Bert Edwards
Born8 February 1917 (1917-02-08)
Liverpool, England
Died13 June 2008(2008-06-13) (aged 91)
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1950–1951Walthamstow Wolves
1951–1952Aldershot Shots
1952–1953Cardiff Dragons
1953–1958Ipswich Witches

Richard Herbert Edwards (8 February 1917 – 13 June 1982) was an international motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned seven international caps for the England national speedway team.[1][2]

Biography

Edwards was born in Liverpool but attended Hyde School in Hendon and later Goldbeaters Modern School in Burnt Oak. He was a member of the Northern Cycling Club[3] before he and his younger brother Harry Edwards joined the Kenton and Kingsbury Motor Cycle Club. The pair gained recognition as grass track riders before moving into coventional speedway.[4] He began his British leagues career riding for Walthamstow Wolves during the 1950 Speedway National League Division Two, where he joined his brother who was already a Walthamstow rider.[5]

In 1951, after starting the season with Walthamstow he was loaned out to Aldershot Shots[6] and remained at the club for the first half of the 1952[7] before transferring from parent club Walthamstow to Cardiff Dragons for £400.[8]

His riding average was solid but not particularly special and it was not until he joined Ipswich Witches that his career took off.[9] He left Cardiff following their withdawal from the league in 1953 and although he only rode 8 matches for Ipswich during the remainder of the season, he averaged 9.12.[10]

He became very popular at Ipswich where attendances consistently approached 20,000 and was described as an idol by the press.[3] In 1955, he averaged 9.45 and was club captain. In 1956, he was called up by England for test matches that included fixtures against Sweden and Australia.[11] His final two seasons were with Ipswich in the highest division of British speedway in the National League.

Family

His father was Richard Edwards was a councillor in Harrow and his uncle was Bob Edwards, a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1955 to 1987.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "Speedway in the 1950s". Ipswich Star. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Speedway team man and Individualist". Harrow Observer. 20 September 1956. Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ↑ "Thrills and Spills". Acton Gazette. 23 July 1948. Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "1950 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  6. ↑ "Brother against brother". Aldershot News. 20 April 1951. Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Speedway". Aldershot News. 4 April 1952. Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "Rider Moves". Daily Mirror. 8 July 1953. Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "England win third speed test". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 5 July 1956. Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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