Alan Edward Cowland (17 March 1941 – January 2005) was a

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, who represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and Great Britain.

Biography

Born in St. Austell,

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, Cowland got his first taste of speedway at

Rye House Rye House may refer to: * Rye House Cobras, a defunct speedway team * Rye House (Litchfield, Connecticut), a Registered Historic Place in Litchfield, Connecticut *Rye House Plot, a plot to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother, Jam ...

in 1962, and was part of the

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, ...

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 ...

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 British League Division Two, second division starting i ...

team between 1962 and 1965, and represented Great Britain against an Overseas team and England against Scotland in 1964.Oakes, Peter & Mauger, Ivan (1976) ''Who's Who of World Speedway'', Studio Publications, , p. 33 After spells with

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They were champions of the United Kingdom five times and raced at Monmore Green Stadium from 1928 to 2023. History 1928–1930 Speedway (known ...

and

Wimbledon Dons The Wimbledon Dons were a professional motorcycle speedway team who operated from the Wimbledon Stadium, Plough Lane in London from 1929 until 1991. The team were seven times champions of Britain. History Origins The speedway track opened ...

he signed for

Leicester Lions Leicester Lions are a speedway team which originally operated from 1968 until 1983Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. and again from 2011. The team race at the Beaumont Park Stadium (or Hydroscand Arena for sponsorsh ...

in 1970, spending three seasons with the team, and winning the Midland Pairs Handicap trophy (with Graham Plant) in 1971.Jones, Alan (2010) ''Speedway in Leicester: The Lions Roar'', Automedia, p. 157 By the end of the 1972 season his average had dropped to just over three points and in 1973 he dropped down to the second division with

Hull Vikings The Hull Vikings were a Motorcycle speedway, speedway team from Kingston upon Hull, Hull, England, who operated from 1971 to 2005, primarily from The Boulevard (stadium) and Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park. History Origins, 1940s and Hull An ...

, representing the 'Young England' team against Australasia that year. In 1974 he moved on to

Workington Comets The Workington Comets are a British motorcycle speedway club, based in Workington, Cumbria based at the Northside Speedway track (known as the GT Tyres Arena for sponsorship purposes). The team previously operated from 1970 to 2018 and were ba ...

and had a few rides in the first division with Hull, moving to the Vikings on a full-time basis in 1975. After seasons with

Mildenhall Fen Tigers The Mildenhall Fen Tigers are a British speedway team, founded in 1975, who last raced in the National Development League during 2023. History 1970s The original track was built in 1971 on farm land owned by Terry Waters, with Bernie Kla ...

and

Peterborough Panthers The Peterborough Panthers were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Peterborough, England from 1970 to 2023. They were three times List of United Kingdom speedway league champions, champions of the United Kingdom, winning the highest lev ...

in which his average steadily declined, he retired in 1976. During his career Cowland also raced in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria and

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

, and learned to speak German, French, and Czech. Cowland also worked as a toolmaker/turner, and after speedway ran a car dealership in

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a market town in the North Northamptonshire, Unitary Authority area, England, from London and from Northampton, north of the River Nene. Originally named "Wendelingburgh" (the stronghold of Wændel's people), the Anglo ...

. He was found hanged in his garage in Wellingborough in January 2005.Roach, L. (2005)
Comets Fans in Mourning
, ''Hexham Courant'', 4 February 2005, retrieved 2012-03-16

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowland, Alan 1941 births 2005 suicides 2005 deaths Suicides by hanging in England British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Sportspeople from St Austell Exeter Falcons riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders Wimbledon Dons riders Leicester Lions riders Newport Wasps riders Hull Vikings riders Workington Comets riders Mildenhall Fen Tigers riders Peterborough Panthers riders 20th-century English sportsmen