Derrick Edward Bradley (28 November 1924 – 30 October 2022) was an English
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.
Speedway career
When Bradley left school he became an apprentice mechanic for a company called Skurrays. After competing in grasstrack racing he was given a trial by
Bristol Bulldogs
The Bristol Bulldogs were a British motorcycle speedway team based in the Knowle Stadium, Bristol, England from 1928 to 1978.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''.
History
The club was formed in 1928. Their first trophy ...
manager Bill Hamblin.
[ He raced a few times in 1948 and was a league winner with Bristol during the ]1948 Speedway National League Division Two
The 1948 National League Division Two was the third post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Edinburgh Monarchs were new participants as the league was extended to 9 teams.
Bristol Bulldogs were crowned champion ...
season and the 1949 Speedway National League Division Two
The 1949 National League Division Two was the fourth post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
Summary
The League was extended to 12 teams with the addition of new entrants Walthamstow Wolves and Ashfield Giants ...
season.
Bradley became one of the leading speedway riders in the 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 championsh ...
on three occasions in the 1951 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1951 Individual Speedway World Championship was the sixth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.
Speedway riders from Sweden, Scotland and Republic of South Africa appeared in the World Championshi ...
, 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 the 1953 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1953 Individual Speedway World Championship was the eighth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.
Welshman Freddie Williams became the second rider to win a second title in front of a 90,000 atten ...
. He was capped by the England national speedway team
The Great Britain Speedway Team (also known as GB Speedway Team) is one of the major teams in international speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen and Simon Stead, and captained by the 2018 Speedway World Champ ...
against Australia in 1952.[
He rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1948-1965, riding for various clubs. His successes included winning the ]National Trophy
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
and the National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
with the 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 ...
.
At retirement he had earned 24 international caps for the England national speedway team
The Great Britain Speedway Team (also known as GB Speedway Team) is one of the major teams in international speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen and Simon Stead, and captained by the 2018 Speedway World Champ ...
.[
Bradley lived in ]Chiseldon
Chiseldon is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It takes its name from the Old English cisel dene, or gravel valley, being noted in the Domesday Book as ''Chiseldene''.
The village lies on the edge of the ...
, Wiltshire for 65 years.[ He died on 30 October 2022.]
World final appearances
Individual World Championship
* 1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
– 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 ...
– Reserve - 2pts
* 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, Wembley Stadium – 7th – 9pts
* 1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
– London, Wembley Stadium – 15th – 2pts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Dick
1924 births
2022 deaths
British speedway riders
Bristol Bulldogs riders
Newport Wasps riders
Southampton Saints riders
Sportspeople from Wiltshire