# 1947 Speedway National League Division Two

The 1947 National League Division Two was the second post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. In the previous season, the league was known as the Northern League but the addition of Bristol Bulldogs and a third tier saw the name revert to the one used 8 years previously.
As well as Bristol Bulldogs, Wigan Warriors were new entrants bringing the total teams to 8. Middlesbrough Bears won the title. In fact the entire top five were unchanged from the previous season.
Norwich Stars 38-year-old rider Cyril Anderson died instantly on 16 August, during a best pairs event at Norwich. Anderson was leading when he skidded and was hit by a rider from behind Remarkably another rider died the same day, 27-year-old Wembley rider Nelson 'Bronco' Wilson received fatal injuries in a National Trophy match.

## Final Table Division Two

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Middlesbrough Bears | 28 | 20 | 0 | 8 | 40 |
| 2 | Sheffield Tigers | 28 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 36 |
| 3 | Norwich Stars | 28 | 16 | 0 | 12 | 32 |
| 4 | Birmingham Brummies | 28 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| 5 | Newcastle Diamonds | 28 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 26 |
| 6 | Bristol Bulldogs | 28 | 11 | 0 | 17 | 22 |
| 7 | Wigan Warriors | 28 | 9 | 2 | 17 | 20 |
| 8 | Glasgow Tigers | 28 | 10 | 0 | 18 | 20 |

## Fixtures & results
### A fixtures

| Home \ Away | BIR | BRI | GLA | MID | NEW | NOR | SHE | WIG |
| Birmingham | | 53–31 | 60–24 | 44–40 | 47–36 | 47–34 | 55–29 | 48–36 |
| Bristol | 35–49 | | 57.5–26.5 | 47–35 | 62–22 | 39–44 | 47–36 | 37–43 |
| Glasgow | 40–44 | 48–36 | | 48–36 | 45–38 | 38–44 | 31–52 | 43–41 |
| Middlesbrough | 56–28 | 61–23 | 56–28 | | 57–26 | 55–29 | 43–39 | 62–22 |
| Newcastle | 42–38 | 50–34 | 43–41 | 40–43 | | 40–37 | 38–45 | 53–31 |
| Norwich | 46–38 | 58–26 | 58–25 | 48–36 | 47–37 | | 45–39 | 54–30 |
| Sheffield | 60–24 | 60–24 | 58–26 | 34–50 | 42–42 | 54–29 | | 65–19 |
| Wigan | 53–30 | 49–35 | 56–27 | 35–49 | 42–42 | 39–40 | 32–51 | |

### B fixtures

| Home \ Away | BIR | BRI | GLA | MID | NEW | NOR | SHE | WIG |
| Birmingham | | 44–40 | 59–24 | 39–45 | 35–49 | 48–36 | 45–39 | 47–37 |
| Bristol | 60–24 | | 57–27 | 38–45 | 51–32 | 62–22 | 46–38 | 47–36 |
| Glasgow | 54–29 | 48–36 | | 36–48 | 40–44 | 50–34 | 47–37 | 56–27 |
| Middlesbrough | 64–20 | 59–25 | 46–38 | | 52–31 | 64–17 | 54–30 | 55–29 |
| Newcastle | 48–36 | 53–31 | 39.5–44.5 | 44–40 | | 55–28 | 39–42 | 47–37 |
| Norwich | 55–28 | 55–29 | 61–23 | 47–37 | 52–32 | | 37–46 | 56–26 |
| Sheffield | 58–26 | 57–27 | 57–27 | 49–34 | 54–29 | 46–37 | | 56–28 |
| Wigan | 51–33 | 41–43 | 45–39 | 43–41 | 47–37 | 52–32 | 41–41 | |

## British Speedway Cup (Div 2)

The British Speedway Cup for Division Two was run in a league format. Sheffield Tigers came out on top.

