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1955 Speedway National League Division Two 
Summary
The 1955 National League Division Two was the tenth post-war season of the second tier of motorcycle speedway in Great Britain.
| League | National League Division Two |
|---|---|
| No. of competitors | 9 |
| Champions | Poole Pirates |
| National Trophy (Div 2 final) | Poole Pirates |
| Highest average | Ken McKinlay |
| Division/s above | National League (Div 1) |
| Division/s below | Southern League |
Summary edit
The only change in the list of teams that finished the previous season was the replacement of Motherwell Eagles with Weymouth Scorchers. Poole Pirates won the title.[1]
Weymouth Scorchers withdrew after 7 league fixtures, Bristol Bulldogs withdrew after 14.[2]
Final table edit
| Pos | Team | M | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Poole Pirates | 32 | 23 | 0 | 9 | 46 |
| 2 | Coventry Bees | 32 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 38 |
| 3 | Rayleigh Rockets | 32 | 15 | 2 | 15 | 32 |
| 4 | Oxford Cheetahs | 32 | 15 | 1 | 16 | 31 |
| 5 | Southampton Saints | 32 | 15 | 0 | 17 | 30 |
| 6 | Ipswich Witches | 32 | 13 | 3 | 16 | 29 |
| 7 | Leicester Hunters | 32 | 14 | 0 | 18 | 28 |
| 8 | Swindon Robins | 32 | 14 | 0 | 18 | 28 |
| 9 | Exeter Falcons | 32 | 13 | 0 | 29 | 26 |
- Weymouth Scorchers and Bristol Bulldogs withdrew, records expunged.
Top Five Riders (League only) edit
| Rider | Nat | Team | C.M.A. | |
| 1 | Ken McKinlay | 
|
Leicester | 10.48 |
| 2 | Jack Geran | 
|
Exeter | 10.38 |
| 3 | Dick Bradley | 
|
Bristol/Southampton | 10.25 |
| 4 | Ken Middleditch |
|
Poole | 9.96 |
| 5 | Neil Street |
|
Exeter | 9.49 |
National Trophy Stage One edit
- For Stage Two - see Stage Two
The 1955 National Trophy was the 18th edition of the Knockout Cup. The Trophy consisted of two stages; stage one was for the second tier clubs, stage two was for the top tier clubs. Poole won stage one and qualified for second and final stage.[3]
Division Two First round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23/04 | Rayleigh | 48-60 | Poole |
| 22/04 | Bristol | 62-46 | Ipswich |
| 22/04 | Weymouth | 49-59 | Southampton |
| 21/04 | Ipswich | 81-27 | Bristol |
| 19/04 | Southampton | 70-38 | Weymouth |
| 18/04 | Poole | 69-39 | Rayleigh |
Division Two Second round
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23/05 | Exeter | 55-53 | Swindon |
| 14/05 | Coventry | 75-33 | Oxford |
| 14/05 | Swindon | 66-42 | Exeter |
| 13/05 | Leicester | 49-59 | Southampton |
| 12/05 | Ipswich | 66-41 | Poole |
| 12/05 | Oxford | 66-42 | Coventry |
| 10/05 | Southampton | 59-49 | Leicester |
| 09/05 | Poole | 70-37 | Ipswich |
Division Two semifinals
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13/06 | Poole | 68-40 | Swindon |
| 04/06 | Coventry | 54-54 | Southampton |
| 04/06 | Swindon | 62-46 | Poole |
| 31/05 | Southampton | 56-52 | Coventry |
Division Two final edit
First leg
| Southampton Saints Ernie Rawlins 14 Dick Bradley 12 Brian Hanham 3 Bluey Scott 7 Alby Golden 4 Charlie May 3 Cyril Roger (guest) 2 Johnny Fitzpatrick 1 | 46 – 62 | Poole Pirates Ken Middleditch 16 Jim Squibb 14 Norman Strachan 7 Bill Holden 7 Terry Small 7 Ernie Brecknell 6 Alan Kidd 5 Tony Lewis 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [4] |
Second leg
| Poole Pirates Terry Small 16 Bill Holden 14 Alan Kidd 11 Jim Squibb 11 Ken Middleditch 7 Norman Strachan 7 Tony Lewis 6 Fred Parkins 1 | 73 – 35 | Southampton Saints Dick Bradley 13 Ernie Rawlins 5 Bluey Scott 5 Frank Johnson (guest) 4 Charlie May 4 Johnny Fitzpatrick 3 Alby Golden 1 Brian Hanham 0 |
|---|---|---|
| [4] |
Midland Cup edit
For the Midland Cup see the 1955 Speedway National League.
