George William Newton (27 January 1913 in

Ash Vale Ash Vale is a village in the borough of Guildford in Surrey, England and the larger, northern settlement of the civil parish of Ash. It is 7 miles (11 km) from Guildford but is closer to the Hampshire towns of Aldershot and Farnborough, the ...

, England – 5 October 1984) was an international

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

rider who featured in the first Speedway World Championship in final in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. Newton also rode under the alias of Bill Bennett.

Career summary

Newton started his career with the

Crystal Palace Glaziers Crystal Palace Glaziers were a British speedway team that existed from 1928 to 1939. History They first competed in the Southern League in 1929 and were based at Crystal Palace Exhibition Grounds, Sydenham, South London. The continued to comp ...

in 1932 and stayed with the promotion when they moved to

New Cross New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich, ...

in 1934.Jacobs, Norman (2001). ''Speedway in London''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing He made his

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 ...

debut in 1936 and qualified for the World final, his first of three. At the end of the 1938 season Newton retired due to illness, but not before helping New Cross to 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 ...

championship.Jacobs, N. (2008) ''Out of the Frying Pan'', The History Press LTD After the war Newton made a surprise comeback, after a benefit meeting was arranged for him in 1947 as he was still suffering from illness. He returned to the New Cross team in 1948 as they won the Championship for the second time. Further surgery at the end of 1948 was needed and it was assumed that Newton would retire but in 1949 he joined the

Fleetwood Flyers Fleetwood Flyers were a speedway team in Fleetwood, England that operated from 1948 until 1952. Home meetings were raced at Highbury Stadium, Park Avenue in Fleetwood. Seasons The Flyers first competed in the National League Division Two in 1 ...

in the National League Division Two where he recorded eight maximum scores in fifty appearances. 1950 saw Newton at Walthamstow Wolves followed by a season with the

Liverpool Chads Liverpool Chads are a defunct motorcycle speedway team who were based at the Stanley Stadium in Prescot Road, Fairfield, Liverpool, England.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing History Liverp ...

in 1951.Pavey,A. (2004) ''Speedway in the North-West'', Tempus Publishing Ltd. He started 1952 with the Chads but moved to St Austell Gulls of the Southern League for the remainder of the season, before becoming their team manager for the following two seasons.Jackson, J. (2006) ''St Austell Speedway'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

World Final Appearances

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 ...

- 9th - 4pts + 12 semi-final points *

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

- 9th - 5pts + 11 semi-final points *

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

- 15th - 2pts + 5 semi-final points

Players cigarette cards

Newton is listed as number 33 of 50 in the 1930s Player's

cigarette card Cigarette cards are trading cards issued by tobacco industry, tobacco manufacturers to stiffen cigarette packaging and nicotine marketing, advertise cigarette brands. Between 1875 and the 1940s, cigarette companies often included collectible ca ...

collection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, George 1913 births 1984 deaths British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Fleetwood Flyers riders Liverpool Chads riders New Cross Rangers riders St Austell Gulls riders