George Wilks (born 1908, date of death unknown) 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 for

Harringay Harringay (pronounced ) is a district of north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the New River, where it crosses Green Lanes by Finsbury Park, and Duckett's ...

and

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, and also rode in test matches for England. Born in East End of London Wilks was riding motorbikes before he was a teenager, racing 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 ...

and also travelled to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

to compete in the TT in 1929, only to suffer injuries in practice which led to five months in hospital, and a break of three years from motorcycle racing.Morgan, Tom (1949) ''Who's Who In Speedway 1949'', Sport-in-Print, p. 73-4 In the early 1930s he won the South Midlands grasstrack title several times, and was encouraged to move to speedway by Australian international Frank Arthur. He first rode for Harringay, transferring to

Hackney Wick Hackney Wick is a neighbourhood in east London, England. The area forms the south-eastern part of the district of Hackney, and also of the wider London Borough of Hackney. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are sometimes a ...

at the end of 1935 for a transfer fee of 25.Storey, Basil (1947) "'Lion' Who Cost Wembley Fee of £350" in ''Speedway Favourites'', Sport-in-Print, p. 9 In early 1938 he was transferred to Wembley for 350, finishing as third-highest points scorer in his first season with the Lions. He worked in a factory during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, returning to Wembley when speedway resumed, and was part of the team that won the National League Championship and the London Cup in 1946. Wilks was first called up by

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 ...

in 1939, as a reserve in the final test against Australia at Wembley, but did not ride.Foster, Peter (2005) ''A History of the Speedway Ashes'', Tempus, , p. 77, 80-82, 87 In 1947 he rode at reserve for

in the second test match against Australia at West Ham, scoring ten points from four rides. He also rode in the final test at Wembley, scoring nine points. He rode in the first test at Wimbledon in 1948, scoring eleven points in England's 61–45 win. His career was interrupted by a fractured thigh in 1948, and in 1949 was loaned to

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

as a temporary replacement for

Eric Chitty Eric Stephenson Chitty (28 April 1909 – 1990) was a Canadian speedway rider who won the London Riders' Championship in 1938. Early days Chitty was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1909. Before taking up speedway he worked as an electrical ...

who had broken a leg. He retired in 1954. He opened a bicycle shop in

Radlett Radlett is a village in Hertfordshire, England, between Elstree and St Albans on Watling Street, with a population of 8,042. It is in the council district of Hertsmere in the south of the county, and is covered by two wards; Aldenham East and ...

, Hertfordshire.

Players cigarette cards

Wilks is listed as number 49 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

1908 births Year of death missing British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Harringay Racers riders Wembley Lions riders West Ham Hammers riders {{England-speedway-bio-stub