Doug Nicolson looks back at the halcyon days when Trevor Redmond promoted at Glasgow’s celebrated White City and recalls the life and times of this much-loved Kiwi.

 

The last rider romoter

In its early years, the Provincial League had three rider promoters - Reg Fearman at Stoke; Pete Lansdale at Rayleigh and Exeter and Trevor Redmond at Neath and St Austell. Fearman and Lansdale had retired before the 1963 season started leaving Redmond as the only rider doubling up on both roles. However, when he moved his Gulls licence the length of the country to Glasgow, he too decided to hang up his leathers…but it wasn’t that easy.

 

The rebirth of the Tigers

Trevor Redmond came to Britain in 1950 and signed for Third Division Aldershot. By the following season he was the team’s top scorer and also the Third Division match race champion. He subsequently signed for Wembley and made his World Final debut in 1954. An accomplished rider, he was also a great entrepreneur and organiser and was famed for arranging trips to Sweden and South Africa. In 1960 Trevor was captain and top scorer for Bristol in the newly formed Provincial League and rounded off a successful season by winning the Provincial League Riders Championship. Unfortunately Bristol’s Knowle Stadium was sold for redevelopment and Trevor was snapped up by Wolverhampton. As well as leading Wolves, he reopened St Austell and also promoted at Shelbourne Park in Dublin. He certainly got around that year!

He opened Neath in South Wales in 1962 and had quite a stroke of luck in signing Charlie Monk who, along with Redmond, was to prove the mainstay of the Welsh Dragons who finished runners up in the Provincial League. The venture was not blessed with great fortune, and it was no great surprise that they relocated to St Austell for the 1963 season. With Plymouth folding during the winter, Chris Julian, Chris Blewett and Ray Wickett joined up along with Ray Cresp. Charlie Monk was allowed to go to Long Eaton on loan. The Gulls gave a good account of themselves on track, but crowds were poor and once again Trevor was on the lookout for a new home track.

Up in Scotland, Ian Hoskins’ Edinburgh Monarchs were doing good business at Old Meadowbank. Hoskins still lived in Glasgow and harboured ambitions to reopen the White City where he had first promoted more than ten years earlier. He had staged stock car racing there since 1962 and, with considerable doubt over the future of Old Meadowbank during the winter of 1963/64, there was speculation that he would have moved the Monarchs over to Glasgow had the Edinburgh council not agreed to renew the lease. However when the Monarchs were given the “ok” for Old Meadowbank, Hoskins had a track but no team while Redmond had a team but no track. Unsurprisingly they got together and brought the Tigers back.

Team building

Maury Mattingley, the 1963 Scottish Open champion was signed to captain the Tigers. It is possible that Ray Cresp was offered to Wolverhampton in a swap deal for Mattingley. When Cresp opted to sign for the newly opened West Ham in the National League instead, Jon Erskine, another Redmond asset, subsequently went to Mike Parker’s new track at Newport. Charlie Monk was recalled from Long Eaton and join locals Bill McMillan and Red Monteith, who had made occasional appearances for Edinburgh in 1963. Monteith had first ridden at The White City in the early 1950s and had appeared in the short open licence seasons at The White City in 1956 and Motherwell in 1958. Redmond’s remaining riders from St Austell were Chris Julian, Ray Wickett and Chris Blewett, although the latter was still on the injured list and was unlikely to ride before the summer. Neither Wickett nor Julian were keen to travel the length of the country each week but were pressed into early service. With Trevor Redmond hanging up his leathers to concentrate on promoting Bruce Ovenden, who had ridden at New Plymouth in New Zealand, was signed to complete the line-up.

Northern League

Tigers completed their Northern League campaign with an unbeaten home record and gained two bonus points for an aggregate win to finish fourth out of six. Ray Wickett had led a double life, riding for both Glasgow and Exeter in the early weeks of April, something that couldn’t continue. In the end he stayed at Exeter in exchange for Terry Stone, with the programme declaring “Ray Wickett clean bowled by Exeter” Redmond was well aware of the depth and experience of the southern sides and was seeking a rider of heat leader standard to strengthen the Tigers for the PL campaign.

After drawing a blank on making a new signing, things got worse for Redmond when reserve Jack Monteith got injured in a home defeat by Wolverhampton, who, gallingly, had just signed Airey, Guasco and McKee from the newly closed Sunderland. There was nothing for it but for Trevor to pull on his old leathers and return to the saddle – and quite impressively too as the Tigers of Glasgow convincingly beat the Tigers of Sheffield in the KO Cup. The feelgood factor only lasted until the following night when Chris Julian sustained a fractured skull at Sheffield. His condition was initially described as “critical” but thankfully he improved. However it seemed certain that he would be out for the season.

Despite his reluctance to ride again, Redmond was showing some fine form and indeed was often second in the Tigers scorecharts behind Charlie Monk. He won the Glasgow round of the PL Riders championship, qualifying for the PLRC final at Belle Vue and starred in the Scottish Cup ties with Edinburgh, meetings which really caught the imagination of Scottish fans.

