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California Poppies were a British
California in England, California Country Park, Nr
Speedway in California first started in 1933 at the California Country Park, an area known as California in England at the time. The track was situated on the north west side of Longmoor Lake (51°22'54.3"N 0°52'35.4"W) on land that formed part of Longmoor Bog and the track had a concrete starting grid. Events were held every year from 1933 to 1940 before the Reading and District Motor Club ended racing due to
speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida.
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta.
*Indianapolis Motor Spe ...
team based at Longmoor SpeedwayCalifornia in England, California Country Park, Nr
Wokingham
Wokingham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 38,284 and the wider built-up area had a populati ...
, Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
.
History
Speedway in California first started in 1933 at the California Country Park, an area known as California in England at the time. The track was situated on the north west side of Longmoor Lake (51°22'54.3"N 0°52'35.4"W) on land that formed part of Longmoor Bog and the track had a concrete starting grid. Events were held every year from 1933 to 1940 before the Reading and District Motor Club ended racing due to 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 ...
.
The team known as California Poppies first raced league speedway in 1954 in the 1954 Southern Area League and were crowned champions. The following season in 1955, they finished runner-up to Rye House Roosters before they competed for one more league season in 1955, finishing 4th.
The team disbanded the following season with the promotion and nickname moving to Aldershot
Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
to become the Aldershot Poppies. The move was primarily made because of the petrol rationing caused by the Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
.
Season summary
Notable riders
*Jimmy Gleed *Gil Goldfinch *Peter Mould * Tommy SweetmanSee also
* *List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
The List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions is split into three divisions, the top tier, the second tier and third tier, all three divisions have been known in various guises such as National League, Premier League, Elite League and many ...
References
{{United Kingdom Speedway Seasons Sport in Berkshire Defunct speedway teams in the United Kingdom