Memories kindled of a track King

The accompanying photo and information were given to me by a friend, and I thought it might interest your readers.

The rider is Dave Anderson, my friend’s late uncle, who was born around 1918/19 so was probably about 18 when the photo was taken. Standing next to him is his mentor and future brother-in-law Benny King, who was a grass track racer.

Dave Anderson (on bike) and Benny King were pictured at West Ham Speedway around 1937.

Dave also started racing on the grass, but moved to speedway and rode for West Ham (where the photo was taken) and Belle Vue among others.

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Around 1947 he moved to Stoke-on-Trent and rode for ‘The Potters’, my friend believes as captain.

Neither Dave nor Benny is still with us, of course, but Dave’s eldest son says: “Take nothing away from my dad – he was good – but Benny was the bee’s knees.”

D Hill,
Crawley, Sussex

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