1939 Speedway National League

1939 Speedway National League
LeagueNational League Division One
ChampionsNone
No. of competitors7
National TrophyBelle Vue Aces &
Wembley Lions
London CupWimbledon Dons
British Speedway CupBelle Vue Aces
Highest averageCordy Milne
Division/s belowNational League (Div 2)

The 1939 National League Division One was an eleventh and unfinished season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1][2][3][4]

Summary

Southampton Saints had moved up from Division Two and Bristol Bulldogs moved back down after just one season.

Belle Vue Aces were leading the championship ahead of Wimbledon Dons when the league was abandoned due to the outbreak of World War II .

Table at the outbreak of war

Team PL W D L Pts
Belle Vue Aces 16 12 1 3 25
Wimbledon Dons 18 12 0 6 24
Wembley Lions 19 11 1 8 23
West Ham Hammers 19 9 0 10 18
Harringay Tigers 16 7 1 8 15
Southampton Saints 17 5 0 12 10
New Cross Rangers 19 4 1 14 9

Fixtures & results

A fixtures

Home \ Away BV HAR NC SOT WEM WH WIM
Belle Vue 46–35 54–30 61–23 57–27 45–39 44–40
Harringay n/a 43–40 53–31 36–48 44–40 48–36
New Cross 42–42 34–50 56–28 42–40 41–42 38–45
Southampton 38–45 39–45 48–35 46–38 47–37 n/a
Wembley 50–34 42–42 52–31 57–27 55–29 53–30
West Ham 40–42 44–39 50–33 54–30 36–48 44–39
Wimbledon 50–34 46–37 52–32 53–31 51–33 48–36
Source: [5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

B fixtures

Home \ Away BV HAR NC SOT WEM WH WIM
Belle Vue 54–30 56–27 n/a n/a 63–21 n/a
Harringay n/a n/a 55–29 n/a 37–46 39–44
New Cross n/a n/a n/a n/a 43–40 35–49
Southampton 40–44 55–29 51.5–32.5 n/a n/a n/a
Wembley 43–41 n/a 59–24 61–22 58–26 39–45
West Ham n/a n/a 45–38 n/a 53–31 44–38
Wimbledon n/a n/a 41–42 56–26 44–40 n/a
Source: [6]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top Ten Riders at the outbreak of war

Rider Nat Team C.M.A.
1 Cordy Milne Southampton 11.29
2 Wilbur Lamoreaux Wimbledon 11.06
3 Bill Kitchen Belle Vue 10.88
4 Vic Duggan Wimbledon 10.67
5 Arthur Atkinson West Ham 10.62
6 Lionel van Praag Wembley 10.62
7 Jack Milne New Cross 10.00
8 Jack Parker Harringay 9.6
9 Eric Langton Belle Vue 9.5
10 Jimmy Gibb West Ham 8.58

National Trophy

The 1939 National Trophy was the ninth edition of the Knockout Cup. Wembley and Belle Vue were declared joint winners following the abandonment of the final fixture due to the outbreak of the war.[7][8]

Qualifying rounds

Sheffield Tigers won the Division Two final and therefore secured a place in the quarter-finals.

Quarterfinals

Date Team one Score Team two
22/07 Belle Vue 67-40 Wimbledon
17/07 Wimbledon 51-56 Belle Vue
26/07 New Cross 57-51 Harringay
22/07 Harringay 52-54 New Cross
13/07 Wembley 64-45 West Ham
11/07 West Ham 62-46 Wembley
20/07 Sheffield 61-46 Southampton
26/07 Southampton 68-36 Sheffield

Semifinals

Date Team one Score Team two
26/08 Belle Vue 80-28 New Cross
16/08 New Cross 44-64 Belle Vue
31/08 Wembley 74-33 Southampton
30/08 Southampton 62-46 Wembley

Final

Date Team one Score Team two
16/09 Wembley not held Belle Vue
21/09 Belle Vue not held Wembley

British Speedway Cup

Team PL W D L Pts +/-
Belle Vue Aces 10 7 0 3 16 +95
West Ham Hammers 10 7 0 3 16 +87
Harringay Tigers 10 5 1 4 13 +25
New Cross Rangers 10 5 1 4 12 +28
Wimbledon Dons 10 5 0 5 11 +26
Southampton Saints 10 0 0 10 0 -261
Home \ Away BV HAR NC SOT WH WIM
Belle Vue 65–31 58–38 63–33 59–36 53–43
Harringay 45–51 58–37 74–24 54–42 56–39
New Cross 51–43 47–47 68–28 60–36 59–37
Southampton 43–53 38–58 38–58 42–53 45–50
West Ham 53–41 57–39 60–36 69–26 66–30
Wimbledon 57–39 65–30 58–37 65–31 46–48
Source: [9]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

London Cup

First round

Team one Score Team two
Wimbledon 71–37, 42–64 Harringay

Semi final round

Team one Score Team two
West Ham 56–50, 50–57 New Cross
Wembley 55–52, 49–59 Wimbledon

Final

First leg

New Cross
Jack Milne 11
Ron Johnson 10
Ray Duggan 7
Joe Francis 6
Bill Longley 5
Stan Greatrex 4
Crocky Rawding 2
Goldy Restall 1		46–62Wimbledon
Wilbur Lamoreaux 15
Vic Duggan 13
Eric Collins 11
Geoff Pymar 10
Wally Lloyd 8
Nobby Key 2
Eric French 2
Norman Evans 1

Second leg

Wimbledon
Wilbur Lamoreaux 18
Eric Collins 14
Geoff Pymar 11
Vic Duggan 10
Nobby Key 7
Wally Lloyd 6
Norman Evans 5
Eric French 1		72–36New Cross
Jack Milne 13
Ron Johnson 9
Joe Francis 4
Bill Longley 2
Stan Greatrex 2
Goldy Restall 2
Crocky Rawding 2
Ray Duggan 2
[10]

Wimbledon won on aggregate 134–82

Riders & final averages

Belle Vue

Harringay

New Cross

Southampton

Wembley

West Ham

Wimbledon

See also

References

  1. ^ "Historic league tables". Speedway Archive.
  2. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  3. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  4. ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  5. ^ "1939 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  6. ^ "1939 fixtures & results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  7. ^ "1939 National Trophy". Speedway archive.
  8. ^ "1939 Cup". Speedway GB.
  9. ^ "1939 fixtures & results". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Speedway Comedy in Dons Cup Win". Daily Herald. 11 July 1939. Retrieved 16 September 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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