 |
THE PRE-WAR YEARS This book charts the chequered history of both tracks from the early days of the sport in Britain when five figure crowds regularly flocked to both venues through to when those heady days were just a memory as a drop in attendances forced the closure notices to go up. From the stars of the track to the novice class, the idols of the day and their track exploits are fondly remembered. None more so than Cyril 'Squib' Burton and Syd Jackson who went on to become the first superstars of their era. Beyond these two, Fred Wilkinson, Arthur Jervis and Hal Herbert all enjoyed international stardom and they are recalled together with Arthur Sherlock who won the hearts of the Leicester public. A season-by-season review forms the central theme to the book, including how plans to build a second track in the city came close to breaking the establishment of the Leicestershire County Cricket Club. The staging of a Test match between England and Australia at Leicester is elaborated upon and the tragic accident that occurred in 1929 is told together with a feature on the European one-mile speed record attempts. |
