| League | National League Division Two |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 8 |
| Champions | Middlesbrough Bears |
| National Trophy (Div 2) | Middlesbrough Bears |
| British Cup Div 2 | Sheffield Tigers |
| Highest average | Jeff Lloyd |
| Division/s above | National League (Div 1) |
| Division/s below | National League (Div 3) |
The1947 National League Division Two was the second post-war season of the second tier ofmotorcycle speedway in Great Britain. In the previous season, the league was known as theNorthern League but the addition ofBristol Bulldogs and a third tier saw the name revert to the one used 8 years previously.[1]
As well asBristol Bulldogs,Wigan Warriors were new entrants bringing the total teams to 8.Middlesbrough Bears won the title. In fact the entire top five were unchanged from the previous season.[2][3][4]
Norwich Stars 38-year-old rider Cyril Anderson died instantly on 16 August, during a best pairs event at Norwich. Anderson was leading when he skidded and was hit by a rider from behind[5] Remarkably another rider died the same day, 27-year-old Wembley rider Nelson 'Bronco' Wilson received fatal injuries in a National Trophy match.[6]
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middlesbrough Bears | 28 | 20 | 0 | 8 | 40 |
| 2 | Sheffield Tigers | 28 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 36 |
| 3 | Norwich Stars | 28 | 16 | 0 | 12 | 32 |
| 4 | Birmingham Brummies | 28 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| 5 | Newcastle Diamonds | 28 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 26 |
| 6 | Bristol Bulldogs | 28 | 11 | 0 | 17 | 22 |
| 7 | Wigan Warriors | 28 | 9 | 2 | 17 | 20 |
| 8 | Glasgow Tigers | 28 | 10 | 0 | 18 | 20 |
| Home \ Away | BIR | BRI | GLA | MID | NEW | NOR | SHE | WIG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 53–31 | 60–24 | 44–40 | 47–36 | 47–34 | 55–29 | 48–36 | |
| Bristol | 35–49 | 57.5–26.5 | 47–35 | 62–22 | 39–44 | 47–36 | 37–43 | |
| Glasgow | 40–44 | 48–36 | 48–36 | 45–38 | 38–44 | 31–52 | 43–41 | |
| Middlesbrough | 56–28 | 61–23 | 56–28 | 57–26 | 55–29 | 43–39 | 62–22 | |
| Newcastle | 42–38 | 50–34 | 43–41 | 40–43 | 40–37 | 38–45 | 53–31 | |
| Norwich | 46–38 | 58–26 | 58–25 | 48–36 | 47–37 | 45–39 | 54–30 | |
| Sheffield | 60–24 | 60–24 | 58–26 | 34–50 | 42–42 | 54–29 | 65–19 | |
| Wigan | 53–30 | 49–35 | 56–27 | 35–49 | 42–42 | 39–40 | 32–51 |
| Home \ Away | BIR | BRI | GLA | MID | NEW | NOR | SHE | WIG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 44–40 | 59–24 | 39–45 | 35–49 | 48–36 | 45–39 | 47–37 | |
| Bristol | 60–24 | 57–27 | 38–45 | 51–32 | 62–22 | 46–38 | 47–36 | |
| Glasgow | 54–29 | 48–36 | 36–48 | 40–44 | 50–34 | 47–37 | 56–27 | |
| Middlesbrough | 64–20 | 59–25 | 46–38 | 52–31 | 64–17 | 54–30 | 55–29 | |
| Newcastle | 48–36 | 53–31 | 39.5–44.5 | 44–40 | 55–28 | 39–42 | 47–37 | |
| Norwich | 55–28 | 55–29 | 61–23 | 47–37 | 52–32 | 37–46 | 56–26 | |
| Sheffield | 58–26 | 57–27 | 57–27 | 49–34 | 54–29 | 46–37 | 56–28 | |
| Wigan | 51–33 | 41–43 | 45–39 | 43–41 | 47–37 | 52–32 | 41–41 |
The British Speedway Cup for Division Two was run in a league format.Sheffield Tigers came out on top.
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield Tigers | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 22 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough Bears | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 18 |
| 3 | Norwich Stars | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| 4 | Wigan Warriors | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| 5 | Newcastle Diamonds | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 12 |
| 6 | Bristol Bulldogs | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 12 |
| 7 | Glasgow Tigers | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| 8 | Birmingham Brummies | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| Home \ Away | BIR | BRI | GLA | MID | NEW | NOR | SHE | WIG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 59–37 | 59–37 | 45–50 | 53–42 | 56–40 | 37–59 | 66–28 | |
| Bristol | 62–33 | 59–37 | 64–32 | 53–42 | 50–44 | 44–50 | 52–44 | |
| Glasgow | 62–34 | 54–42 | 38–58 | 51–44 | 55–41 | 42–54 | 52–44 | |
| Middlesbrough | 73–22 | 61–35 | 62–33 | 48.5–47.5 | 45–49 | 67–29 | 70–26 | |
| Newcastle | 59–37 | 54–42 | 50–46 | 30–65 | 60–34 | 53–43 | 58–37 | |
| Norwich | 60–36 | 73–23 | 63–33 | 51–45 | 61.5–34.5 | 44–51 | 55–40 | |
| Sheffield | 63–32 | 76–20 | 56–40 | 56–40 | 59–37 | 66–30 | 68–28 | |
| Wigan | 54–41 | 52–42 | 51–45 | 62–34 | 41–53 | 65–31 | 55–41 |
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Lloyd |  | Newcastle | 10.67 |
| 2= | Stan Williams | | Sheffield | 10.40 |
| 2= | Bert Spencer |  | Norwich | 10.40 |
| 4 | Frank Hodgson | | Middlesbrough | 10.14 |
| 5 | Kid Curtis | | Middlesbrough | 9.86 |
The 1947 Division 2 National Trophy (sponsored by the Daily Mail) was theKnockout Cup for Division 2 teams. Middlesbrough and Norwich qualified for the quarter finals of the mainNational Trophy by virtue of finishing 1st & 2nd.
