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Fred Wilkinson (speedway rider)

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British motorcycle speedway rider

Fred Wilkinson
Born8 June 1906 (1906-06-08)
Coalville, Leicestershire, England
Died24 September 1978(1978-09-24) (aged 72)
Syston, Leicestershire, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1929–1931Leicester Super
1929, 1931Coventry Bees
1932Sheffield Tigers
1933Nottingham

Fred Wilkinson (8 June 1906 – 24 September 1978) was a British motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the early years of the sport. He earned two international caps for the England national speedway team.

Biography

Wilkinson was born in Coalville, Leicestershire in 1906, his father a miner at a local colliery. The family moved to Binley near Coventry, and then Seend in Wiltshire, with Wilkinson starting his racing career in grasstrack races. His early speedway experience was at the Gorse Hill Autodrome in Swindon, and at Bristol.

In 1929, he signed for the Leicester Super team, also riding for Coventry Bees, settling in Syston, Leicestershire, where he ran a garage. He captained the Leicester Super team in 1930, and stayed with the team until it closed during the 1931 Speedway Northern League.

Wilkinson rode for England in the second Test match of 1931 against Australia, staged at Leicester Super Speedway, scoring three points. He was selected at reserve for the fourth test at Hyde Road but did not score from his one ride.

Wilkinson moved on to ride for Sheffield in 1932, but they withdrew mid-season, leaving him racing a series of individual, special and challenge events only.

He was commemorated by an event in the 1980s that bore his name: The Fred Wilkinson Trophy match was staged at Leicester Stadium between 1980 and 1983, with a further staging at Peterborough in 1985.

References

  1. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  2. ^ Jones, Alan (2010) Speedway in Leicester: The Pre-War Years, Automedia, p. 193
  3. "Fred Wilkinson's Wonderful Riding". Melton Mowbray Times and Vale of Belvoir Gazette. 8 November 1929. Retrieved 11 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "1931 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  5. Foster, Peter (2005) A History of the Speedway Ashes, Tempus, ISBN 0-7524-3468-3, p. 23-5
  6. "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  7. "Fred Wilkinson at his best". Leicester Evening Mail. 27 June 1932. Retrieved 11 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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