EARLY in 1949, work began on the construction of the Abbey Stadium in Blunsdon, and a track measuring 410 yards was eventually constructed with a cinder surface. It was on the warm summer evening of Saturday 23 July that the Swindon Robins (who were to operate as a non-league club) first took to the track in a challenge match against Oxford, who at the time were riding in the Third Division of the National League. Reg Lambourne (formerly with Fleetwood) was captain on that historic day, with the rest of the side being Bill Downton, Ginger Nicholls, Harry Hughes, Bob Jones, Ivor Atkinson and the two reserves, Paul Best and Tom Wilson.
The attendance was recorded as some 8,000 people, although former stadium general manager and speedway promoter Ted Nelson always believed that the gate was nearer 10,000. Those present witnessed nineteen-year-old Patricia Dainton, the star of the Ivor Novello film The Dancing Years, cut the tape and declare the stadium open. Some two hours later, after fourteen heats of exciting speedway racing, the Robins had lost by 45 points to 39. Ginger Nicholls was very much the main man of the show - having got married earlier that day in Poole, he dashed back to ride for the Robins and top-scored with 11 points, winning the first-ever race and setting the track record of 82.8 seconds.
On 27 August, the track surface was changed from cinders to red shale and it certainly suited Bob Jones and his style of riding, for he immediately set a new track record of 77.6 seconds in the opening heat of a challenge match against Plymouth. ‘Joner', as he was affectionately known, was to go on and become a legend at Swindon and is widely regarded as ‘Mr. Swindon Speedway'. Bob was born in Swindon in 1919, and was, in fact, the first rider to sign for the Robins. Indeed, it was said that he actually sat out the 1948 season, having ridden for Bristol in 1947, in order that he would be free to join his hometown track! Over the years, Jones served the club as a rider, mechanic, team manager and machine examiner. Right up to his death in December, 1996, Bob proudly claimed that he had never missed a meeting at Blunsdon in 48 seasons of racing!
After just two months of open licence racing, Swindon received an unexpected boost when Third Division Hull were forced to close down and the Robins were invited to take over the remaining fixtures of the East Yorkshire side. Managing director Reg Witcomb was only too pleased to accept the offer on behalf of Swindon. In order to strengthen the Robins team, four of the defunct Hull side joined the Blunsdon set-up, those riders being Mick Mitchell, George Craig, Alf Webster and Derek Glover. Five of the existing pool of riders were retained, namely Reg Lambourne, Bob Jones, Bill Downton, Harry Hughes and Tom Wilson, while the rest were given free transfers. The biggest surprise was the failure of Ginger Nicholls to continue his good form of the opening meeting. Ginger, whose real name was actually Stan, struggled badly and it was a major disappointment after his early success: indeed, by late August, he was down to just second-half rides.
The Robins began their league campaign with an away fixture at Poole on 5 September. They lost that first official match 53-31. The line-up from that historic meeting is recorded thus: (1) Mick Mitchell; (2) Bill Downton; (3) Derek Glover; (4) Allan Briggs; (5) Alf Webster; (6) Reg Lambourne; (7) George Craig; (8) Bob Jones. Mitchell topped the Swindon scoring with 10 points, but received very little back-up against a powerful-looking Poole outfit for whom three riders scored double figures - Ticker James (12), Cyril Quick (11) and Fred Pawson (10). A further four away defeats followed at Hastings, Hanley (Stoke), Plymouth and Leicester, before Swindon staged their first home league match. Hastings were the visitors to Blunsdon for the occasion on 17 September, but the Robins lost a thrilling meeting by just 2 points (43-41). The following week, however, they did register a first league victory when defeating local rivals Oxford, 42-41, in a thrilling encounter.
Swindon only completed thirteen league matches that year, as Hull had already ridden 35 of their scheduled fixtures at the time of their withdrawal. The combined record of the two tracks was enough for Swindon to finish in eleventh position in the thirteen-team league, with Mick Mitchell topping the Robins' averages on a 7.13 figure. George Craig was next in line (6.69), with Bob Jones (6.08) being the only other teamster to achieve an average in excess of 6 points. One thing, however, was very clear: the fans of the Robins had shown their love of the sport in a very short time, with membership of the Supporters' Club topping the 5,000 mark!
CALL FOR SITES
Swindon Motorsports Ltd launches "Call for Sites" to help identify new motorsports arena in Swindon.
THE 1940s
