Arthur Ernest Warwick (18 August 1908 – 7 March 1982) 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 seven international caps for the

England national speedway team The Great Britain national speedway team (formerly the England speedway team) is one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen and Simon Stead, and captained by th ...

Biography

Warwick, born in East Ham, London, rode in the pioneer years of British speedway beginning his British leagues career riding for

Stamford Bridge Pensioners The Stamford Bridge Pensioners were a speedway team which operated from 1929 until their closure in 1932.Bamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) ''Speedway - The Pre War Years'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. History In 1928 the new sport known a ...

during the

1929 Speedway Southern League The 1929 Southern League was the inaugural season of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams. There was also a Northern League called the 1929 Speedway English Dirt Track League that started during the same year. ...

season, the inaugural season of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom. He remained at Stamford Bridge for four seasons, following them into the National League in 1932, when the Southern and Northern leagues merged. He helped Stamford Bridge win the 1932 National Association Trophy. Despite the success by Stamford Bridge during the 1932 season, the team dropped out of the league and the management at

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 ...

brought him into their team for the season, only for Wimbledon to then replace him with Syd Jackson shortly afterwards. Warwick was disillusioned by the situation and considered leaving the sport but he did help out the Clapton Saints as an injury replacement but was not allowed to sign for them permanently. In 1934, he signed for

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 ...

on loan from Wimbledon (because he was on their retained list) where he spent the last two years of his speedway career. He retired to take up coaching and promotionat the rebuilt Dagenham track in Ripple Road and raced side-cars before going into team promotion.

Film appearance

The speedway scenes from the 1933 film Britannia of Billingsgate were shot at

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

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

Tom Farndon Thomas 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 Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City sta ...

Gus Kuhn Gustave Emil Kuhn (17 October 1898 – 30 August 1966) was a successful British TT and motorcycle speedway rider during the 1920s and 1930s. He earned four international caps for the England national speedway team and served in the Royal Na ...

, Claude Rye and

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Rep ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warwick, Arthur 1908 births 1982 deaths British speedway riders Lea Bridge speedway riders Stamford Bridge Pensioners riders West Ham Hammers riders Wimbledon Dons riders