Riders & final averages edit
Bristol (withdrew)
-
Dick Bradley 10.79 - Billy Hole 7.87
- Jack Unstead 6.81
- Frank Johnson 5.38
- Danny Dunton 4.14
- Geoff Pymar 3.88
-
Chris Boss 3.23 - Johnny Hole 2.40
- Roy Taylor 2.40
- Cliff Cox 1.12
Coventry
-
Bob Mark 8.44 -
Charlie New 8.34 - Tommy Miller 7.47
- Jim Lightfoot 7.10
- Vic Emms 5.59
- Johnny Reason 4.99
- Peter Brough 4.31
- Reg Duval 4.17
- Nick Nicholls 4.16
Exeter
-
Jack Geran 10.38 - Neil Street 9.49
- Goog Hoskin 6.93
- Johnny Sargeant 6.40
- Billy Hole 5.62
- Alf Webster 4.82
- John Hart 4.63
- Ron Barrett 4.32
- Don Hardy 3.18
- Francis Cann 2.63
Ipswich
- Bert Edwards 9.45
- Junior Bainbridge 8.28
- Reg Reeves 8.08
- Tich Read (George Snailum) 5.91
- Bob Sharp 5.64
- Danny Dunton 4.98
- Larry Lazarus 4.45
- Bluey Scott 3.84
- Len Silver 3.53
- Cyril Cooper 3.14
- Dennis Day 2.44
- Ken Last 2.10
Leicester
- Ken McKinlay 10.48
- Gordon McGregor 7.26
- Derick Close 6.71
- Len Williams 6.29
- Johnny Green 5.82
- Charlie Barsby 5.10
- Ron Phillips 4.82
- Barry East 2.74
Oxford
- Ronnie Genz 8.15
- Bob Baker 7.47
- Peter Robinson 7.39
- Reg Trott 6.40
- Bill Thatcher 5.86
- Dennis Newton 5.44
- Bob Wells 4.42
- Kid Curtis 3.33
- Maury Courtnell 1.82
Poole
- Ken Middleditch 9.96
- Bill Holden 8.54
- Allan Kidd 7.22
- Terry Small 7.14
- Johnny Thomson 6.67
- Jimmy Squibb 6.57
- Tony Lewis 6.50
- Norman Strachan 5.89
- Ernie Brecknell (Ernest Blight) 3.73
Rayleigh
- Jack Unstead 9.32
- Peter Clark 8.99
- Les McGillivray 7.69
- Gerry Jackson 6.88
- Pete Lansdale 6.57
- Maury McDermott 5.26
- Dennis Gray 4.55
- Bill Longley 3.50
- Frank Bettis 3.16
- Eric Ebbs 2.86
Southampton
- Dick Bradley 9.84
- Ernie Rawlins 7.48
- Brian Hanham 7.39
- Charlie May 5.71
- Bluey Scott 5.35
- Maury Mattingley 5.30
-
Johnny Fitzparick 5.27 - Alby Golden 5.17
- Allan Quinn 4.74
Swindon
- Bob Roger 8.81
- George White 8.61
- Ian Williams 8.16
- Jimmy Gooch 6.98
- Ron Swaine 5.76
- Danny Malone 4.93
- Bob Jones 3.41
- Ray Harris 4.37
- Ernie Lessiter 3.24
Weymouth (withdrew)
- Ron Barrett 7.50
- Ernie Brecknell (Ernest Blight) 6.86
- Ken Adams 5.83
- Danny Dunton 5.53
- Frank Johnson 4.88
- Ernie Lessiter 3.29
- Gerald Pugh 2.15
- Roy Bowers 1.82