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INTERNATIONALS - UNITED KINGDOM

England v Australia 1934 to 1939

© = captain

1934 Australia won series 3-2 Complete heat details here Attendance
OFFICIAL 07.06 : Wembley England 38 Australia 69 50,000
20.06 : New Cross England 58 Australia 48
09.07 : Wimbledon England 51 Australia 54
21.07 : Belle Vue (Hyde Road) England 60½ Australia 45½
21.08 : West Ham England 50 Australia 57 80,600

England Total Total
Ginger Lees 15 13 13 14 11 66 Bill Kitchen - - 4 - - 4
Eric Langton - 14© 16© 15© 13© 58 Geoff Pymar - - 3 - - 3
Joe Abbott - 13 11 10 9 43 Harold Stevenson 0 - - 1½ 1 2½
Tom Farndon 8 9 4 4 7 32 Gordon Byers 2 - - - - 2
Frank Charles 5 - - 13 2 20 Norman Parker - - - - 0 0
Tommy Croombs - 3 - 3 7 13 Joe Francis - 0 - - - 0
Wally Key 2 6 - - - 8 Claude Rye - 0 0 - - 0
Colin Watson 6© - - - - 6 Les Wotton 0 - - - - 0
Australia
Max Grosskreutz 15 3 15 11 15 59 Lionel van Praag 6½ 2 1 4½ 2 16
Ron Johnson 10 10 9 15 10© 54 Frank Pearce - - 3 - - 3
Bluey Wilkinson 12 9 4 5 16 46 Frank Arthur - 2 - - - 2
Dick Case 13 13 7 4 8 45 Wally Little - - - 1 1 2
Jack Sharp - 3 13 4 5 25
Vic Huxley 12½© 6© 2© 1© - 21½

{short description of image} On the left, the England bodycolour of series top-scorer Harold "Ginger" Lees
from the Allen Trump collection

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1934 29.09 : Belle Vue (Hyde Road) England v. Australia
UNOFFICIAL Note : This match now moved to England v Australasia

1935 England won series 4-1 Complete heat details here Attendance
OFFICIAL 06.06 : Wembley England 56 Australia 52
19.06 : New Cross England 59 Australia 46 30,000
06.07 : Belle Vue (Hyde Road) England 59 Australia 48
30.07 : West Ham England 40 Australia 66 71,000
24.08 : Harringay England 63 Australia 44 15,000
England Total Total
Eric Langton 15 13 17 8 14 67 Jack Ormston 5 - - - 14 19
Tom Farndon - 14 11 6 10 41 Tommy Croombs 2 0 5 9 2 18
Frank Charles 11 6 - 6 12 35 Harold Stevenson - - - 4 - 4
Bill Kitchen 12 10 10 3 - 35 Norman Parker - - - - 2 2
Jack Parker 10 8 3 2 9 32 Bob Harrison 0 - - - - 0
Joe Abbott 1 8 13 2 0 24
Australia
Max Grosskreutz 15 11 9 17 12 64 Dick Case - 12 3 6 5 26
Bluey Wilkinson 10 5 13 9 7 44 Jack Sharp 4 0 1 - 0 5
Ron Johnson 9 8 11 13 2 43 Mick Murphy* - - 0 0 - 0
Vic Huxley 6 8 6 9 10 39
Lionel van Praag 8 2 5 12 8 35 * real name John Glass

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England team (left to right) : Alec Jackson (team manager), Jack
Parker, Tommy Croombs, Eric Langton (captain), Tom Farndon,
Joe Abbott, Bill Kitchen, and the reserves Harold "Tiger"
Stevenson and Bob Harrison.
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Australia team (left to right) : Dick Case, reserves Mick Murphy
and Jack Sharp, Max Grosskreutz, Vic Huxley (captain), Lionel
van Praag, Bluey Wilkinson, and Ron Johnson.

