Jeff Lloyd

Jeff Lloyd
Born(1914-07-29)29 July 1914
Birmingham, England
Died24 June 1997(1997-06-24) (aged 82)
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1938Birmingham Bulldogs
1939Bristol Bulldogs
1946–1947Newcastle Diamonds
1947–1950New Cross Rangers
1950–1954Harringay Racers
Individual honours
1947Tom Farndon Memorial winner
Team honours
1948National League Champion
1952National Trophy winner
1947, 1952, 1953London Cup winner
1953Coronation Cup winner

Alfred Jeffrey Lloyd (born 29 July 1914 in Birmingham, England) was a former international speedway rider who qualified for the Speedway World Championship finals three times.[1] He earned five international caps for the England national speedway team.[2]

Career

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Lloyd took up speedway in 1936, first riding at Wembley before gaining further experience at Birmingham, before signing with Bristol Bulldogs. When speedway resumed in 1945 he returned, and was one of the top riders in the Northern League in 1946.[3] He joined the Newcastle Diamonds in 1946, and finished the season averaging over ten points per match in the Northern League.

In 1947 it was expected that he would be signed by a higher division team but he started the season with the Diamonds. A few weeks into the season, the New Cross Rangers signed Lloyd for a transfer fee of £1,000 (at the time the highest transfer fee in British speedway),[3] with Ken Le Breton transferring in the opposite direction.

By then end of the next season, he had won the National League championship[4] and was performing well for New Cross for several years.[5]

Lloyd was selected to represent England in the test series against Australia in the 1948 Ashes series.[6]

1950 saw Lloyd start the season with the Rangers but midway through the season he was transferred to the Harringay Racers, a move that was not popular with the New Cross fans. Whilst with the Racers he qualified for the Speedway World Championship final three times and was a member of the team that won the National Trophy in 1952.[7]

When the Racers closed down at the end of 1954, Lloyd retired.

Family

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His two brothers Wally Lloyd and Johnny Lloyd were both professional speedway riders.[8][9]

World final appearances

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References

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  1. ^ a b Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
  2. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Storey, Basil (1948), The Story of Speedway, WDS, p. 9
  4. ^ Jacobs, N. (2008) Out of the Frying Pan, The History Press LTD ISBN 978-0-7524-4476-5
  5. ^ "Jeff Lloyd in form again". Sydenham, Forest Hill & Penge Gazette. 27 May 1949. Retrieved 27 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ Foster, P. (2005) History of the Speedway Ashes, The History Press Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-3468-3
  7. ^ Jacobs, Norman (2001). Speedway in London. Stroud: Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-2221-9
  8. ^ "Wally Lloyd's feat". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 23 September 1929. Retrieved 27 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ Chaplin, John (1983) "John Chaplin's 'Fireside Stories'", Speedway Star, 3 December 1983, p. 27