1939 Individual Speedway World Championship Explained

The 1939 Individual Speedway World Championship was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II. It would have been the fourth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]}

The final, due to be held at Wembley on 7 September was cancelled, just four days after the declaration of war by Britain on Germany.^{[8] [9]}

Qualifying round

• The top 28 riders qualify for Championship round.

width=100	Date	width=250	Venue	width=200	Winner
2 June		George Greenwood
3 June		Andy Menzies
6 June	Knowle Stadium	Dick Harris
8 June		Stan Williams
10 June	Crystal Palace Exhibition Grounds	Aub Lawson
12 June		George Pepper
15 June		Jeff Lloyd
17 June		George Greenwood
1 July	Harringay Stadium	Jack Milne
4 July	West Ham Stadium	Arthur Atkinson
8 July		Bill Kitchen
12 July	New Cross Stadium	Aub Lawson & Jack Milne
19 July		Frank Goulden
24 July		Cordy Milne

Championship round

width=100	Date	width=200	Venue	width=250	Winner
2 August	Banister Court Stadium	Cordy Milne
5 August	Harringay Stadium	Jack Parker
15 August	West Ham Stadium	Eric Langton
17 August	Wembley Stadium	Lionel Van Praag
19 August	Hyde Road	Eric Langton
21 August	Wimbledon Stadium	Cordy Milne
23 August	New Cross Stadium	Wilbur Lamoreaux & Eric Langton

Points

• The top 16 riders (and 2 reserves) over 7 Championship rounds would qualify for the World final.

width=25px	Pos.	width=200px	Rider	width=50px	Qual Points	width=50px	Points carried forward
1	Cordy Milne	53	8
2		51	7
3	Wilbur Lamoreaux	50	7
4		47	7
5	Vic Duggan	45	6
6	Lionel Van Praag	44	6
7	Arthur Atkinson	40	6
8	Jack Milne	40	6
9	Alec Statham	36	5
10	Jack Parker	34	5
11		33	5
12	Eric Chitty	32	5
13	Ron Johnson	32	5
14	Frank Varey	31	4
15	Eric Collins	30	4
16	Aub Lawson	29	4

width=25px	Pos.	width=200px	Rider	width=40px	Qual Points	width=50px	c/f
17	Malcolm Craven	27	res
18	Frank Goulden	24	res
19		22
20		21
21		19
22		17
23		16
24		14
25		13
26		9
27		7
28		7

World final

• Wembley Stadium, London, 7 September 1939
• cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II.

Notes and References

1. Book: Oakes, Peter. 1981 Speedway Yearbook. 1981. 20–21. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-86215-017-5.
2. Web site: World Championship 1936-1994. Edinburgh Speedway. 5 July 2021.
3. Web site: WORLD FINALS 1936-1994. Speedway Researcher. 5 July 2021.
4. Web site: HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK. Speedway.org. 5 July 2021.
5. Web site: WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX. British Speedway. 5 July 2021.
6. Web site: Speedway riders, history and results. wwosbackup. 5 July 2021.
7. Book: Oakes, Peter . Speedway Yearbook 1990 . 1990 . 13 . Front Page Books . 0-948882-15-8.
8. News: Speedway Racing . West London Observer . 1 September 1939 . 22 April 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
9. News: Speedway Final . Cambridge Daily News . 6 September 1939 . 22 April 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .