Peter Theodore Craven
, fansite biography by Jim Blanchard. (accessed 12 July 2006). (21 June 1934 – 24 September 1963)
by Trevor James on official Belle Vue site (accessed 12 July 2006). was an English

motorcycle racer The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...

. He was a finalist in each

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...

from 1954 to 1963 and he won the title twice (in 1955 and 1962). He was British Champion in 1962 and 1963.Belle Vue Aces 1928-2004
on official Belle Vue site (accessed 12 July 2006).

Personal life

Craven was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and had four sisters and an older brother, Brian Craven, who also became a speedway rider. He also had a twin brother who died at an early age. He got his first racing experience when he started participating in cycle speedway.

Career

Peter Craven got his first taste of motorcycle speedway racing in 1949 at the Stanley Stadium, Prescot Road, Liverpool. He visited the stadium a day after his sixteenth birthday and drove a few laps on his brother's bike, before hitting the safety fence and sustaining a concussion. He was later given another chance to show his abilities to the Liverpool Chads, but after just one lap he hit the fence again. Despite this, he was included as a reserve in the team's away match against the Leicester Hunters. He made eight league appearances for the Liverpool Chads in Division II during 1951, scoring eight points. and he was with the Chads when they finished thirteenth in Division Two."About Exeter Speedway 1951"
He also rode for the Fleetwood Flyers. The next year, he made 10 league appearances equally divided between Manchester's Belle Vue and the Liverpool Chads. Craven made his Belle Vue debut on 17 May 1952 when he scored two points in a race against the visiting

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 ...

. That season, he made four more league appearances for Belle Vue, but he only managed to score one point in those races combined. In 1953, Peter became a regular Aces rider and scored 70 points in 12 matches, but the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

required his services, and he missed several matches. He continued racing for Belle Vue during his

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

. During 1954 he made 24 league appearances and top-scored for his club. He qualified for his first Wembley World final and scored one point more than the brilliant Swedish rider

Ove Fundin Ove Fundin (born 23 May 1933) is a Swedish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1951 to 1970. Fundin is notable for winning the Speedway World Ch ...

. About this time as a young man he owned his

Jowett Jupiter The Jowett Jupiter is a British sports car which was produced by Jowett, Jowett Cars Ltd of Idle, West Yorkshire, Idle, near Bradford. Following the launch of the all new Jowett Javelin and its successes in competition, Jowett decided to use it ...

road car which still exists. In 1955, on his second try, Peter sensationally won the first of his two

World Championships at Wembley. In 1958, Peter captained the English team against Sweden in Sweden, finishing top scorer; he also top-scored in the five-test series against Australasia. In 1959 he took on Ove Fundin and won the Golden Helmet Match Race Championship, the Champions of Champions Cup at

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

; the Northern Cup at Belle Vue; the Internationale Derby at

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

; the Pride of the East at Norwich; the

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 ...

Memorial Trophy at New Cross; the Champagne Derby again at Belle Vue, the CTS Trophy at Norwich and the Pride of the Midlands at Leicester. At the end of 1959, Craven travelled to

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 ...

where he spent the 1959/60 Australian season riding at the Rowley Park Speedway in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

where he regularly rode against Adelaide's own

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

World Champion Jack Young. Craven proved to be a popular rider in Adelaide. In 1960 Peter came third in the World Championship final staged at Wembley when Ove Fundin beat Ronnie Moore into second place after a thrilling run off, all three riders having scored an equal number of points after their five rides. During 1961 he captained the Lions on a tour to Austria. He came third in the first

Internationale Individual Trophy meeting at the Harringay Stadium and was second in the British Final at Wembley. 1962 was another good year for Peter. He followed his three British Championship victories by carrying off his second World Individual Championship at Wembley in front of 62,000 fans. Craven's son Robert was also a speedway rider.Bott, Richard (ed.) (1979) ''The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.3'', Stanley Paul & Co. Ltd., , p. 72-3

World final appearances

Individual World Championship

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

- 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 ...