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1935 30.07 : Plymouth England 25 Australia 29
UNOFFICIAL No details

1936 England won series 3-2 Complete heat details here
OFFICIAL 28.05 : Wembley England 65 Australia 43
20.06 : New Cross England 49 Australia 56
04.07 : Belle Vue (Hyde Road) England 70 Australia 38
20.07 : Wimbledon England 58 Australia 47
18.08 : West Ham England 35 Australia 73

England Total Total
Frank Charles 13 18 16 13 8 68 Ginger Lees 2 4 - 2 - 8
Eric Langton 12 0 13 15 4 44 Arthur Atkinson - - - - 6 6
Bill Kitchen 5 - 16 11 8 40 Stan Greatrex - 5 - - - 5
Jack Parker 12 8 5 7 0 32 Jack Ormston - 1 - - 3 4
George Newton 16 7 - 1 4 28 Tommy Croombs - - - - 2 2
Joe Abbott 5 6 13 - - 24 Gus Kuhn 0 - - - - 0
Wal Phillips - - 7 9 - 16
Australia
Lionel van Praag 4 12 11 15 15 57 Eric Collins - - - 4 2 6
Bluey Wilkinson 11 7 6 9 16 49 Billy Lamont - - 2 - - 2
Dick Case 2 16 8 5 11 42 Jack Sharp 0 0 0 2 - 2
Vic Huxley 7 4 4 12 11 38 Mick Murphy - 2 0 - - 2
Max Grosskreutz 13 12 - - 10 35 Dick Smythe 0 - - - - 0
Ron Johnson 6 3 7 0 8 24

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These beautiful plaques were presented to the riders who took part in the England v Australia Test series in the 1930's. This one, still in excellent condition, was presented to England's H R "Ginger" Lees for his four appearnaces (4 stars at the top) in the 1936 series. This comes from the collection of Allen Trump.

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Programme scans for all five of the 1936 Test Matches have been supplied by Roger Stevens {short description of image}

