William Charles Gilbert (7 December 1916 – April 1992) was a

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

rider from England.

Speedway career

Gilbert was a leading speedway rider in the late 1940s. He reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in the

1949 Individual Speedway World Championship The 1949 Individual Speedway World Championship was the fourth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. It was the first running of the event since its suspension in 1939, due to World War II. The World ...

. He rode in the top tier of British Speedway, riding for

Wembley Lions The Wembley Lions were an English ice hockey team. History The team were founded in 1934 but showed a continuity with the London Lions team which had played at various venues since 1924. The Wembley team were based at the newly built Empire ...

. He initially retired from speedway in 1951, but did return in 1952 for the

Norwich Stars Norwich Stars were a motorcycle speedway team based in Norwich, England which operated from 1930 until their closure in 1964.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History Speedway racing was staged in Norwich both before ...

World Final appearances

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

- 11th - 6pts

References

1916 births 1992 deaths British speedway riders Wembley Lions riders Norwich Stars riders {{Speedway-stub