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Richard Herbert Edwards (8 February 1917 – 13 June 2008) was an international motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned seven international caps for the England national speedway team.

Biography

Edwards was born in Liverpool but attended Hyde School in Hendon and later Goldbeaters Modern School in Burnt Oak. He was a member of the Northern Cycling Club before he and his younger brother Harry Edwards joined the Kenton and Kingsbury Motor Cycle Club. The pair gained recognition as grass track riders before moving into conventional speedway. He began his British leagues career riding for Walthamstow Wolves during the 1950 Speedway National League Division Two, where he joined his brother who was already a Walthamstow rider.

In 1951, after starting the season with Walthamstow he was loaned out to Aldershot Shots and remained at the club for the first half of the 1952 before transferring from parent club Walthamstow to Cardiff Dragons for £400.

His riding average was solid but not particularly special and it was not until he joined Ipswich Witches that his career took off. He left Cardiff following their withdrawal from the league in 1953 and although he only rode 8 matches for Ipswich during the remainder of the season, he averaged 9.12.

He became very popular at Ipswich where attendances consistently approached 20,000 and was described as an idol by the press. In 1955, he averaged 9.45 and was club captain. In 1956, he was called up by England for test matches that included fixtures against Sweden and Australia. His final two seasons were with Ipswich in the highest division of British speedway in the National League.

Family

His father was Richard Edwards was a councillor in Harrow and his uncle was Bob Edwards, a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1955 to 1987.

References

1. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
2. "Speedway in the 1950s". Ipswich Star. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
3. ^ "Speedway team man and Individualist". Harrow Observer. 20 September 1956. Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "Thrills and Spills". Acton Gazette. 23 July 1948. Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. "1950 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
6. "Brother against brother". Aldershot News. 20 April 1951. Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
8. "Speedway". Aldershot News. 4 April 1952. Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Rider Moves". Daily Mirror. 8 July 1953. Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
11. "England win third speed test". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 5 July 1956. Retrieved 15 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.

• 1917 births
• 2008 deaths
• British speedway riders
• Aldershot Shots riders
• Ipswich Witches riders
• Walthamstow Wolves riders