Cyril Maurice Squibb (21 November 1921 – 30 August 2004) (known as Jimmy Squibb during his speedway career) was an international

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 clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

rider from England. He earned four international caps for the England national speedway team and four caps for the Great Britain team.

Biography

Squibb, born in Poole, began his British leagues career riding for Southampton Saints during the 1947 Speedway National League Division Three season. He helped Southampton win the

National Trophy National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

in 1948, became the club captain and continued to be a prominent rider for the south coast team until midway through the 1951 season, when Southampton withdrew from the league. He needed a new club and was signed by Harringay Racers for a fee of £800, to ride in the top division. In 1952, he was approached by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

under a new promotion but eventually left Harringay for his home town club

Poole Pirates Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions. Poole Speedway is promoted by l ...

, which turned out to be a good move because the club won the league and cup double. He rode five seasons for Poole from 1952 to 1956 and won another league and cup double in 1955. His final season at Poole was in the top division of British speedway and was one to forget because he was involved in a horrific crash that resulted in the death of Malcolm Flood in April 1956. He returned to Southampton from 1957 to halfway through the 1959 season, when he switched to Poole again. In 1960, he moved to join the

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British motorcycle 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 7.30 ...

and was with them up to the point when they withdrew from the league in 1962. This forced a move to the

Provincial League Provincial League (formerly known as Professional League) also known as Pro League was the old regional Football league in Thailand in 1999–2008. It was founded in 1999 under the name "Provincial League" organized by Sports Authority of Thailan ...

with Plymouth Devils, where he topped the team averages at 9.74. Another fractured season followed in 1963, which saw his new club

New Cross Rangers The New Cross Rangers were a motorcycle speedway team which operated from 1934 until their closure in 1953. They also rode as the New Cross Lambs from 1934 to 1935 and then the New Cross Tamers in 1936. The team were List of United Kingdom Spe ...

disband and Squibb join

Exeter Falcons The Exeter Falcons were a Motorcycle speedway, speedway team based in the city of Exeter. The Falcons operated from 1947 to 2005 at the County Ground Stadium in Exeter. History Origins & 1920s Speedway began at the County Ground in 1929, ...

for the remainder of the season. He found stability in 1964 with Exeter and was with them in 1965 when the new British league was formed. Squibb had previously captained Great Britain and continued to perform at a high level and as he entered his 24th year of racing he joined Cradley Heathens for the 1970 British League season. He raced with

Eastbourne Eagles The Eastbourne Eagles were a British motorcycle speedway team, based at Arlington Stadium, near Eastbourne, England. They were founded in 1929 and are two times champions of Britain in 1995 and 2000. The team last raced on 31 July 2021. Hist ...

in 1973 and Canterbury Crusaders in 1974 and 1975, the latter his 29th and final season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Squibb, Jimmy 1921 births 2004 deaths British speedway riders Canterbury Crusaders riders Cradley Heathens riders Eastbourne Eagles riders Exeter Falcons riders Harringay Racers riders Ipswich Witches riders New Cross Rangers riders Newport Wasps riders Plymouth Devils riders Poole Pirates riders Southampton Saints riders