The 1969 British League Division Two season was the second season of second tier motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

Summary

The league expanded from 10 to 16 teams in its second season. Weymouth Eagles dropped out after just one season. The seven new entrants included three newly created teams called the

Crewe Kings The Crewe Kings was a British Speedway team which operated in Crewe, Cheshire from 1969 until its closure in 1975. History The team first competed in 1969 promoted by Maury Littlechild for Allied Presentations who also promoted the Rayleigh Ro ...

, Doncaster Stallions and the Rochester Bombers. The King's Lynn Starlets who were the reserve side of the Stars also entered, along with

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30pm (first ra ...

who returned to league action (their first since 1962), the Long Eaton Rangers (formerly the Archers), and the

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 ...

(first since 1959). The Rochester Bombers team moved to

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

from 10 May, after the local council refused to give permission for racing and became known as the Romford Bombers.

Belle Vue Colts The Belle Vue Colts are the junior youth development team of the Belle Vue Aces, one of the World's most famous motorcycle speedway team, based in Manchester in the northwest of England. History Belle Vue first operated a reserve team during the ...

completed the league and cup double, which included retaining their league title. Ken Eyre and Eric Broadbelt were once again instrumental in helping the Colts win again and they were backed up well by Chris Bailey and Bill Moulin.

Final table

British League Division Two Knockout Cup

The 1969 British League Division Two Knockout Cup was the second edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams.

were the winners of the competition.

First round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

First leg Second leg Belle Vue Colts were declared Knockout Cup Champions, winning on aggregate 91–65.

Riders' Championship

Geoff Ambrose won the Rider's Championship, held at

Hackney Wick Stadium Hackney Wick Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium located at Waterden Road in the London Borough of Hackney. Origins The site chosen for the stadium was on land known as Hackney Marshes west of the River Lea and on the west sid ...

on 26 September. * f=fell, r-retired, ex=excluded, ef=engine failure

Final leading averages

Riders' final averages

Belle Vue Colts * Ken Eyre 9.84 * Eric Broadbelt 9.74 *Chris Bailey 8.25 *Bill Moulin 8.19 *Mike Hiftle 8.00 *Ken Moss 7.94 *Steve Waplington 7.94 * Taffy Owen 7.08 *Peter Thompson 6.67 *Colin Goad 5.17 Berwick *Maury Robinson 9.32 *Mark Hall 8.03 *Peter Kelly 7.93 *Bernie Lagrosse/Roy Williams 6.89 *Brian Black 6.12 *Ken Omand 4.73 *Andy Meldrum 4.60 *Ian Paterson 4.19 *Terry Holmes 3.53 *Alex Nichol 3.43 *Grieves Davidson 3.06 *Colin Robertson 2.74 *Bill Maxwell 1.67 Canterbury * Peter Murray 10.35 *Martyn Piddock 9.80 *Ken Vale 8.71 *Graham Miles 6.89 *John Hibben 6.57 *Barry Thomas 6.03 *Jake Rennison 5.33 *Dave Percy 4.69 *Jim Crowhurst 4.56 *Brian Foote 4.00 *Gerald Reardon 3.70 *Neville Brice 3.69 Crayford * Geoff Ambrose 10.03 *Archie Wilkinson 8.56 *Tony Childs 8.24 *Chris Harrison 6.51 *Mick Steel 6.44 *Colin Clark 6.17 *Tony Armstrong 5.26 *Judd Drew 4.33 Crewe * Geoff Curtis 10.10 *Paul O'Neal 8.88 *Barry Meeks 7.56 *Ian Bottomley 7.03 *Dave Parry 6.76 *Peter Seaton 6.46 *Colin Tucker 6.34 *Pete Saunders 5.92 *Glyn Blackburn 4.14 Doncaster *Terry Shearer 9.68 *Dave Baugh 8.76 *Guy Hawkes 7.00 *Chris Hawkins 6.38 *Derek Timms 5.77 *Alan Bridgett 5.72 *George Devonport 5.22 *

Doug Wyer Doug Wyer (born 16 August 1947 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England) is a former international speedway rider who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1976. Rode for Young Lions V Great Britain on 6 April 1976 at Leicester ...

3.82 *Stuart Ulph 3.73 *Neil Glover 2.18 Eastbourne *Barry Crowson 9.93 *Reg Trott 8.70 *Alby Golden 7.88 *Hugh Saunders 7.00 *

Dave Jessup David John Jessup (born 7 March 1953 in Ipswich, England) is a former speedway rider who finished runner-up the Speedway World Championship in 1980 to fellow countryman Michael Lee.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Spe ...

