# 1935 Speedway National League

The 1935 National League Division One was the seventh season of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.

## Summary

Walthamstow Wolves relocated to Hackney Wick Stadium at the end of the 1934 season and started 1935 as the Hackney Wick Wolves. Walthamstow had been subject to resident complaints.
Plymouth Tigers and Birmingham dropped out so there were only 7 teams, 6 of which were located in London. Bluey Wilkinson of West Ham Hammers topped the rider averages.
The only non-London club, Belle Vue Aces, won their third consecutive national title and Knockout Cup and second treble after winning the A.C.U Cup.
British champion Tom Farndon of the New Cross Lambs was fatally injured in a scratch race at New Cross Stadium, on 28 August. He was involved in a crash with Ron Johnson, who clipped the safety fence and fell causing Farndon to crash into Johnson's bike. Farndon suffered a fractured skull and spine injury and was unconscious when he was transferred to the Miller General Hospital in Greenwich. He died two days later on 30 August.

## Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Belle Vue Aces | 24 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 36 |
| 2 | Harringay Tigers | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 26 |
| 3 | West Ham Hammers | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 25 |
| 4 | Wembley Lions | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 22 |
| 5 | Hackney Wick Wolves | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 21 |
| 6 | New Cross Lambs | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 20 |
| 7 | Wimbledon Dons | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 16 |

## Fixtures & results
### A fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | HAC | HAR | NC | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 45–27 | 45–26 | 41–30 | 46–25 | 35–35 | 41–31 |
| Hackney | 35–37 | | 40–30 | 29–43 | 43–28 | 38–33 | 29–43 |
| Harringay | 31–41 | 43–29 | | 44–27 | 41–30 | 40–31 | 30–39 |
| New Cross | 31–40 | 43–24 | 38–33 | | 34–38 | 43–29 | 38–33 |
| Wembley | 37–34 | 42–28 | 41–31 | 38–34 | | 28–42 | 35–36 |
| West Ham | 34–38 | 38–34 | 37–35 | 35–36 | 40–31 | | 45–26 |
| Wimbledon | 34–37 | 43–29 | 38–30 | 29–42 | 29–41 | 37–34 | |

### B fixtures

| Home \ Away | BV | HAC | HAR | NC | WEM | WH | WIM |
| Belle Vue | | 30–41 | 44–25 | 47–25 | 49–23 | 46–26 | 43–26 |
| Hackney | 35–35 | | 34.5–37.5 | 31–41 | 40–32 | 39–31 | 47–25 |
| Harringay | 46–25 | 32–35 | | 42–29 | 43–28 | 43–27 | 43–29 |
| New Cross | 25–47 | 35–37 | 30–41 | | 40–31 | 35–37 | 43–28 |
| Wembley | 30–42 | 45–26 | 32–39 | 50–22 | | 45–25 | 48–22 |
| West Ham | 39–33 | 42–28 | 39–33 | 44–28 | 41–31 | | 45–27 |
| Wimbledon | 35–36 | 26–46 | 35–36 | 41–30 | 25–46 | 43–27 | |

## Top Ten Riders

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Bluey Wilkinson | West Ham | 10.57 |
| 2 | Dicky Case | Hackney | 10.12 |
| 3 | Tom Farndon | New Cross | 9.74 |
| 4 | Max Grosskreutz | Belle Vue | 9.57 |
| 5 | Bill Kitchen | Belle Vue | 9.18 |
| 6 | Jack Parker | Harringay | 9.13 |
| 7 | Eric Langton | Belle Vue | 9.10 |
| 8 | Ron Johnson | New Cross | 8.78 |
| 9 | Jack Ormston | Harringay | 8.75 |
| 10 | Tommy Croombs | West Ham | 8.74 |

## National Trophy

The 1935 National Trophy was the fifth edition of the Knockout Cup.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 13/07 | Belle Vue | 55-52 | New Cross |
| 13/07 | Harringay | 70-35 | Hackney Wick |
| 11/07 | Wembley | 55-52 | West Ham |
| 10/07 | New Cross | 54-54 | Belle Vue |
| 09/07 | West Ham | 67-41 | Wembley |
| 08/07 | Hackney Wick | 47-61 | Harringay |
| | Wimbledon | Bye | |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 10/08 | Belle Vue | 64-34 | West Ham |
| 06/08 | West Ham | 54-53 | Belle Vue |
| 05/08 | Wimbledon | 41-64 | Harringay |
| 03/08 | Harringay | 69-39 | Wimbledon |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Belle Vue were National Trophy Champions, winning on aggregate 126-88.

