Robert Lawford Oakley (1921-1999) was an English speedway rider.

Speedway career

Oakley was a leading speedway rider in the late 1950s. He reached the final of the

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official champions ...

in the

1952 Individual Speedway World Championship The 1952 Individual Speedway World Championship was the seventh edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider. Australian rider Jack Young became the first rider to win a second title (and the first to win tw ...

and went on to win the bronze medal. 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 ...

who he joined from

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 ...

for £1,500 in July 1950.

World Final appearances

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

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 original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

- 3rd - 12pts

Family

His brother Tom Oakley was also a speedway rider.

References

1921 births 1999 deaths British speedway riders Wembley Lions riders Southampton Saints riders Norwich Stars riders {{Speedway-stub