Gus Kuhn (17 October 1898 – 30 August 1966) was a successful

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

TT and

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 during the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

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 ...

, and served in the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Speedway

Kuhn captained the

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

team to victory in the 1929 Southern League Championship, and after Stamford Bridge closed in 1932, he spent nearly five years racing for the

Wimbledon Dons The Wimbledon Dons were a professional motorcycle speedway team who operated from the Wimbledon Stadium, Plough Lane in London.Jacobs, N. ''Speedway in London'', The track opened in 1928 and the Dons operated there from 1929 until 1991. They w ...

. In 1937 he moved to the

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 ...

and then

Lea Bridge Lea Bridge is a district in the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Waltham Forest in London, England. It lies 7 miles (11.3 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The area it takes its name from a bridge built over the River ...

Speedway Team in 1938, where he was captain. He retired from speedway in 1939 after a season 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 ...

"A wily master of track-craft, a brilliant mechanic, a darned hard man to get past (and not only because of his portly figure), and above all a thorough sportsman and a jolly good fellow". - Speedway News 16 May 1936

Kuhn made his first appearance for England during the first international test match against Australia (1930) and went on to have a number of international appearances throughout the decade.Sandys, Leonard (1948) ''Broadside to Fame! The Drama of the Speedways'', Findon, p. 21

Film appearance

The speedway scenes from the 1933 film

Britannia of Billingsgate ''Britannia of Billingsgate'' is a 1933 British musical comedy film directed by Sinclair Hill and starring Violet Loraine, Gordon Harker, Kay Hammond and John Mills. A family who work in the fish trade at Billingsgate Market encounter a film cr ...

were shot at

Hackney Wick Stadium Hackney Wick Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium located at Waterden Road in the London Borough of Hackney. Origins The site chosen for the stadium was on land known as Hackney Marshes west of the River Lea and on the west sid ...

and featured some of the leading riders in Britain at the time including Kuhn, Colin Watson,

Arthur Warwick Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more ...

Tom Farndon Tom Farndon (11 September 1910 – 30 August 1935), was a British speedway rider who won the Star Riders' Championship in 1933 whilst with the Crystal Palace Glaziers. Career Born in Coventry, Farndon started his career at the Lythalls Lan ...

Claude Rye Arthur Claude Rye known as Claude Rye (1908–1988) was an international speedway rider from England. Speedway career Rye came to prominence in 1929 after gaining a two year contract with Preston (speedway) and then joined Wimbledon Dons in 1 ...

and

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Republican, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. Se ...

Isle of Man TT

As a rider in the TT, Kuhn's greatest success came in the

1926 Isle of Man TT Further changes occurred in the 1926 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy with the scrapping of the Side-Car TT and Ultra-Lightweight TT Races from the lack of entries. Most of the TT Course had now been tarmacked, including the Snaefell Mountain Section ...

in the Junior TT division.
Results summary

Off track

In 1932 Kuhn founded Gus Kuhn Motors in Clapham Road, London. The company dealt in Triumphs, BSA and Nortons, its reputation for racing success was not to come until a few years later. After Kuhn's death in 1966, the Gus Kuhn name lived on, the firm now being run by his son-in-law, Vincent Davey. The team focused primarily on racing modifications to

Norton Motorcycles The Norton Motorcycle Company (formerly Norton Motors, Ltd.) is a brand of motorcycles, originally based in Birmingham, England. For some years around 1990, the rights to use the name on motorcycles was owned by North American financiers. From ...

and by 1969 they had won the British 500cc Championship, Castrol Championship, Duckhams Trophy, Grovewood Award and Redex Trophy. For a number of years, Norton racing kits and parts were produced for practically every part of the Norton. Over the years these racing machines supplied a number of notable riders including Mick Andrew, Charlie Sanby and Dave Potter.

Players cigarette cards

Kuhn is listed as number 25 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

External links

Isle of Man TT Rider Biography

Vintage Norton Commando Gallery

Gus Kuhn website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuhn, Gus 1898 births 1966 deaths British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Isle of Man TT riders Wimbledon Dons riders Wembley Lions riders Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I