## A.C.U Cup

The 1935 Auto-Cycle Union Cup was the second edition of the Cup and was won by Belle Vue for the second time.
First round
Group 1
| Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| Belle Vue Aces | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Wembley Lions | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Wimbledon Dons | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Group 2
| Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| Harringay Tigers | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| West Ham Hammers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| New Cross Lambs | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Hackney Wick Wolves | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 |

### Final

| Date | Team one | Team two | Score |
| 31/08 | Belle Vue | Harringay | 73–34 |
| 31/08 | Harringay | Belle Vue | 54-54 |

## London Cup

First round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| Hackney Wick | 48–57, 39–69 | West Ham |
| Wimbledon | 39–64, 32–75 | Harringay |
Semi final round
| Team one | Score | Team two |
| Wembley | 50–55, 41–66 | Harringay |
| West Ham | 63.5–41.5, 47–58 | New Cross |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Harringay won on aggregate 120–97

## Riders & final averages

Belle Vue
* Max Grosskreutz 9.57
* Bill Kitchen 9.18
* Eric Langton 9.10
* Joe Abbott 8.34
* Bob Harrison 7.19
* Wally Hull 5.41
* Frank Varey 4.95
* Eric Blain 3.23
* Tommy Allott 2.29
* Oliver Langton 2.18
* Acorn Dobson 1.89
Hackney
* Dicky Case 10.12
* Dusty Haigh 7.89
* Morian Hansen 6.23
* Wally Lloyd 6.16
* Bill Clibbett 5.62
* Clem Thomas 4.89
* Squib Burton 4.78
* Mick Murphy (John Glass) 4.62
* Fred Tate 4.44
* George Wilks 3.50
* Cliff Parkinson 3.00
Harringay
* Jack Parker 9.13
* Jack Ormston 8.75
* Norman Parker 6.86
* Les Wotton 6.21
* Bill Pitcher 5.97
* Norman Evans 5.00
* Fred Strecker 5.33
* Phil Bishop 4.78
* Billy Dallison 3.16
New Cross
* Tom Farndon 9.74
* Ron Johnson 8.78
* Joe Francis 7.17
* Norman Evans 6.80
* Stan Greatrex 6.02
* Nobby Key 4.86
* George Newton 4.53
* Harry Shepherd 4.00
* Roger Frogley 4.00
* Mike Erskine 3.86
* Roy Dook 3.37
* Fred Leavis 1.23
Wembley
* Frank Charles 8.60
* Wally Kilmister 8.33
* Lionel Van Praag 7.79
* Ginger Lees 6.35
* Gordon Byers 6.11
* Norman Evans 6.11
* Broncho Dixon 5.74
* Eric Gregory 5.04
* Dick Smythe 4.73
West Ham
* Bluey Wilkinson 10.57
* Tommy Croombs 8.74
* Arthur Atkinson 6.67
* Mick Murphy (John Glass) 6.50
* Tiger Stevenson 6.44
* George Saunders 4.76
* Arthur Warwick 4.27
* Rol Stobbart 4.22
* Stan Dell 3.70
* Ken Brett 3.13
Wimbledon
* Vic Huxley 8.71
* Syd Jackson 6.37
* Gus Kuhn 5.91
* Wal Phillips 5.66
* Jack Sharp 5.52
* Geoff Pymar 5.46
* Wal Morton 5.07
* Claude Rye 4.74
* Eric Collins 3.83