Nigel Boocock (17 September 1937 – 3 April 2015) was a British

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 appeared in eight

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 ...

finals and was a reserve in one other (1962).

Career

Born in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, England, Boocock started his career with the

Bradford Tudors The Odsal Tudors or Bradford Tudors were a motorcycle speedway team based at Odsal Stadium in Bradford from 1950 to 1960.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History At the end of July 1950 the Odsal Tudors replaced ...

in 1955 and stayed there until 1957, followed by spells with the

Birmingham Brummies Birmingham Brummies are a British speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of British speedway, during the 1952 Speedway National Lea ...

and the

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30pm (first ra ...

, before moving in 1959 to the

Coventry Bees Coventry Bees were a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon near Coventry, England. History A Coventry team was first formed in 1928 and competed in the inaugural season of the Southern ...

. He spent the next eighteen seasons with the Bees, winning the

British League The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a second division starting in 1968 (which was renamed the ...

Championship in 1968. Boocock was the first English rider to win the prestigious FIM Internationale meeting held at Wimbledon. He was known for the blue leathers he raced in when most other riders wore black leathers – he was nicknamed "Little Boy Blue". He appeared with brother

Eric Boocock Eric Boocock (born 28 February 1945 in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, England) is a former Speedway rider who appeared in three Speedway World Championship finals. Career Eric Boocock started his career with the Middlesbrough Bears in 1961 and stayed the ...

in the 1970

Speedway World Pairs Championship The Speedway World Pairs Championship was an annual speedway (motorcycling) event held each year in different countries. The first competition was held in 1968 and the final competition was held in 1993. From 1994 it was merged with the World Team C ...

finals, finishing in third place. He was also a regular

England International The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

rider and captain of the National team for many years.

Personal life

Boocock married Cynthia Boon in 1958, and they had three children, Victoria, Darren and Mandy. He and Cynthia retired to Australia, which he had visited on numerous occasions with British Lions and England teams during the English winter months. For some time they lived in Maroubra (

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

), NSW; and Darren and Mandy attended Maroubra Bay Public School. In 2006, Boocock, who continued to support junior speedway and speedway in general, joined former World Champion

Ivan Mauger Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson ...

, and other guests such as South Australian speedway legends

John Boulger John Boulger (born 18 June 1945 in Adelaide, South Australia) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider. After he retired from riding Solos in the early 1980s, Boulger raced somewhat successfully in Speedcars (Midgets) from the mid- ...

and

Bill Wigzell Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

, Australian flagman

Glen Dix A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...

, and former

Rowley Park Speedway Rowley Park Speedway is a former dirt track racing venue that was located on Torrens Road in Brompton, South Australia and supplanted the Kilburn speedway (1946–1951) on Churchill Road, and the earlier Camden motordrome (1935– ...

(

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, South Australia) promoter

Kym Bonython Kym may refer to: * River Kym, in Cambridgeshire, England *Kym (singer) (born 1983), or Jin Sha, Chinese singer and actress *Know Your Meme, an internet meme documentation blog * Kpatili language's ISO 639 code People with the given name * Kym Bony ...

for the official opening of a junior speedway track on the infield of one of Australia's premier motorcycle speedways, the

Gillman Speedway Gillman Speedway (sometimes called Gillman Speedway Stadium) is a purpose built, long motorcycle speedway located in the Adelaide suburb of Gillman in South Australia. The track opened in 1998 and runs approximately 13 meetings per season fro ...

in Adelaide. Bonython officially opened the 111-metre-long track, with Boocock and Boulger acting as starting marshals for the night. In 2008 his son Darren Boocock, a former rider and

mascot, and his wife Sharon were killed in a road accident in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. His and Cynthia's children each had at least one child - Jack, Daniel, Carl, Thomas and Liam Nigel Boocock died on 3 April 2015, aged 77.Nigel Boocock 1937–2015
, speedwaygb.co, 3 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015

World final appearances

Individual World Championship

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

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, did not ride * 1962 -

- Reserve, did not ride *

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

- 7th - 8pts *

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

Göteborg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a p ...