The BL cometh

The Shawcross Report brought the amalgamation of the warring PL and NL factions with a new BL being formed. Amongst the many recommendations, there was a stipulation that promoters were no longer to be allowed to ride, something that didn’t really upset Redmond. He was the last of the the line, the sports last rider promoter.

A time to sell

Tigers’ supporters were stunned when they first heard the news that Trevor Redmond had sold his interest in the Tigers to Borders farmer Danny Taylor. On reflection it was realized that he was first and foremost an entrepreneur and a pioneer and that the weekly grind of travelling the length of the country was taking its toll. Equally, he was a shrewd businessman and would have known that the line of the proposed M8 motorway extension cut through the east end of the White City stadium, casting doubts over the Tigers’ long term future there. Despite a successful season, crowds had levelled out from the highs of the previous term, when Tigers led the British League and Charlie Monk looked like conquering the speedway world. Monk was now living in Wakefield and was contemplating a transfer request to a track nearer this base.

Maury Mattingly and Bluey Scott were both in the veteran category. Maury was an ever present during the last season and seemed to have sorted out his travelling arrangements. However he seemed to be plagued almost continually by mechanical problems, and his future with the Tigers was uncertain.  Bluey had returned to Australia as soon as the season had finished, he was reported to be returning after buying a house in Motherwell, but, like Mattingley, he couldn’t be expected to ride forever and the thorny problem of attracting heat leader to Scotland would again raise its head. All in all this was an opportune time to sell!

All quiet, then boom

After selling Glasgow, there were reports of Trevor forming a Cornish League, with Plymouth joining St Austell and Newton Abbott in a junior league venture. Nothing came of this although Plymouth, under the Mawdsley and Lansdale banner, were founder members of British League Division Two in 1968. Other plans to develop speedway in California never got off the ground and little was heard of him for a couple of years, during which he devoted more time to his farm and continued with stockcars at Newton Abbott.

In 1970 Trevor came back to the fore with a vengeance. He headed up a consortium which sought to revive is first love, Wembley Lions. The BSPA were very keen to see the Lions return, as it would raise the profile of the sport and herald the return of a golden age. However they were reluctant to grant an additional First Division licence, as it would set a precedent that new teams did not necessarily have to join the Second Division. In a dramatic piece of symmetry, Redmond contacted Ian Hoskins, just like he had done six years earlier.  This time it was Redmond who had a track and Hoskins a team, and, more importantly, a licence. Hoskins’ Monarchs had moved to Coatbridge in 1968 when their Edinburgh track was redeveloped to stage the 1970 Commonwealth games. The Lanarkshire venue was not the success story that Old Meadowbank had been and, although still a viable speedway, had been feeling the pinch. However it was still a shock when Wembley bought them out. Reidar Eide, Bert Harkins, Wayne Briggs and Brian Collins all joined the Lions, The Lions rode for two seasons before the lack of dates at Wembley precluded league racing there.

World Team Cup manager

New Zealand entered this competition in the mid 70s once the GB team restricted its selection to home born riders and Trevor was duly appointed team manager. With Ronnie Moore retired and Barry Briggs and Ivan Mauger often unavailable they never qualified beyond the first round until `1979. Their squad wasn’t that strong with Mauger being joined by Larry Ross, Mitch Shirra and Bruce Cribb. With USA weakened by the absence of Scott Autrey, it was felt New Zealand could pip the States for the second qualifying spot from the first round at Reading. With the rain falling, the other teams were reluctant to ride and Redmond pulled off a masterstroke by getting the Kiwis to get changed and get their bikes ready. This paid off big time as they won the round eliminating GB in the process. They maintained their momentum in the semi final in Eskilstuna with Bruce Cribb, pointless after two rides, taking two second places aboard one of Mauger’s bike in his last two outings. This proved pivotal in taking top spot. The final at the White city had a surreal atmosphere with no GB team riding but again the Kiwis dug deep to take the win, helped by a Bo Petersen exclusion for knocking of Kudrna in heat eleven. In fact they built up such a lead over the closing heats that even Mauger’s exclusion for falling in the last heat had no effect on the outcome. A truly historic day for the Kiwis and one never to be repeated.

New Zealand Hall of Fame

On 28 May 2016 Trevor was posthumously inducted into the New Zealand Hall of Fame. He had passed away in 1997and the award was accepted by son John at a ceremony in Auckland. His plaque reads

Presented to Trevor Redmond

2 x World Champion Appearances 1952, 1954

2 x National League Champion 1952, 1953

National Trophy Winner 1954

Provincial League Riders Champion 1960

Speedway Promoter

FIM Representative

He was all of these things, and more, but in our house he is still fondly remembered for bringing speedway back to Glasgow and into my young life and I still hope that one day soon he’ll be inducted into Glasgow’s Hall of fame. It would certainly be deserved.