellent prospect for the future and it was a huge disappointment when he elected not to return for a third season after deciding to remain at home. He continued to ride in New Zealand for many years and won the national championship in 1963. He made 15 appearances for his country, all in home internationals, with his last appearance coming in the 1967-68 series against England.

Arriving in 1952 from New Zealand as a relative unknown, Peter Clark was one of the most popular riders ever to race for Rayleigh in a five year career with the Essex club. He averaged over nine in his first two seasons in the Southern League. The bottom two leagues combined in 1954 and Peter was racing at Division Two level for the first time in his career but, despite topping the club’s averages, his season was decimated by injury. An improved season in 1955 promised much for the future but Peter shocked the club by announcing that he was to remain at home in Wellington for 1956. He was tempted back by the new ‘Rockets’ promoter Vic Gooden in 1957 for a final season with the club - now racing in the top flight for the only time in their history. The season was a mixed one for the fair haired Kiwi as he showed flashes of form and represented his country in Scandinavia, but also struggled on occasions and averaged less than six points per match. Peter returned home for good at the end of the season.

Dan Forsberg had joined Birmingham as a relative unknown at the start of the 1952 season and had an excellent year on tracks that he was seeing for the very first time. A paid maximum within a month of his debut was a sign of his undoubted talent and he ended the league campaign with three full maximums from his last four matches. His efforts as back up to Alan Hunt, Arthur Payne and Ron Mountford were enough to help the ‘Brummies’ into the runners-up spot in the Division One title race and nine points at Wembley in the World Final gave him sixth place on the night. Swedish commitments severely restricted his appearances in the red and yellow in 1953 and he was to be absent from the British league scene for three full years, although he continued to shine in league racing in his home country. In 1957 Dan was invited back to Perry Barr to assist a struggling Birmingham side, but the spell was not to last as the Birmingham promoter Les Marshall withdrew the side from the sport and their fixtures were taken over by Bradford. Dan qualified for his second World Final later that year, taking his place at Wembley but was unable to impress – finishing down the field in 15th position. Apart from riding for Sweden in the 1958 test series never rode gain in England.

Aage Hansen was an established international and a respected performer throughout Scandinavia but was little known to British fans until news reached them of his impending World Final appearance at Wembley in 1957.  Just before the big night Ipswich ran into a succession of injury problems, the worst being a broken leg suffered by the in-form Cyril Roger and, rather than use guests, the ‘Witches’ management tempted Hansen to Foxhall Heath. Aage proved to be a sensation in his four match league spell, scoring double figures three times but his British career did not extend beyond his stint with Ipswich. Six times his national champion, Aage is rated amongst the leading Norwegian riders

Bob Sharp struggled badly in his first season, having outings with both Glasgow clubs in 1952. He showed a marked improvement with the ‘Tigers’ in 1953 and was due to start a third season with the Scottish side in 1954. However, the club was in financial trouble and when they closed Bob journeyed south to link up with Ipswich where he was a popular figure at Foxhall Heath and continued his improvemen. By1956  he began to fulfil his potential with a best ever average of 8.67. The combination of the top two leagues in 1957 should have proved ideal for Bob to progress further but, despite occasional high scores, he generally struggled at the improved level and returned to Australia for good at the end of a particularly disappointing 1958 season. Back in his native land, Bob proved that he could still live with the best, winning his national championship in 1962 and 1965, and making 13 international appearances in series’ against England, New Zealand and Great Britain.

Peo Soderman joined the ‘Bees’ late in the 1956 season as a replacement for the injured Charlie New. He had qualified for his debut World Final just before joining Coventry and ended the season with an average of 11.74 He shocked the crowd by finishing fifth behind such greats as Fundin, Ronnie Moore, Arthur Forrest and Peter Craven. He returned for 1957 as the ‘Bees’ embarked on a season in the top tier of speedway but his season was decimated by huge commitments on the Continent which reduced him to making just nine appearances in a 20 match league and cup programme. He finished ninth in the World Final that year but his absences spelt the end of his regular career in Britain. He returned for a short spell at the end of 1958 but his form had slipped with his average dipping below eight points per match. Although this was the last that British fans saw of Peo he remained a regular visitor with Swedish international sides. He made a total of four World Final appearances, the last being in 1966, but he failed to better that debut fifth place

From the moment Marian Kaiser arrived in 1959,  he produced a series of stunning performances, and his average of 7.66 points made him the third heat leader behind Ken McKinlay and Jack Geran, transforming Leicester into one of the most attractive sides in the division. tI was a blow to the club when the Polish government refused Marian permission to return for the 1960 season. He reached the first of his two World Finals in 1960 and was part of the Polish side in five World Team Cup Finals between 1960 and 1964, including the quintet which won in Wroclaw in 1961. Marian defected to West Germany in 1967 and continued to live in the west until his death in 1991.

 

Brian Crutcher took over as Wembley’s number one and, for a time was England’s top rider, finishing second in the World Final in 1954 and becoming England’s youngest ever captain when he led the national side in the second test against Australasia at Wembley in 1955 at just 21 years of age. When the club pulled out of the sport and he moved back to the south coast to race for Southampton. In his three full seasons at Bannister Court Brian retained his standing as one of the leading riders in the world, but he had invested wisely in his business dealings and speedway began to take something of a secondary role in his life.. When he missed part of the 1959 season suffering from a reported nervous exhaustion, it became clear that Brian’s days in speedway were numbered, and so it proved as he announced his retirement at the start of the 1960 season at the age of just 25.

17 year old Doug Davies was one of the hottest properties in the world of speedway and signed for Birmingham in 1954. He hit a rich vein of form the following year and qualified for the World Final Sadly, he was struck down with meningitis and was unable to ride but he again reached the World Final in 1956 and performed creditably to finish the night in 13th position with four points. He was suspended by the South African authorities for riding on unlicenced tracks there and his speedway career went on hold until he was persuaded to return to the U.K. by New Cross in May 1961. He showed much of his old dash at the Old Kent Road track but this proved to be his last season in Britain.

 Tony Robinson and Jack Kitchen were both Belle Vue products who found greater fame at Sheffield and both gave the game away at a relatively early age due to business interests.

Bjorn Knutson was one of the big five who rode off the back mark during the handicap days of NL racing. He starred for Southampton from 1959 till 1963 and moved to West Ham when the Saints closed. He wasn’t allowed to ride in Britain in the first year of the BL when comuting Swedes were banned but the break seemed to do him good and he won the World Final at Wembley. .. He devoted more and more time to his car sales business in his native country and, after a relatively disappointing season in 1966, he decided to retire