First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13/06 | Bristol | 62–45 | Wigan |
| 07/06 | Wigan | 73–34 | Bristol |
| 04/06 | Glasgow White City | 60–46 | Newcastle |
| 02/06 | Newcastle | 63–45 | Glasgow White City |
| 12/06 | Middlesbrough | 81–27 | Birmingham |
| 07/06 | Birmingham | 50–57 | Middlesbrough |
| 12/06 | Sheffield | 57–51 | Norwich |
| 07/06 | Norwich | 60–47 | Sheffield |
Semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/07 | Middlesbrough | 73–34 | Wigan |
| 28/06 | Wigan | 45–63 | Middlesbrough |
| 30/06 | Newcastle | 56–52 | Norwich |
| 28/06/ | Norwich | 63–44 | Newcastle |
First leg
| Middlesbrough Bears Frank Hodgson 16 Wilf Plant 14 Kid Curtis 13 Jack Hodgson 9 Ed Pye 7 Geoff Godwin 7 Bill Wilson 2 Herby King 0 | 69 – 38 | Norwich Stars Phil Clarke 15 Geoff Revett 7 Jack Freeman 5 Ted Bravery 4 Paddy Mills 3 Cyril Anderson 2 Paddy Hammond 1 Len Read 1 |
|---|---|---|
| [10][11] |
Second leg
| Norwich Stars Paddy Mills 15 Jack Freeman 12 Paddy Hammond 8 Ted Bravery 6 Cyril Anderson 4 Phil Clarke 4 Len Read 0 Geoff Revett 0 | 50 – 58 | Middlesbrough Bears Frank Hodgson 13 Kid Curtis 13 Wilf Plant 12 Herby King 6 Jack Hodgson 5 Geoff Godwin 5 Ed Pye 2 Bill Wilson 2 |
|---|---|---|
| [12][11] |
Middlesbrough were National Trophy Division 2 Champions, winning on aggregate127–88.
Birmingham
Stan Dell 8.65Tiger Hart 7.93Roy Dook 7.54Bob Lovell 6.91
Les Beaumont 6.46Geoff Bennett 6.00Brian Wilson 5.83Dick Tolley 5.54Ernie Appleby 5.24Doug Wells 5.14Laurie Packer 4.81Mick Mitchell 3.80Les Beaumont 2.77George Gower 1.00Bristol
Fred Tuck 9.50Mike Beddoe 8.06Jack Mountford 7.27Billy Hole 6.86Roger Wise 6.25Eric Salmon 5.89Jack Cooley 5.67Cyril Quick 5.25Frank Evans 4.28George Craig 3.76Glasgow
Will Lowther 9.28Joe Crowther 7.76Bat Byrnes 6.62
Billy Bates 6.29Gruff Garland 5.91Junior Bainbridge 5.49Norman Lindsay 5.41Bert Shearer 5.27Buck Ryan 4.74Harold Fairhurst 4.55Bill Baird 3.92Harold Sharpe 3.43Gordon McGregor 2.88Middlesbrough
Frank Hodgson 10.14Kid Curtis 9.86Wilf Plant 9.54Jack Hodgson 7.49Herby King 6.67Geoff Godwin 6.57Billy Wilson 5.67Ed Pye 5.04Tip Mills 4.34Newcastle
Jeff Lloyd 10.67Wilf Jay 8.99Norman Evans 8.75Doug McLachlan 8.54Alec Grant 6.59Ken Le Breton 4.78
Jack Hunt 4.00Peter Lloyd 2.83Danny Calder 2.00Pat Smith 1.63Harry Modral 1.14Stan Pennell 0.71Norwich
Bert Spencer 10.40Paddy Mills (Horace Burke) 8.43Phil Clarke 7.38
Paddy Hammond 6.98Jack Freeman 6.86Ted Bravery 6.36Ossie Powell 6.27Cyril Anderson 6.15Sid Hipperson 5.73Geoff Revett 5.19Syd Littlewood 4.41Roy Duke 4.27Sheffield
Stan Williams 10.40Tommy Bateman 9.11Jack Bibby 8.83Tommy Allott 8.63Len Williams 7.42Danny Lee 6.40Bruce Semmens 6.24John Duncan White 6.00Alf Elliott 5.27Dennis Parker 4.50Dick Campbell 4.41Wigan
Dick Geary 9.38Jack Gordon 7.69Norman Hargreaves 6.81Reg Lambourne 5.79Percy Brine 5.72Don Houghton 5.43Cyril Cooper 4.97Ron Hart 3.80Harry Welch 3.66Jack Winstanley 2.84| National League Division Two: |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Northern League: | ||