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Post by kiwikid34 on Jun 3, 2011 14:28:23 GMT 1
On a site elsewhere it says this about the pre-war Skirrow driver Joe Wildblood. "George William Wildblood, born in Shropshire in 1911, competed at Hanley Speedway in the late 1930s. Joe represented England at Stadion Den Bosch in the Netherlands in the 1960s." If Wildblood did race in Holland in the 1960s, what car did he use as by then there were no raceworthy Skirrows around?
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Post by thirdturn on Jun 4, 2011 16:20:02 GMT 1
Joe Wildblood looks an interesting character. Does anybody have more info on his racing and post-racing career. I assume he was a Skirrow driver and not using an Elto?
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derek
Junior Member
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Post by derek on Jun 6, 2011 9:40:45 GMT 1
Joe Wildbloods' son, Doug, lives in New Zealand. The last email address I have of his is dougw@slingshot.co.nz I'm sure he would be delighted to pass on any information he has about his fathers midget car racing career.
Derek Bridgett Newcastle-under-Lyme
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Post by weewillie on Jun 9, 2011 22:13:20 GMT 1
I think Joe Wildblood drove for Stoke's National League team in 1938, and probably in open meetings at Coventry and the Stoke tracks in 1939. Apart from that I cannot find any evidence of him driving post-war and doubt very much if he did drive in Holland in the early 1960s. If you do a google search you will find he comes up with other members of the Wildblood family. There's also a photo of him there.
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derek
Junior Member
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Post by derek on Jun 10, 2011 9:54:44 GMT 1
Joe Wildblood did indeed race a Skirrow in Holland in 1960. Somewhere I have a copy of the programme, if I can find I'll post it next week.
Derek Bridgett Newcastle-under-Lyme
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Post by haflinger121 on Jun 10, 2011 12:21:21 GMT 1
Without in any way wishing to steal your thunder Derek, I think this is the prog to which you refer. I'm sure this scan came from you in the first place, by the way! Wildblood is listed on a following page as a driver, but nowhere can I see any reference to what the entrants were driving, thus no proof he was in a Skirrow. I daresay you know it to be a fact from other research though and, with Dave Hughes and Wilf Davis racing as well, it looks more than possible that this may have been about the last hurrah for the Skirrows. Attachments:
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Post by haflinger121 on Jun 10, 2011 12:23:38 GMT 1
This page lists Wildblood as an entrant. Attachments:
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Post by youtubefiend on Jun 10, 2011 16:46:30 GMT 1
Neither of the ned images seem to be coming up even if one does a click on its reference? Thanks.
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Post by haflinger121 on Jun 10, 2011 19:08:21 GMT 1
Sorry mate, I don't know what to say about that - they are just displayed normally (i.e. as part of the message) on my screen.
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Post by youtubefiend on Jun 10, 2011 21:55:04 GMT 1
The images are okay now so it must have been my system playing up. I was intrigued by the Netherlands team for the match because all the drivers were also Dutch international speedway riders, while the reserve for the meeting Phil Bishop is one of the legends of the British speedway scene and often called the 'King of Crash'. I've seen the name Buddy Buswell before as a speedway rider in Dutch Golden Helmet meetings around this time and also read it was an alias for a speedway rider because the races were blacked by the Speedway Control Board in Uk at the time because the Dutch promoters (the same N V Berg) was not affiliated to the Dutch speedway control board at the time so it could be Buswell this time round was someone else masquerading under the alias. But certainly Joe Wildblood is named on the programme sheet. I think the Skirrows raced in Holland before that as far back as 1946 and then again about 1937 but I can't be too positive on that score. Probably the same cars...!
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Post by administrator on Jun 11, 2011 8:55:17 GMT 1
My opinion is that there could have been more than one match in the triangular series. The starter message says that Joe Wildblood drove at Den Bosch Stadion (in s'Hertogenbosch) whereas the programme scans are for a match at Veernoord. The latter meeting was on a Saturday and it could be that the group then moved on to Den Bosch the next day? I wonder if we will ever know?
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Post by haflinger121 on Jun 11, 2011 9:29:59 GMT 1
Interesting point John. It's the sort of thing Derek probably already knows though....
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derek
Junior Member
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Post by derek on Jun 13, 2011 9:35:39 GMT 1
In another newspaper article (that I have mislaid!!!) it said that Joe was to race the same car that he drove before the war. I think that this would be a bit of journalistic licence. Incidentaly I remember Joe racing bikes on the Grass in the Cheshire centre way back in 46/47. As a child I was in awe of him simply because he had raced midgets at Stoke. I'm afraid he wan't that hot on the grass, in my own mind he should have won every race, even my oldest brother could beat him!!! Attachments:
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Post by administrator on Jun 13, 2011 15:22:11 GMT 1
In another newspaper article (that I have mislaid!!!) it said that Joe was to race the same car that he drove before the war. I think that this would be a bit of journalistic licence. Incidentaly I remember Joe racing bikes on the Grass in the Cheshire centre way back in 46/47. As a child I was in awe of him simply because he had raced midgets at Stoke. I'm afraid he wan't that hot on the grass, in my own mind he should have won every race, even my oldest brother could beat him!!! We now know from the programme that there was a meeting at Veenroord, and almost certainly at Den Bosch. The cutting cites a four meeting schedule - where were the other venues?
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