1937 27.05 : Wembley England 66 Australia 41 Attendance : 48,000
OFFICIAL


 Due to the weakness of the Australian team, this projected 5-match series was curtailed, and replaced by an England v Overseas series. Australia were without Huxley (retired), Grosskreutz (now a promoter at Norwich), and would have lost Ron Johnson (suspended). Bluey Wilkinson would also have missed the planned 2nd Test due to injury.
England
Frank Charles © 2 3 1' 2 8 + 1 1: Praag, Charles, Ormston 3-3 3-3
2: Wilkinson, Parker, Langton 3-3 6-6
3: Atkinson, Kitchen, Case 5-1 11-7
4: Praag, Langton, Parker 3-3 14-10
5: Wilkinson, Atkinson, Kitchen 3-3 17-13
6: Charles, Ormston, Case 5-1 22-14
7: Collins, Kitchen 2-3 24-17
8: Wilkinson, Ormston, Charles 3-3 27-20
9: Langton, Parker, Case 5-1 32-21
10: Praag, Charles, Ormston 3-3 35-24
11: Parker, Wilkinson, Langton 4-2 39-26
12: Atkinson, Kitchen, Johnson 5-1 44-27
13: Parker, Langton, Praag 5-1 49-28
14: Wilkinson, Kitchen, Atkinson 3-3 52-31
15: Ormston, Mitchell, Case 3-3 55-34
16: Atkinson, Praag, Kitchen 4-2 59-36
17: Wilkinson, Ormston, Johnson 2-4 61-40
18: Langton, Parker, Case 5-1 66-41
4th places & non-finishers not available
Jack Ormston 1' 2' 2 1' 3 2 11 + 3
Eric Langton 1' 2 3 1 2' 3 12 + 2
Jack Parker 2 1' 2' 3 3 2' 13 + 3
Bill Kitchen 2' 1' 2 2' 2 1 10 + 3
Arthur Atkinson 3 2 3 1' 3 12 + 1
Ginger Lees 0
Tommy Croombs 0
Australia
Lionel van Praag © 3 3 3 1 2 12
Eric Collins 3 3
Bluey Wilkinson 3 3 3 2 3 3 17
Charlie Spinks 0
Dick Case 1 1 1 1' 1 5 + 1
Clem Mitchell 2 2
Ron Johnson 1 1 2
Ernie Evans 0
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1937 Australia won series 5-0 Heat details here Attendance
DIV.2 13.07 : Nottingham England 53 Australia 55 15,000
30.07 : Bristol England 29 Australia 78 12,700
05.08 : Belle Vue Mersey England 48 Australia 60
25.08 : Southampton England 43 Australia 64
08.09 : Birmingham England 51 Australia 56
The England team in this "National Provincial League"series was sometimes referred to in the speedway press as Provincial Riders, English Provincial League, English Provincial Riders, or Provinces.
The 3rd match was originally due to be held at Liverpool but the track closed. The team - and this match - was moved to Belle Vue (Hyde Road)
England Pts-Bns-R
George Greenwood 8-2-6© 7-2-6 16-0-6 6-2-5 13-0-6 50-6-29 {short description of image}
Harry Shepherd 7-2-6 7-0-6 4-2-4 3-0-6 6-2-6 27-5-28
Syd Griffiths - - - 14-1-6 9-4-6 23-5-12
Fred Strecker 9-1-6 - - 9-0-6 - 18-1-12
Billy Dallison 14-2-6 2-0-3 - 0-0-1 - 16-2-10
Frank Goulden 8-1-6 4-1-6 1-0-5 - - 13-2-17
Wal Morton - - - - 14-1-6 14-1-6
Les Bowden 1-0-1 - 8-1-3 - 2-0-4 11-1-8
Stan Hart - 1-0-3 8-2-6© - - 9-2-9
Ernie Price - - 7-0-6 - - 7-0-6
Tiger Hart - - - - 6-1-6 6-1-6
Ted Bravery - - 4-0-2 2-0-4 - 6-0-6
Anderson - - - 5-1-5 - 5-1-5
George Dykes 5-0-2 - - - - 5-0-2
Wilf Jay - - - 4-0-3 - 4-0-3
Fred Leavis - 4-0-6 - - - 4-0-6
Tommy Allott - 4-0-5 - - - 4-0-5
Tommy Price* 1-1-3 - - - - 1-1-3
Malcolm Craven - - - - 1-0-2 1-0-2
Roy Dook - 0-0-1 - - - 0-0-1 {short description of image}
Eric Blain - - 0-0-4 - - 0-0-4
* the Liverpool rider, NOT the 1949 World Champion
Australia Pts-Bns-R
Lionel van Praag 18-0-6© 17-1-6 - 11-1-5 15-0-6 61-2-23
Dick Case 13-1-6 - 16-0-6 12-1-6 6-2-6 47-4-24
Bluey Wilkinson - 18-0-6 14-0-6© - 14-0-6 46-0-18
Eric Collins 7-1-6 14-3-6 12-1-6 8-2-6 2-0-3 43-7-27
Bill Rogers 7-3-6 11-5-6 5-1-6 2-1-1 2-1-3 27-11-22
Charlie Spinks - 0-0-2 5-1-6 10-3-6 11-0-6 26-4-20
Ron Johnson 1-0-3 10-1-4 - - - 11-1-7
Bert Jones - - - 11-0-6 - 11-0-6
Dicky Smythe - - - 10-0-6 - 10-0-6
Ernie Evans - 8-2-5 - - - 8-2-5
Bert Spencer - - 7-1-3 - - 7-1-3
Vic Duggan 6-1-6 - - - - 6-1-6
Steve Langton - - - - 5-1-6 5-1-6 As with the 1936 Wimbledon prograame
Billy Lamont 3-0-3 - 1-1-3 - - 4-1-6 above, this Bristol "cover" is actually
Mick Murphy - 1-0-1 - - - 1-0-1 page 3 - the front cover shows the Union
Flag, and the back cover shows the
Australian flag.