Ullevi Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the ...

- 9th - 6pts *

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

- 8th - 8pts *

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

- 15th - 2pt *

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

- 16th - 1pt *

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

- 4th - 10pts *

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

- 9th - 6pts *

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

- 10th - 6pts

World Pairs Championship

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Gubbängens IP (with

Martin Ashby Martin Ashby (born 5 February 1944) is a retired English international speedway rider who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1968. He also finished third in the Speedway World Pairs Championship in 1969 with Nigel Boococ ...

) - 3rd - 21pts (11) *

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

Malmö Stadion Malmö Stadion, often known simply as Stadion before the construction of the new Stadion between 2007 and 2009, is a multi-purpose stadium in Malmö, Sweden. As of 2015, it is the home of association football club IFK Malmö, presently of Div ...

(with

) - 3rd - 19pts (6) ''* Unofficial World Championships.''

World Team Cup

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

(with

Peter Craven Peter Theodore Craven
, fansite biography by Jim Blanchard. (accessed 12 July 2006). (21 June 1934 – 2 ...

Ron How Ronald How (1929 – 2011) was an English international motorcycle speedway rider. Career summary How won seven Championships and six National Trophy wins in a 15-season career. He also rode in eight Speedway World Championships and won 44 ca ...

Ken McKinlay John Robert Vickers (Ken) McKinlay (7 June 1928 – 9 February 2003) was an international speedway rider, captaining Scotland, England, Great Britain and Europe teams. He also finished on the rostrum of the British Speedway Championship finals t ...

George White George White may refer to: Politicians * George White (died 1584) (c. 1530–1584), MP for Liverpool * George White (Liberal politician) (1840–1912), British Liberal member of parliament, 1900–1912 * George E. White (politician) (1848–1935), ...

) - 2nd - 30pts (1) *

Abensberg Abensberg () is a town in the Lower Bavarian district of Kelheim, in Bavaria, Germany, lying around southwest of Regensburg, east of Ingolstadt, northwest of Landshut and north of Munich. It is situated on the river Abens, a tributary of the ...

, Abensberg Stadion (with

Barry Briggs Barry Briggs (born 30 December 1934) is a New Zealand former speedway rider. Career He won the World Individual Championship title four times – in 1957, 1958, 1964 and 1966.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedwa ...

Brian Brett Brian Brett (born 28 April 1950) is a Canadian poet, journalist, editor and novelist.Brian Brett< ...

) - 3rd - 21pts (3) *

Kempten Kempten (, (Swabian German: )) is the largest Town#Germany, town of Allgäu, in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by th ...

(with

/ Charlie Monk /

/ Jimmy Gooch) - 3rd - 18pts (6) *

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

(with

Terry Betts Terence Arnold Betts (born 15 September 1943 in Harlow, Essex, England) is a former international speedway rider who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1974. He became World Pairs Champion with Ray Wilson in 1972 and was ...

Colin Pratt Colin George Pratt (10 October 1938 – 2 October 2021) was a British motorcycle speedway rider and later promoter of the Coventry Bees who compete in the British Elite League (speedway), Elite League. Racing career Born in Hoddesdon, Hertfords ...

) - 4th - 8pts (4) *

(with

/ Norman Hunter) - Winner - 40pts (10) *

Rybnik Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; szl, Rybńik) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 miles) from the Czech border. It is on ...

Rybnik Municipal Stadium Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; szl, Rybńik) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 miles) from the Czech Republic, Czech ...

(with

) - 2nd - 27pts (5) *

(with

/ Ray Wilson) - 2nd - 31pts (2) ''* 1960 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 ...

. All others for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boocock, Nigel 1937 births 2015 deaths Sportspeople from Wakefield British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Speedway promoters Coventry Bees riders Exeter Falcons riders Canterbury Crusaders riders Birmingham Brummies riders Bradford Tudors riders Bristol Bulldogs riders Ipswich Witches riders Swindon Robins riders