Fred Wilkinson (8 June 1906 – September 1978) was a British

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 who rode in the early years of the sport, including riding for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

against Australia in 1931.

Biography

Wilkinson was born in

Coalville Coalville is an industrial town in the district of North West Leicestershire, Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England, with a population at the 2011 census of 34,575. It lies on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Tr ...

, Leicestershire in 1906, his father a miner at a local colliery.Jones, Alan (2010) ''Speedway in Leicester: The Pre-War Years'', Automedia, p. 193 The family moved to Binley near Coventry, and then

Seend Seend is a village and civil parish about southeast of the market town of Melksham, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of Devizes and northeast of the county town of Trowbridge. The parish includes the sub-village of Seend Cleeve and the ...

in Wiltshire, with Wilkinson starting his racing career in

grasstrack Motorcycle Grasstrack is a form of track racing which typically, in its current form, takes place on a flat track consisting of two straights and two bends usually constructed in a field. It is one of the oldest types of motorcycle sports in the ...

races. His early speedway experience was at the Gorse Hill Autodrome in

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

, and at

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. In 1929 he signed for the

Leicester Super Leicester Super was a motorcycle speedway team based at the Leicester Super Speedway near Melton Road. History Promotion company Speedways and Sports Ltd initially approached Leicestershire County Cricket Club in 1929 with a proposal to constr ...

team, also riding for

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, settling in

Syston Syston ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of Charnwood in Leicestershire, England. The population was 11,508 at the 2001 census, rising to 12,804 at the 2011 census. Overview There has been a settlement on the site for over 1,000 ...

, Leicestershire, where he ran a garage. He captained the Super team in 1930, and stayed with the team until it closed in 1931. Wilkinson rode for England in the second Test match of 1931 against Australia, staged at Leicester Super Speedway, scoring three points.Foster, Peter (2005) ''A History of the Speedway Ashes'', Tempus, , p. 23-5 He was selected at reserve for the fourth test at Belle Vue but did not score from his one ride. Wilkinson moved on to ride for Belle Vue in 1932. He was commemorated by an event in the 1980s that bore his name: The Fred Wilkinson Trophy match was staged at

Leicester Stadium Leicester Stadium was a sports stadium on Parker Drive in Leicester. The stadium was initially used for greyhound racing with motorcycle speedway starting there five years later. It was also a venue for BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars. Greyhound ...

between 1980 and 1983, with a further staging at

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

in 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Fred 1906 births 1978 deaths British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Leicester Super riders Coventry Bees riders Belle Vue Aces riders People from Coalville People from Syston Sportspeople from Leicestershire