Geoffrey Pymar (14 February 1912

Eye, Suffolk Eye () is a market town and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district, in the north of the English county of Suffolk, about south of Diss, Norfolk, Diss, north of Ipswich and south-west of Norwich. The population in the 2011 census of 2,154 ...

– 2 March 2002)Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2003) ''Bristol Bulldogs: 50 Greats'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. was an English 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 who rode in the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

final in

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 ...

.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. He earned 12 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 ...

Career

Pymar was the son of a farmer.Morgan, Tom (1949) ''Who's Who in Speedway'', Sport-in-Print, p. 62 After first racing motorcycles in 1931, he took up speedway in 1933, racing at Norwich that year. Pymar started his career with the Norwich Stars, a non-league outfit, spotted by

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 ...

and rode at the

Wimbledon Stadium Wimbledon Stadium, also known as Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, was a greyhound racing track located in Wimbledon in southwest London, England. It also hosted stock car and other small circuit motor racing events, and until 2005 hosted motorc ...

for seven seasons 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 1938 he was part of the Wimbledon team that won the National Trophy. Also in 1938 he competed in the World Championship Final at Wembley Stadium. In 1934, 1935 and 1939 Pymar 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 ...

in Test Matches. After the war he joined

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 ...

and in 1948 was a member of their National League Championship winning team.Jacobs, N. (2008) ''Out of the Frying Pan'', The History Press LTD In 1949 he joined the

Harringay Racers Harringay Racers refers to multiple British ice hockey teams based in Harringay, London, United Kingdom. Harringay Racers The first team to use the Harringay Racers moniker was founded in 1936 and initially played alongside Harringay Greyhou ...

for a fee of over £1,200. The following season the newly promoted

Bristol Bulldogs The Bristol Bulldogs were a British motorcycle speedway team based at the Knowle Stadium, Bristol, England from 1928 to 1961Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. and later Eastville Stadium from 1977 to 1978. History ...

paid the Racers £1,000 for Pymar's services. Pymar stayed with Bulldogs until they closed in 1955 and he was expected to retire. However, in 1956 he joined the

Norwich Stars Norwich Stars were a motorcycle speedway team based in Norwich, England, which operated from 1930 until their closure in 1964.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. History Origins and 1930s Speedway came to Norwich ...

and rode for two seasons. He did not ride in 1958 or 1959 but in 1960 he was signed by the

Yarmouth Bloaters The Yarmouth Bloaters were a motorcycle speedway team who operated from Yarmouth Stadium in Caister-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth, from 1948 to 1962. History In January 1948 the Speedway Control Board considered licence applications from 17 n ...

in the newly formed

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 ...

. The Bloaters lasted just one season but Pymar was approached by the

Middlesbrough Bears The Middlesbrough Bears were a British speedway team which operated under various names from 1929 until their closure in 1996. History Origins and 1920s Speedway arrived in Middlesbrough during 1928 when an attendance of 15,000 turned up f ...

to ride for them. After starting the season with the Bears, the travelling became too much and Pymar was transferred to the

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 ...

. He had one final season with the Bradford Panthers in 1962 before he finally retired.

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 - 7pts

After retirement

Pymar became a golf caddy and was regularly seen on the tour with

Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is an English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain from ...

. In 2002 he was voted as President of the Veteran Speedway Riders Association but died whilst in office.

Players cigarette cards

Pymar is listed as number 38 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:Pymar, Geoff 1912 births 2002 deaths British speedway riders Wimbledon Dons riders Bristol Bulldogs riders New Cross Rangers riders Harringay Racers riders Wolverhampton Wolves riders Norwich Stars riders Yarmouth Bloaters riders