Wally Lloyd

Wally Lloyd
Born(1910-02-06)6 February 1910
Birmingham, England
Died11 February 1989(1989-02-11) (aged 79)
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1928–1929, 1934Hall Green/Birmingham Bulldogs
1929–1930Perry Barr
1930Crystal Palace Glaziers
1931Lea Bridge
1932Southampton Saints
1932-1933Clapton Saints
1935Hackney Wick Wolves
1936–1937Wembley Lions
1938Wimbledon Dons
1946–1948Belle Vue Aces
Team honours
1938, 1946, 1947National Trophy Winner
1938London Cup Winner
1946A.C.U. Cup Winner

Walter Richard Lloyd known as Wally Lloyd (6 February 1910 – 11 February 1989) was a motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the earliest days of the sport in Britain. He earned eight international caps for the England national speedway team.[1]

Biography

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Born in Birmingham, Lloyd began his speedway career in 1928 at the Hall Green track.[2] When the Hall Green track closed, in 1929 he moved to Perry Barr, captaining the team at the age of 17, and earning the nickname "Whirlwind" for his racing style.[2] He started the 1930 season with Perry Barr in the Southern League, but after the team resigned from the league after four matches he moved on to Crystal Palace.[3] He went on to ride for Lea Bridge in 1931, Southampton/Clapton Saints in 1932, and Clapton in 1933.[3] He returned to Hall Green in 1934 before moving to Hackney Wick in 1935.[3] Two seasons followed with Wembley before he joined Wimbledon in 1938, where he stayed until league speedway's suspension due to World War II.[3]

Lloyd represented England several times between 1937 and 1939, and also rode and promoted the sport in South Africa.[2][3]

In 1946, with league speedway resuming, Lloyd joined Belle Vue and rode in the British Riders' Championship as well as riding again for England in the Test series against Australia in 1947 and 1948.[3] He retired after the 1948 season and in 1949 took on the role of manager for the re-opened Walthamstow Wolves team.[3]

Family

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His two brothers Johnny Lloyd and Jeff Lloyd were both professional speedway riders.[4][2]

Players cigarette cards

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Lloyd is listed as number 29 of 50 in the 1930s Player's cigarette card collection.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Chaplin, John (1983) "John Chaplin's 'Fireside Stories'", Speedway Star, 3 December 1983, p. 27
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Bamford, Robert (2003) Speedway: The Pre-War Years, Tempus, ISBN 0-7524-2749-0, p. 206-7
  4. ^ "Wally Lloyd's feat". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 23 September 1929. Retrieved 27 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Speedway Riders". Speedway Museum Online. Retrieved 29 July 2023.