St Austell Speedway

Post-war Cornish speedway centered on Cornish Stadium at Par Moor, constructed between 1946 and 1948 by Mr R.H. Luke, his son Jack, his brother George and his brother-in-law Tommy Jackson. With the help of the St Austell Motor Club, the Luke family established one of speedway's great outposts, going from nothing to attracting huge crowds and legendary riders to their track in the space of five short years. The 1950 season saw the establishment of the St Austell Gulls team, following the first season's open meetings. Featuring such riders as Norman Street, Ray Ellis, Maury McDermott, Harold Bull, Ken James and Australian star of the future Peter Moore, the Gulls struggled to take flight in league competition but drew in huge crowds, the final home match of the season drawing in over 16,000 people. Although the Gulls did not challenge for honours in their early years, the contribution of speedway in shaping daily life in post-war Cornwall was an even greater achievement. In this book, containing many rare photographs of St Austell's speedway legends, Cornish speedway writer Jeremy Jackson recalls the formative years of the shale sport west of the Tamar river.