Tommy Allott (15 May 1908 – 1 May 1975)Adam Allott
, buxtonhitmen.co, retrieved 2012-02-04 was a

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 from the sport's earliest days in Britain until the 1950s.

Career

Allott was born in

Denby Dale Denby Dale is a village and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is 8 miles north-west of Barnsley and 10 miles south-east of Huddersfield. The village is the main village in the Denby Dale civ ...

in 1908.Morgan, Tom (1947) ''The People Speedway Guide'', Odhams Press, p. 76 He rode for

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

in 1929, joining

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

in 1931 and then the

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 ...

in 1932, but retired after being seriously injured in a crash while racing that year at West Ham.Storey, Basil (1947) "Courage of Tommy Allott" in ''Speedway Favourites'', Sport-in-Print, p. 21Bamford, Robert (2003) ''Speedway: The Pre-War Years'', Tempus, , p. 174-5 With a metal plate in his left arm, he made a comeback in 1935, riding as a reserve for the

Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 14 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wit ...

, also riding that season in the

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 ...

for

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

. Struggling to regain his confidence, in 1938 he moved on to 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 ...

before joining

Sheffield Tigers The Sheffield Tigers (sponsored by Tru Plant) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. They were founded in 1929 an ...

the following year. During

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 ...

, Allott worked for

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

. When speedway returned after

, Rolls-Royce gave him leave of absence to compete again in speedway and he rejoined Sheffield, his racing making him one of the top riders in the Northern League, including a run of 27 consecutive heat wins. In 1946, he reached the final of the British Riders' Championship.Sandys, Leonard (1948) ''Broadside to Fame! The Drama of the Speedways'', Findon, p. 14 He stayed at Sheffield until 1949, joining

Edinburgh Monarchs The Edinburgh Monarchs are a Scottish speedway team based in Armadale. They compete in the SGB Championship, racing on Friday nights during the speedway season. The club is run by a board of directors, chaired by Alex Harkess and also runs a ...

in 1950, but transferring back to Sheffield later that year. He moved to the

Liverpool Chads Liverpool Chads are a defunct motorcycle speedway team who were based at the Stanley Stadium in Prescot Road, Fairfield, Liverpool, England.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing History Speed ...

for his final three seasons before retiring in 1953. Allott rode in several international matches, representing the Provincial League against Australia in 1937, England against the Dominion in 1938, and for Britain against the Overseas in 1950 and 1951. Tommy Allott died in May 1975.

Family

Allott's brother Guy Allott, nephew Nicky Allott and great nephew Adam Allott also became speedway riders.Sheffield still shale and hearty
, ''

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire, although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', 5 April 2004, retrieved 2012-02-04

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allott, Tommy 1908 births 1975 deaths British speedway riders English motorcycle racers West Ham Hammers riders Belle Vue Aces riders Norwich Stars riders Sheffield Tigers riders Liverpool Chads riders Stoke Potters riders Edinburgh Monarchs riders 20th-century English sportsmen