The 1948 National League Division Three was the second season of British speedway's National League Division Three The league had expanded from 8 teams to 12. Reigning champions

Eastbourne Eagles The Eastbourne Eagles were a British speedway team, based at Arlington Stadium, near Eastbourne, England, that raced in the SGB Championship. History Speedway was initially introduced to Eastbourne in 1929. During their first league season th ...

were forced to close due to a petrol ban at their stadium, so their team moved a few miles along the Sussex coast to

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

. The new entrants

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England. History A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Southern ...

, Hull Angels,

Poole Pirates Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions. Poole Speedway is promoted by l ...

and

Yarmouth Bloaters The Yarmouth Bloaters were a motorcycle speedway team who operated from Yarmouth Stadium, Great Yarmouth from 1948 to 1962. History Speedway meetings had been taking place at Yarmouth Stadium since 1932. In 1948 the Yarmouth Bloaters speedway t ...

all struggled to make an impact and finished in the bottom five positions.

Exeter Falcons The Exeter Falcons were a speedway team based in the city of Exeter. The Falcons operated from 1947 to 2005 at the County Ground Stadium in Exeter. History In 1947, the Falcons competed in a league for the first time when they finished fourth ...

won their first title. Alf Bottoms of Southampton topped the averages. Eric Dunn of

Hastings Saxons Hastings Saxons were a British motorcycle speedway team which operated for two years between 1948 and 1949 at the Pilot Field in Hastings. History At the end of 1947, the Eastbourne Eagles were forced to close down due to a petrol ban enforced ...

was a third speedway rider (with Reg Craven and Bill Wilson) to be killed during the season. 34-year-old Dunn was riding in a meeting (on 13 June) at the Arlington track when he fell and was hit by a rider behind. He died two days later in hospital (15 June).

Final League table

Leading Averages

National Trophy

The 1948 Trophy was the 11th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Qualifying event for Division 3 teams saw

Southampton Saints Southampton Saints were a speedway team which operated from 1928 until its closure in 1963. Its track was located at Banister Court Stadium in Southampton, Hampshire. History Southampton was one of the founder members of the 1929 Speedway Sout ...

win the final and qualify for the Elimination event. The Elimination event for Division 2 teams saw

Birmingham Brummies Birmingham Brummies are a British speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of British speedway, during the 1952 Speedway National Lea ...

win the final and qualify for the

Quarter Finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

proper.

Qualifying Event First Round

Qualifying Second Round

Qualifying Third Round

Qualifying Final Round

First leg Second leg

References

{{United Kingdom Speedway Seasons Speedway National League Division Three 1948 in British motorsport 1948 in speedway