The 1956 National League Division One was the 22nd season and eleventh post-war season of the highest tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.[1]
| League | National League |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 7 |
| Champions | Wimbledon Dons |
| National Trophy | Wimbledon Dons |
| Highest average | Barry Briggs |
| Division/s below | National League (Div 2) 1956 Southern Area League |
Summary
The league consisted of seven teams after the West Ham Hammers ceased competitive speedway racing at the end of 1955. Poole Pirates came up from the second tier to replace them. Match line-ups were increased to eight riders after a single season with seven riders. Wimbledon won their third successive National League Championship.[2][3][4]
Norwich Stars rider Malcolm Flood died on 2 April, at Poole. The 25-year-old rider suffered fatal injuries despite an earlier warning from the race steward that he was riding too erratically into the bends.[5]
Final table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 35 |
| 2 | Wembley Lions | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 29 |
| 3 | Birmingham Brummies | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 25 |
| 4 | Norwich Stars | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 24 |
| 5 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 23 |
| 6 | Poole Pirates | 24 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 20 |
| 7 | Bradford Tudors | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 12 |
Top Ten Riders (League only)
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Barry Briggs |  | Wimbledon | 10.53 |
| 2 | Ove Fundin |  | Norwich | 10.34 |
| 3 | Ronnie Moore | | Wimbledon | 10.32 |
| 4 | Brian Crutcher |  | Wembley | 10.16 |
| 5 | Alan Hunt | | Birmingham | 9.53 |
| 6 | Peter Moore |  | Wimbledon | 9.20 |
| 7 | Peter Craven | | Belle Vue | 9.07 |
| 8 | Jack Biggs | | Poole | 8.71 |
| 9 | Dick Fisher | | Belle Vue | 8.40 |
| 10 | Ron Johnston | | Belle Vue | 8.38 |
National Trophy Stage Two
The 1956 National Trophy was the 19th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of two stages; stage one was for the second tier clubs, stage two was for the top tier clubs. Wimbledon won the second and final stage and were therefore declared the 1956 National Trophy champions.[6]
- For Stage One - see Stage One
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26/07 | Wembley | 60-47 | Birmingham |
| 24/07 | Southampton | 64-44 | Norwich |
| 21/07 | Belle Vue | 72-36 | Poole |
| 21/07 | Birmingham | 61-47 | Wembley |
| 21/07 | Bradford Odsal | 38-70 | Wimbledon |
| 21/07 | Norwich | 77-31 | Southampton |
| 16/07 | Poole | 54-54 | Belle Vue |
| 16/07 | Wimbledon | 79-29 | Bradford Odsal |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/09 | Belle Vue | 83-25 | Birmingham |
| 17/08 | Birmingham | 64-44 | Belle Vue |
| 13/08 | Wimbledon | 68-40 | Norwich |
| 04/08 | Norwich | 56-52 | Wimbledon |
Final
First leg
| Belle Vue Aces Peter Craven 17 Dick Fisher 17 Peter Williams 9 Bob Duckworth 8 Ron Johnston 6 Ken Sharples 5 Tink Maynard 3 Brian Craven 3 | 68 – 39 | Wimbledon Dons Peter Moore 10 Ronnie Moore 8 Barry Briggs 8 Ron How 4 Cyril Maidment 4 Alf Hagon 3 Bob Andrews 3 Cyril Brine 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [7] |
Second leg
| Wimbledon Dons Ronnie Moore 16 Peter Moore 14 Barry Briggs 11 Cyril Maidment 9 Cyril Brine 9 Ron How 6 Alf Hagon 3 Bob Andrews 1 | 69 – 39 | Belle Vue Aces Peter Craven 12 Ron Johnston 8 Alf Webster 5 Peter Williams 4 Bob Duckworth 3 Ken Sharples 3 Brian Craven 3 Dick Fisher 1 |
|---|---|---|
| [7] |
Wimbledon were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 108–107.
Riders & final averages
Belle Vue
-
Peter Craven 9.07 -
Ron Johnston 8.38 - Dick Fisher 8.40
- Bob Duckworth 7.39
- Ken Sharples 6.74
- Brian Craven 6.29
- Alf Webster 5.48
- Slant Payling 5.47
- Tink Maynard 5.26
- Peter Williams 3.90
- Fred Rogers 4.13
- Frank Johnson 3.60
Birmingham
- Alan Hunt 9.53
Doug Davies 8.22- Eric Boothroyd 7.74
- Ron Mountford 7.48
- Jim Tolley 5.16
- Neil Mortimer 5.15
- Harry Bastable 4.63
- Arthur Duncan 3.90
- Derrick Tailby 2.89
Bradford
- Arthur Forrest 7.64
- Nigel Boocock 6.31
- Arthur Wright 5.98
- Guy Allott 5.68
- Eddie Rigg 5.60
- Jimmy Gooch 5.49
- Ron Clarke 4.96
- Des Haswell 4.90
- Al Allison 4.00
- Dent Oliver 3.06
Norwich
-
Ove Fundin 10.34 -
Aub Lawson 7.83 - Gerry Hussey 7.60
- Phil Clarke 6.43
- Billy Bales 6.30
- Harry Edwards 5.91
- Geoff Pymar 5.78
- Reg Trott 5.03
- Fred Brand 4.88
- Peter Atkins 4.36
- Derek Strutt 1.50
Poole
- Jack Biggs 8.71
- Cyril Roger 7.76
- Ken Middleditch 7.60
- Jack Geran 6.00
- Jimmy Squibb 5.95
- Bill Holden 5.33
- Terry Small 5.31
- Alan Kidd 5.05
- Bert Roger 4.67
- Norman Strachan 3.83
Wembley
- Brian Crutcher 10.16
- Tommy Price 7.54
-
Eric French 7.43 - Split Waterman 7.36
- Jimmy Gooch 6.86
- Mike Broadbank 6.43
- Trevor Redmond 6.29
- Ray Cresp 5.88
-
Freddie Williams 5.14 - Merv Hannam 2.67
Wimbledon
- Barry Briggs 10.53
- Ronnie Moore 10.32
- Peter Moore 9.20
- Ron How 7.88
- Cyril Brine 6.47
- Bob Andrews 5.38
- Alf Hagon 4.94
- Gil Goldfinch 2.56