Arthur Atkinson (12 November 1911 – July 1993)Bamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) ''Speedway - The Pre War Years'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. 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 and promoter who appeared in the first Speedway World Championship final in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

Biography

Atkinson began riding motorcycles at the age of thirteen.Sandys, Leonard (1948) ''Broadside to Fame! The Drama of the Speedways'', Findon, p. 15 He rode in trials and grasstrack before taking up speedway in 1928 with Blackpool. In 1929 he joined

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, captaining the team, and in 1930 won the Western Australia Championship. In 1930 he joined the Johnnie Hoskins-managed Wembley Lions. The team won the Southern LeagueJacobs, N & Lipscombe, P (2005). ''Wembley Speedway : The Pre-War Years''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing but in the last league meeting of the season Atkinson was left unconscious after a crash. He missed most of the 1931 season after a dispute with Wembley but in September 1931 he joined the

West Ham Hammers The West Ham Hammers were a speedway team that raced at West Ham Stadium in London, England, from 1929 to 1971. The team were twice champions of the United Kingdom. History Origins and 1920s Speedway arrived at West Ham in 1928, the ina ...

.Belton, Brian (2003). ''Hammerin' Round''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Atkinson toured Australia in 1929/30, winning both the first of two Australian 2 mile Championship's held at the Exhibition Speedway in Melbourne, and the Western Australian Championship at the Claremont Speedway in Perth. 1936 saw Atkinson selected for

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 ...

against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the test series and was a regular up to the war.Foster, P. (2005) ''History of the Speedway Ashes'', The History Press Ltd. He would go on to earn 30 international caps. Atkinson married Eileen Thorpe (the secretary of Johnnie Hoskins) on 23 October 1937 and the couple left for Australia, where Atkinson raced that winter. In 1937 the Hammers won the National League Championship and in 1938 they won the ACU Cup. Atkinson remained with Hammers until the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in which Atkinson served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. After the war he managed the West Ham Hammers alongside Stan Greatrex from 1946 until 1949. In 1950 Atkinson and his wife Eileen 'Tippy' Thorpe became promoters at the newly formed Rayleigh Rockets.Jacobs, Norman (2000). ''Speedway in East Anglia''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Whilst promoting at Rayleigh he returned to riding again, for West Ham, but the twelve years away from competitive riding showed in his scoring. In 1952 he was signed by the Harringay Racers for £80 and scored reasonably well but after a poor start to 1953 Atkinson retired from racing for ever.Jacobs, Norman (2001). ''Speedway in London''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing In addition to his speedway career, he ran a farm with his wife.

World final appearances

- London,

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

- 16th - 3pts + 6 semi-final points *

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - 14th - 6pts + 8 semi-final points *

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - 11th - 5pts + 5 semi-final points

Players cigarette cards

Atkinson is listed as number 2 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 car ...

collection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Arthur 1911 births 1993 deaths British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Speedway promoters Harringay Racers riders Leeds Lions riders Wembley Lions riders West Ham Hammers riders 20th-century English sportsmen