### Final table

| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Sheffield Tigers | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 22 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough Bears | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 18 |
| 3 | Norwich Stars | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| 4 | Wigan Warriors | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| 5 | Newcastle Diamonds | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 12 |
| 6 | Bristol Bulldogs | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 12 |
| 7 | Glasgow Tigers | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| 8 | Birmingham Brummies | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 10 |

## Top Five Riders (League only)

| | Rider | Team | C.M.A. |
| 1 | Jeff Lloyd | Newcastle | 10.67 |
| 2= | Stan Williams | Sheffield | 10.40 |
| 2= | Bert Spencer | Norwich | 10.40 |
| 4 | Frank Hodgson | Middlesbrough | 10.14 |
| 5 | Kid Curtis | Middlesbrough | 9.86 |

## National Trophy

The 1947 Division 2 National Trophy (sponsored by the Daily Mail) was the Knockout Cup for Division 2 teams. Middlesbrough and Norwich qualified for the quarter finals of the main National Trophy by virtue of finishing 1st & 2nd.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 13/06 | Bristol | 62–45 | Wigan |
| 07/06 | Wigan | 73–34 | Bristol |
| 04/06 | Glasgow White City | 60–46 | Newcastle |
| 02/06 | Newcastle | 63–45 | Glasgow White City |
| 12/06 | Middlesbrough | 81–27 | Birmingham |
| 07/06 | Birmingham | 50–57 | Middlesbrough |
| 12/06 | Sheffield | 57–51 | Norwich |
| 07/06 | Norwich | 60–47 | Sheffield |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
| 03/07 | Middlesbrough | 73–34 | Wigan |
| 28/06 | Wigan | 45–63 | Middlesbrough |
| 30/06 | Newcastle | 56–52 | Norwich |
| 28/06/ | Norwich | 63–44 | Newcastle |

### Final

First leg
Second leg
Middlesbrough were National Trophy Division 2 Champions, winning on aggregate 127–88.

## Riders & final averages

Birmingham
* Stan Dell 8.65
* Tiger Hart 7.93
* Roy Dook 7.54
* Bob Lovell 6.91
* Les Beaumont 6.46
* Geoff Bennett 6.00
* Brian Wilson 5.83
* Dick Tolley 5.54
* Ernie Appleby 5.24
* Doug Wells 5.14
* Laurie Packer 4.81
* Mick Mitchell 3.80
* Les Beaumont 2.77
* George Gower 1.00
Bristol
* Fred Tuck 9.50
* Mike Beddoe 8.06
* Jack Mountford 7.27
* Billy Hole 6.86
* Roger Wise 6.25
* Eric Salmon 5.89
* Jack Cooley 5.67
* Cyril Quick 5.25
* Frank Evans 4.28
* George Craig 3.76
Glasgow
* Will Lowther 9.28
* Joe Crowther 7.76
* Bat Byrnes 6.62
* Billy Bates 6.29
* Gruff Garland 5.91
* Junior Bainbridge 5.49
* Norman Lindsay 5.41
* Bert Shearer 5.27
* Buck Ryan 4.74
* Harold Fairhurst 4.55
* Bill Baird 3.92
* Harold Sharpe 3.43
* Gordon McGregor 2.88
Middlesbrough
* Frank Hodgson 10.14
* Kid Curtis 9.86
* Wilf Plant 9.54
* Jack Hodgson 7.49
* Herby King 6.67
* Geoff Godwin 6.57
* Billy Wilson 5.67
* Ed Pye 5.04
* Tip Mills 4.34
Newcastle
* Jeff Lloyd 10.67
* Wilf Jay 8.99
* Norman Evans 8.75
* Doug McLachlan 8.54
* Alec Grant 6.59
* Ken Le Breton 4.78
* Jack Hunt 4.00
* Peter Lloyd 2.83
* Danny Calder 2.00
* Pat Smith 1.63
* Harry Modral 1.14
* Stan Pennell 0.71
Norwich
* Bert Spencer 10.40
* Paddy Mills (Horace Burke) 8.43
* Phil Clarke 7.38
* Paddy Hammond 6.98
* Jack Freeman 6.86
* Ted Bravery 6.36
* Ossie Powell 6.27
* Cyril Anderson 6.15
* Sid Hipperson 5.73
* Geoff Revett 5.19
* Syd Littlewood 4.41
* Roy Duke 4.27
Sheffield
* Stan Williams 10.40
* Tommy Bateman 9.11
* Jack Bibby 8.83
* Tommy Allott 8.63
* Len Williams 7.42
* Danny Lee 6.40
* Bruce Semmens 6.24
* John Duncan White 6.00
* Alf Elliott 5.27
* Dennis Parker 4.50
* Dick Campbell 4.41
Wigan
* Dick Geary 9.38
* Jack Gordon 7.69
* Norman Hargreaves 6.81
* Reg Lambourne 5.79
* Percy Brine 5.72
* Don Houghton 5.43
* Cyril Cooper 4.97
* Ron Hart 3.80
* Harry Welch 3.66
* Jack Winstanley 2.84