6.62 *Derek Cook 5.32 *Laurie Sims 4.99 *Cec Platt 4.60 *John Hedderick 4.15 *Tony Hall 4.00 *Joe Robson 3.76 *Ray Boughtflower 2.67 Ipswich *John Harrhy 7.87 *Pete Bailey 7.74 *Ted Spittles 7.61 *Ron Bagley 7.34 *Ernie Baker 6.38 *Dennis Wasden 5.30 *Neville Slee 4.81 *Gil Farmer 4.19 *Mike Coomber 4.09 *Bernie Aldridge 3.88 King's Lynn *George Barclay 9.18 *Ken Vale 7.33 *Ian Turner 7.16 *Peter Seaton 7.00 *

Arthur Price Arthur Price is a Sheffield-based manufacturer of cutlery and silverware, originally established in Birmingham, England in 1902, and later moving to Sheffield. It opened a subsidiary plant again in Birmingham and by the 1950s was the biggest ...

6.57 *Tony Featherstone 5.29 *Peter Maxted 5.07 *John Ingamells 4.05 *Russ Osborne 3.76 *John Knock 2.40 *Chris Blythe 1.75 *Nigel Spindler 1.33 Long Eaton *

Tony Lomas Anthony Carl Lomas (born 10 May 1943) is a former motorcycle speedway rider From England. Biography Born in Coventry, Lomas took up speedway at a Coventry training school in 1967 and after being signed by Coventry Bees was loaned out to Weymou ...

10.49 *Geoff Penniket 8.26 *Peter Wrathall 7.78 *

Malcolm Shakespeare Terence Malcolm Shakespeare (born 25 April 1950) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Career Born in West Bromwich, Shakespeare had a second half ride at Cradley Heath before making his league debut in 1969 with Long Eaton Ranger ...

6.88 *Glyn Chandler 6.36 *Roy Carter 5.57 *Pat Adaway 4.98 *Peter Gay 4.82 *Gil Farmer 4.52 *Bernie Hornby 2.13 Middlesbrough *Terry Lee 9.28 * Tom Leadbitter 8.97 * Roger Mills 7.19 *Pete Reading 6.02 *Dave Durham 5.43 *

Bruce Forrester Bruce Millar Forrester (December 26, 1908 – January 30, 1995) was a judge of the United States Tax Court. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and graduated from Pembroke Country-Day School in 1928. He earned his undergraduate degree from th ...

5.13 *Tim Swales 4.75 *Paul O'Neal 4.57 Nelson *Murray Burt 8.00 *Dave Schofield 8.00 * Alan Knapkin 7.25 *Stuart Riley 5.71 *Sid Sheldrick 5.16 *Dai Evans 4.64 *Peter Thompson 4.29 *Paul Sharples 3.26 *Jack Lee 2.76 *Dave Beacon 1.83 Plymouth *Colin Sanders 7.17 *Bob Coles 6.37 *Dave Whittaker 6.18 *Chris Roynon 6.11 *Keith Marks 5.24 *John Hammond 4.33 *Ian Gills 4.21 *Clark Facey 2.42 Rayleigh *

Graeme Smith Graeme Craig Smith (born 1 February 1981) is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer who played for South Africa in all formats. In 2003, he was appointed captain of the national team, taking over from Shaun Pollock. He held th ...

10.74 *

Laurie Etheridge Laurie Etheridge (born 12 September 1948 in Pulborough, England) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned one international cap for the England national speedway team. Career His first attempt at speedway, i ...

8.53 *Mike Gardner 7.81 *Geoff Maloney 7.43 * Roger Wright 7.28 *Dingle Brown 7.17 *Terry Stone 6.18 *Dennis Mannion 5.50 *Barry Lee 4.39 *Ian Champion 4.25 *Bob Newman 3.90 Reading *Mick Bell 9.04 *Richard May 7.96 *Mike Vernam 7.79 *Alan Jackson 7.47 *Ian Champion 6.64 *Phil Pratt 6.33 *Dene Davies 6.18 *Bob Tabet 5.46 *Bernie Leigh 5.05 Rochester/Romford * Des Lukehurst 11.52 *

Ross Gilbertson Vernon Walter Ross Gilbertson (2 February 1931 – 8 February 2009) was a motorcycle speedway rider from Scotland. Career Gilbertson started racing in the British leagues during the 1954 Southern Area League, when riding for the California Po ...

10.10 *Phil Woodcock 9.17 *Brian Davies 7.28 *Tony George 5.93 *Brian Foote 5.48 *Frank Wendon 4.99 *Ian Gills 4.64 *Charlie Benham 3.40 *Chris Yeatman 3.20

References

{{Speedway British League Division Two seasons Speedway British League Division Two / National League