I refer to Mr L Salter’s letter regarding Cycle Speedway in Orpington in 1948 (News Shopper, May 28).
The Orpington Eagles did have a track at the Dinkey Cafe, in Ruxley Corner, Footscray.
The first track was at the site of the multi-storey car park by the war memorial, where four friends got together and started racing one another on the spare ground.
This was the start of the first cycle speedway team in the area. New members joined and we entered the Southern League and moved to the Dinkey Cafe and built a brand new track.
Race meetings were held and many clubs from as far away as Hastings, Eastbourne, and many London clubs raced here and it attracted large crowds.
A fan club was also started. These were happy, carefree days which are greatly missed today. You may be interested to know Phillips Cycles produced the first bike designed for the track and also introduced the first light protective helmet.
r Pacey Plantation Drive Orpington
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