- 15th - 3pts *

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - Winner - 13pts *

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - 4th - 11pts + 2pts *

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - 3rd - 11pts + 3pts *

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - 4th - 11pts + 2pts *

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - 9th - 7pts *

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - 3rd - 14pts + 1pt *

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

Malmö Stadion Malmö Stadion, often known simply as Stadion before the construction of the new Stadion, Malmö, Stadion between 2007 and 2009, is a multi-purpose stadium in Malmö, Sweden. As of 2015, it is the home of association football club IFK Malmö, p ...

- 10th - 6pts *

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - Winner - 14pts *

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

- London, Wembley Stadium - 10th - 6pts

World Team Cup

* -

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Ullevi Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the ...

(with Ron How / Ken McKinlay /

Nigel Boocock Nigel Boocock (17 September 1937 – 3 April 2015) was a motorcycle speedway rider from England. who appeared in eight Speedway World Championship finals. He holds the record number of caps for Great Britain (64) and the record for total numbe ...

/ George White) - 2nd - 30pts (8) *

* -

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

(with Ron How / Bob Andrews / Ken McKinlay) - 3rd - 21pts (8) *

Slaný Slaný (; ) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 17,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, ur ...

(with

Barry Briggs Barry Briggs (born 30 December 1934) is a New Zealand former speedway rider. Career He won the World Individual Championship title four times: in 1957, 1958, 1964 and 1966.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway ...

/ Ronnie Moore / Ron How / Cyril Maidment) - 2nd - 24pts (6) *

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Stadion Wien (with

/ Dick Fisher / Peter Moore) - 3rd - 25pts (8) ''* 1960 and 1961 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 ...

. All others for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

.''

Death

Craven died as a result of a racing accident in a challenge match at Edinburgh's Old Meadowbank stadium on 20 September 1963."Peter Craven Tragedy", '' Speedway Star'', 28 September 1963, p. 18 While taking evasive action to avoid hitting fallen race leader George Hunter who suffered

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

failure, Peter hit a fence. The unconscious Craven was rushed to the

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Com ...

, where his family remained at his bedside until he died at 9.10pm on Tuesday 24 September 1963. There are allegations made that Peter Craven had started ten yards behind the other riders by way of a handicap. In 1963, in National League and National Trophy matches Craven, as a 'star grade rider' would start with a twenty-yard handicap. However, in this challenge match, Peter was actually at the tapes with the other riders but allowed the others to pull away ahead of him to make the racing more exciting. Since 1967, there has been a Peter Craven Memorial meeting held intermittently at the

Belle Vue Stadium Belle Vue Stadium was a Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing track in Belle Vue, Manchester, England, where the first race around an oval track in Britain was held on 24 July 1926. It has also been used for motorcycle speedw ...

in honour of his memory. Winners of the Memorial have included World Champions Ivan Mauger (the inaugural winner), Ole Olsen, Peter Collins,

Greg Hancock Gregory Alan Hancock (born June 3, 1970, in Whittier, California) is a former professional motorcycle speedway rider from the United States. As of 2023, he was one of only six riders to have won the individual World Championship four or more ti ...

Jason Crump Jason Philip Crump (born 6 August 1975) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Australia (UK born). He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, and a World Cup winner. In a 21-year career in Speedway, Crump finished with sev ...

and

Chris Morton Christopher John Morton, MBE (born 22 July 1956) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned 115 international caps for the England national speedway team and 7 caps for the Great Britain team, making him the third most capp ...

His gravestone stands in West Derby Cemetery in Liverpool.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, Peter Theodore 1934 births 1963 deaths British speedway riders English motorcycle racers Individual Speedway World Champions British Speedway Championship winners Motorcycle racers who died while racing Belle Vue Aces riders Fleetwood Flyers riders Liverpool Chads riders Sport deaths in Scotland Sportspeople from Liverpool 20th-century English sportsmen