Eric French (4 August 1913 – 17 February 1974) was an Irish-born

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, in the 1930s and 1940s, and represented 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 ...

in test matches.

Biography

Born in Ireland, French moved with his parents to England before he was one year old.Storey, Basil (1947) ''Speedway Favourites'', Sport-in-Print, p. 4 The family settled in

Tadworth Tadworth is a large suburban village in Surrey, England in the south-east of the Epsom Downs, part of the North Downs. It forms part of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. At the 2021 census, Tadworth (and Walton-on-the-Hill) had a population ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. He began

grasstrack Motorcycle Grasstrack is a form of track racing which typically, in its current form, takes place on a flat track consisting of two straights and two bends usually constructed in a field. It is one of the oldest types of motorcycle sports in t ...

racing in 1935, winning several trophies. While grasstrack racing in 1938 he was spotted by former Wimbledon rider

Claude Rye Arthur Claude Rye known as Claude Rye (13 January 1908 – 18 October 1988) was an international speedway rider from England. He earned four international caps for the England national speedway team. Speedway career Rye came to prominence in ...

, who arranged for French to try out for the Dons, and he was taken on as a junior. In 1939, he rode in the

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 ...

team at reserve, before his career was interrupted by

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 ...

. French worked at an aircraft factory in

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...

during the war, and did not race again until 1945. After practising at Rye House, he signed for

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 ...

in 1946. He scored nine points in his first match for New Cross, and established himself as a regular team member during the 1946 season, scoring at an average of 5.10.Hart, A. S. (1946) ''Know Your Rider: Facts Figures and Fotos - a Complete Record of the 1946 Season'', R. Verney Baker, Salford, p. 12-13 He spent four years with

Wembley Lions The Wembley Lions were an English ice hockey team. History The team were founded in 1934 but showed a continuity with the London Lions team which had played at various venues since 1924. The Wembley team were based at the newly built Empire ...

from 1953 to 1956, winning the 1953 league title and the 1954

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 ...

and London Cup double. French finished runner-up to

Alec Statham Alec George Statham (30 May 1912 Coventry, England – 8 March 1977) was a Speedway rider who won the London Riders' Championship in 1949. He earned 22 international caps for the England national speedway team. Biography Statham began grass ...

in the London Riders' Championship in 1949 after a run-off. He appeared in the 1949 film ''

Once a Jolly Swagman ''Once a Jolly Swagman'' (U.S. title: ''Maniacs on Wheels'') is a 1949 British film starring Dirk Bogarde, Bonar Colleano, Bill Owen, Thora Hird and Sid James. It was written by William Rose and Jack Lee, based on the 1944 novel of the sa ...

'', for which the racing scenes were shot at New Cross.

Test career

French rode in the

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 ...

team in the 1949 test series against Australia, scoring 3 points in the third test at New Cross and 7 points in the fourth test at

Harringay Harringay (pronounced ) is a district of north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the New River, where it crosses Green Lanes by Finsbury Park, and Duckett's ...

.Foster, Peter (2005) ''A History of the Speedway Ashes'', Tempus, , p. 95, 97, 105-110, 133-4 In 1950 he rode in all five test matches, scoring 6, 8, 0, 9, and 5. He was not selected in 1951 but returned for the fourth test at New Cross in 1952, scoring 5 points. At retirement he had earned 10 international caps for England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Eric 1913 births 1974 deaths British speedway riders English motorcycle racers New Cross Rangers riders Poole Pirates riders Rayleigh Rockets riders Wembley Lions riders Wimbledon Dons riders 20th-century English sportsmen