Aldershot Shots also known later as Aldershot Poppies were a speedway team that existed from 1950 to 1960, they were based primarily at Aldershot Stadium in Tongham, near Farnham.
History In 1929, eight meetings were held at the 25 acres Aldershot Sports Stadium on Boxall's Lane. The first of these was held on Wednesday 3 July 1929. Although seven of the meetings were individual events there was one team fixture against Southampton Saints. The stadium is known to have hosted speedway in 1931 but would later become a reservoir (known as Badshot Lea Little Pond). The date that the stadium was demolished is unknown.
In 1950, speedway returned to Aldershot at the greyhound stadium known as Aldershot Stadium. The track was completed by February 1950 and a team was entered for the National League Division Three season, where the team finished the season in fifth place. In 1951, the finished slightly better in third place. The star of the 1950 and 1951 team was Trevor Redmond while his fellow Kiwi Geoff Mardon was also a star man.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). Homes of British Speedway.
In 1952, the third division was replaced by the Southern League and Aldershot finished 7th. In 1953, the stadium was used for open meetings.
A team called the California Poppies moved to Aldershot in 1957 and were renamed the Aldershot Poppies. The team competed in the 1957 Southern Area League, Aldershot reverted to the name Shots and had one more season of league racing in 1959.
In 1960, after a short season of open meetings, the speedway track closed.Pavey, A. (2004) Speedway in the North-West, Tempus Publishing Ltd.
Notable riders Ross Gilbertson Geoff Mardon Trevor Redmond
Season summary Year and leaguePositionNotes 1950 Speedway National League Division Three 5th 1951 Speedway National League Division Three 3rd 1952 Speedway Southern League 7th 1957 Southern Area League 4thknown as Aldershot Poppies 1959 Southern Area League 3rd
See also
List of defunct motorcycle speedway teams in the United Kingdom
References