1938 England won series 3-2 Heat details here Attendance
OFFICIAL 28.05 : Belle Vue (Hyde Road) England 52 Australia 56 40,000
09.06 : Wembley England 63 Australia 44 47,000
29.06 : New Cross England 47 Australia 61 20,000
12.07 : West Ham England 55 Australia 51 40,000
25.07 : Wimbledon England 58 Australia 49

England Total Total
Bill Kitchen 13 11 12 11 9 56 Harold Stevenson - - - 8 - 8
Arthur Atkinson 4 10 12 13 8 47 Eric Langton - - - - 7 7
George Newton 11 11 - - 12 34 Alec Statham 2 - - 3 - 5
Tommy Croombs - 3 6 10 9 28 George Wilks - 1 4 - - 5
Frank Varey 12 13 1 1 - 27 Bob Harrison 3 - - - - 3
Geoff Pymar - 1 - 9 13 23 Les Wotton - - 2 - - 2
Frank Charles 7 13 0 - - 20 Jack Parker 0 - - - - 0
Stan Greatrex - - 10 - - 10
Australia
Bluey Wilkinson 15 15 18 14 18 80 Charlie Spinks 6 1 0 5 - 12
Lionel van Praag 2 15 18 7 10 52 Bill Rogers 2 1 2 - - 5
Max Grosskreutz 15 6 2 10 9 42 Bill Longley - - 3 - 1 4
Ron Johnson 8 1 11 7 4 31 Bert Spencer - - - - 4 4
Clem Mitchell 8 5 7 8 1 29 Eric Collins - - - - 2 2

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1939 England won series 4-1 Attendance
OFFICIAL 07.06 : New Cross England 62 Australia 46
26.06 : Wimbledon England 55 Australia 53
15.07 : Harringay England 48 Australia 58 25,000
12.08 : Belle Vue (Hyde Road) England 65 Australia 42
24.08 : Wembley England 71 Australia 36 30,000

England Total Total
Bill Kitchen 15 14 10 16 15 70 Frank Varey - - - 8 - 8
Jack Parker 11 10 8 15 11 55 Alec Statham - - 5 - 0 5
Arthur Atkinson 18 - 12 10 11 51 Stan Greatrex 3 - - - - 3
Eric Langton 6 10 8 8© 14 46 Wally Lloyd - 3 - - - 3
Tommy Croombs 8 6 3 - - 17 Norman Parker - - 2 - - 2
Joe Abbott - 3 - 8 - 11 Bob Harrison - - - 0 - 0
Malcolm Craven - - - 0 11 11 Bill Pitcher - - 0 - - 0
Tommy Price 1 - - - 9 10 Geoff Pymar 0 0 - - - 0
Frank Charles - 9 - - - 9 George Wilks - - - - 0 0
Australia
Vic Duggan 15 16 12 12 11 66 Bill Longley 3 1 0 - 0 4
Lionel van Praag 8 17 14 8© 11 58 Charlie Spinks 4 0 0 - 0 4
Ron Johnson 12 5 16 4 2 39 Ray Duggan 0 - - 3 0 3
Eric Collins 3 8 7 7 7 32 Ernie Evans ‡ - - - 2 - 2
Aub Lawson 1 1 8 6 5 21 Andy Menzies - - 1 0 - 1
Bert Spencer - 5 - - - 5
‡ Ernie Evans was actually selected to ride in the 3rd Test, but this was blocked by the Control Board, as on his A-C U licence application he had declared himself to be a South African (where he was born when his parents were on holiday!). This despite the fact that Evans had already represented Australia in official tests in 1933 and 1937

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The next match was in 1945

Contributors : Roger Stevens, Allen Trump, Graeme Frost

© Brian Collins 2004-08