Vic Huxley

Vic Huxley
Born(1906-09-23)23 September 1906
Brisbane, Queensland
Died24 June 1982(1982-06-24) (aged 75)
Brisbane, Queensland
NationalityAustralian
Career history
1930–1931Harringay Canaries
1931–1936Wimbledon Dons
Individual honours
1930Star Riders' Championship
1934Australian Champion
1936London Riders' Championship
1931Dirt Track Championnat du Monde

Victor Nelson Huxley (23 September 1906 – 24 June 1982[1] in Brisbane, Queensland) was an Australian speedway rider[2] who won the Star Riders' Championship, the forerunner of the Speedway World Championship, in 1930 and finished runner-up in 1931 and 1932.[3]

Career

Huxley won the Dirt Track Championnat du Monde (an early version of the Speedway World Championship and rival of the Star Riders' Championship) at Stade Buffalo in Paris during 1931.[citation needed]

Huxley won the 1934 Australian Championship (3 Laps) in front of his home crowd at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground.[citation needed]

He won the London Riders' Championship in 1936,[4] whilst with the Wimbledon Dons[5][6] but retired from British speedway at the end of the 1936 season and returned to Australia where he rode in the Winter test series against England. He lived in Ashgrove in Brisbane, and set up a motorcycle business in Adelaide Street called the "British Motorcycle Corporation" which he ran until the mid-1960s.[7]

Huxley died in his home town of Brisbane on 24 June 1982 at the age of 75, just 3 months shy of his 76th birthday.[citation needed]

World Final appearances

1937 cigarette card illustration

Players cigarette cards

Huxley is listed as number 20 of 50 in the 1930s Player's cigarette card collection.[9]

References

  1. ^ Addison J. (1948). The People Speedway Guide. Odhams Press Limited
  2. ^ "Famous Speedway Rivals". Daily News (London). 18 May 1931. Retrieved 27 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ Jacobs, Norman (2001). Speedway in London. Stroud: Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-2221-9
  4. ^ "Speedway title of London". Daily News (London). 21 May 1936. Retrieved 23 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ Belton, Brian (2003). Hammerin' Round. Stroud: Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-2438-6
  6. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  7. ^ May, Cyril (1978) Ride It! The Complete Book of Speedway, Haynes, ISBN 0-85429-210-1, p. 44
  8. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
  9. ^ "Speedway Riders 20". Speedway Museum Online. Retrieved 10 October 2021.