Pioneering Cheetahs hit the track

10:00am Monday 29th June 2009

By John Chipperfield

THESE riders were the pioneer members of Oxford Cheetahs’ speedway team.

Enthusiast Terence Smith found this picture, dated 1949, in his collection.

That was the year that the Cheetahs were formed, when Oxford Stadium owner Leslie Calcutt successfully applied at the third attempt to get Oxford into the National League Division 3.

The Cheetahs’ first official meeting took place at Hastings on April 21, 1949.

Mr Smith was a regular at the stadium.

He writes: “I went along every Thursday night to see the Cheetahs compete when I lived in Bowness Avenue, Headington, before moving to Norwich.”

Can anyone name the riders in Mr Smith’s photograph?

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