The last part of the series on West Ham Speedway is on the 1971 season, the last ever full season raced at Custom House Stadium.

With Speedway celebrating it's 80th year, and West Ham 80th Anniversary of the opening of both the sport and the stadium at the end of July, I though it would be nice to go back 40 years and see what the Hammers were doing in the 40th year of Speedway racing.

When the 1968 season opened, the team had returned to celebrate 40 years of Speedway in Great Britain.

The programme cover from the last east London match of the 1968 season which is refered to in the item `40 years of Speedway`. Althought not truly Newham, Hackney stadium is not in Hackney, it is in E.15, Stratford, and the captain of Lea Bridge for the night was West Ham and Scotland's captain, Ken McKinlay.

When you have reached the top, the only way is down, but the Hammers did not quite see it that way.

In 1966 we reached the quarter final of the KO cup, losing to Halifax, who ended up as the 1966 Triple Crown Champions, winning the British League, the K/O Cup and the Northern Cup. It is still quite rare for a team to win the triple, and even more rare for a triple crown to be won two seasons in a row by two different teams, must be something to do with the Red, White and Blue race jackets!

1972 finally saw the end of Speedway at West Ham, and it was a sad end.

In the early 1960’s Speedway Racing had reached a point were the sport was in decline, which had came to a head at the end of the 1963 season when both New Cross in London and Southampton closed down. The search was on to find at least one new team to add to the National League or it would possible cease to exist.

Mention West Ham to Speedway fans anywhere in the world and two names will always come up, Bluey Wilkinson and Jack Young.

Both of these Speedway riders, as well as representing their home country of Australia in the World Speedway Championship also represented West Ham.

Arthur George Wilkinson, know to all as `Bluey` because of his Ginger hair, came to West Ham in the late 1920’s as a young rider from his home in Australia.

Thames Association FC was formed to play at West Ham Stadium at Custom House in 1928. The stadium was used for Speedway and Greyhound Racing, and as an added attraction and to bring the crowds in for another sport, the Football team was formed to play on a Saturday. They originally played in the Southern League Eastern Division.

The most famous Speedway rider in Canada was Eric Chitty, who for many years rode for the West Ham Speedway team.

He was called the Custom House Cannonball by the fans.

Eric was born in Toronto, Canada in 1909.

He started working life as an Electrical Engineer, but had been an amateur racer in Hill Climbs & Trails from 1928.

The Stratford Express on Saturday the 4th May 1929, carried a report on the Speedway Meeting at Custom House Stadium on Thursday 2nd May.

“West Ham’s team certainly justified their selections when they beat Coventry City 31 points to 11 in their inter-track race on Thursday night. Each of the six heats was keenly contested. The Coventry team rode very consistently but their efforts however were unavailing against the Superior riding and Track craft of the home team”.