| Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as | | | | Camberley, Surrey and Droylsden, Lancashire. Despite |
| speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and | | | | being described as "the first British Dirt Track |
| sometimes up to six riders competing over four | | | | meeting" at the time, the meeting at Camberley |
| anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway | | | | on 7 May 1927 differed in that the races were held in |
| motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes | | | | a clockwise direction. |
| and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually | | | | Races at Droylsden were held in an anti-clockwise |
| consisting of dirt or loosely packed shale. Competitors | | | | direction but it is generally accepted that the sport |
| use this surface to slide their machines sideways, | | | | arrived in the United Kingdom when Australians Billy |
| powersliding or broadsiding into the bends. On the | | | | Galloway and Keith McKay arrived with the intention |
| straight sections of the track the motorcycles reach | | | | of introducing speedway to the Northern Hemisphere. |
| speeds of up 70 miles per hour (110 km/h). | | | | Both featured in the 1928 High Beech meeting. The the |
| Originating in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia, in | | | | first speedway meeting in the UK to feature bikes with |
| the 1920s, there are now both domestic and | | | | no brakes and broadsiding round corners on loose dirt |
| international competitions in a number of countries | | | | was the third meeting held at High Beech on 9 April |
| including the Speedway World Cup whilst the highest | | | | 1928, where Colin Watson, Alf Medcalf and |
| overall scoring individual in the Speedway Grand Prix | | | | "Digger" Pugh demonstrated the art for the |
| events is pronounced the world champion. Speedway | | | | first time in the UK. Proto speedway was staged in |
| is popular in central and northern Europe and to a | | | | Glasgow at the Olympic Stadium (Glasgow Nelson) on |
| lesser extent in Australia and North America. A variant | | | | April 9, 1928 and the first fully professional meeting |
| of track racing, speedway is administered | | | | was staged at Celtic Park on April 28, 1928. The first |
| internationally by the Fédération Internationale de | | | | meeting in Wales was staged at Cardiff White City on |
| Motocyclisme (FIM). Domestic speedway events are | | | | Boxing Day 1928. |
| regulated by FIM affiliated national motor sport | | | | In the late 1920s, Australian Colin Stewart of Colac, |
| federations. | | | | Victoria won the prestigious Silver Gauntlet. He also |
| The first speedway meeting, as reported in the | | | | achieved success at an international level, racing for |
| Maitland Mercury newspaper, took place on 15 | | | | Southampton in 1929 and captained the Glasgow in |
| December 1923 at the Maitland Showground in the | | | | the Northern League in 1930 before moving to |
| Lower Hunter Valley, New South Wales, motorcycle | | | | Wembley in 1931, for whom he rode in just four |
| wholesale ,Australia. There is evidence that there may | | | | matches, averaging 4.00 points per match. He also |
| have been earlier meetings in Australia and broadsiding | | | | raced in the 1930 Scottish Championship which was |
| on small dirt tracks had been practised in America | | | | won by Wembley's Harry Whitfield. |
| since before World War I. A rider named Don Johns | | | | The forerunner of the World Championship, the Star |
| was known to have done this before 1914. It was said | | | | Riders' Championship, was inaugurated in Great |
| that he would ride the entire race course wide open, | | | | Britain in 1929 but was split in to two sections as it was |
| throwing great showers of dirt into the air at each turn. | | | | felt that the British riders were not yet the equal of the |
| His style of cornering was followed in the United | | | | Australians and Americans. Frank Arthur won the |
| States by riders such as Albert "Shrimp" | | | | Overseas Section and Roger Frogley the British. The |
| Burns, Maldwyn Jones and Eddie Brinck well before | | | | following year the two sections were amalgamated |
| 1923. The first meeting in the United Kingdom took | | | | and Vic Huxley proved to be the winner. Huxley was |
| place at High Beech on 19 February 1928. There are, | | | | also runner-up three times and won the first British |
| however, claims that meetings were held in 1927 at | | | | Match Race championship in 1931. |