1956 Speedway National League Division Two Explained

Competition:	National League Division Two
Competitors:	7
Domesticcup1:	Champions
Domesticcup2:	National Trophy (Div 2 final)
Domesticcup2 Winners:	Southampton Saints
League Above:	National League (Div 1)
Leagues Below:	Southern League
Highestaverage:	Per Olof Söderman
Prevseason:	1955
Nextseason:	1957

1956 was the final season of the Speedway National League Division Two.^[1]

Summary

With the number of sides competing at national level diminishing from 37 at the start of 1951 to just 14 in 1956, only a single national division would be in existence by 1957. Poole Pirates had been promoted to Division One and Exeter Falcons had closed leaving seven entrants.^{[2] [3]}

Swindon Robins captured the title by a single point.^{[4] [5]}

Southampton's 34-year-old captain Ernie Rawlins died in Southampton Hospital on 22 September 1956, following an accident in the match against Birmingham on 18 September.^[6]

Final table

Pos	Team	M	W	D	L	Pts
1	Swindon Robins	24	16	0	8	32
2	Southampton Saints	24	15	1	8	31
3	Rayleigh Rockets	24	14	1	9	29
4	Ipswich Witches	24	13	0	11	26
5	Coventry Bees	24	12	0	12	24
6	Leicester Hunters	24	6	1	17	13
7	Oxford Cheetahs	24	6	1	17	13

Top Five Riders (League only)

	Rider	Nat	Team	C.M.A.
1	Per Olof Söderman		Coventry	11.74
2	Ken McKinlay		Leicester	10.25
3	Dick Bradley		Southampton	10.22
4	Bob Roger		Swindon	9.53
5	Ian Williams		Swindon	9.52

National Trophy Stage One

• For Stage Two - see Stage Two

The 1956 National Trophy was the 19th 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. Southampton won stage one and qualified for second and final stage.^[7]

Division Two First round

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
21/04	Coventry	55-53	Ipswich
21/04	Rayleigh	74-34	Oxford
21/04	Swindon	65-43	Leicester
20/04	Leicester	65-43	Swindon
19/04	Ipswich	68-40	Coventry
19/04	Oxford	40-68	Rayleigh
05/05 replay	Swindon	51-56	Leicester
04/05 replay	Leicester	76-32	Swindon

Division Two semifinals

width=80	Date	width=250	Team one	width=80	Score	width=250	Team two
26/05	Rayleigh	68-39	Southampton
25/05	Leicester	67-40	Ipswich
22/05	Southampton	69-39	Rayleigh
21/05	Ipswich	46-62	Leicester

Division Two final

First legSecond leg

Riders & final averages

Coventry

• 11.74
• 7.50
• 8.04
• 6.53
• 6.40
• 5.98
• 5.05
• 4.41

Ipswich

• 9.21
• 8.93
• 8.70
• (George Snailum) 6.40
• 5.31
• 4.56
• 3.54
• 3.05
• 2.76
• 2.33

Leicester

• 10.25
• 8.21
• 6.
• 5.
• 5.92
• 5.89
• 5.61
• 4.73
• 3.61
• 2.42
• 2.09
• 1.33
• 1.33

Oxford

• 8.53
• 6.20
• 5.90
• 5.60
• 5.55
• 5.07
• 4.70
• 4.29
• 4.00
• 4.00
• 3.69
• 2.46

Rayleigh

• 9.50
• 8.25
• 7.78
• 7.17
• 6.99
• 6.40
• 5.38
• 5.33

Southampton

• 10.22
• 8.48
• 8.41
• 8.36
• 5.75
• 5.43
• 5.25
• 5.17
• 4.59
• 3.20

Swindon

• 9.53
• 9.52
• 9.15
• 5.69
• 4.76
• 4.13
• 3.83
• 3.58
• 3.08

See also

• List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
• Knockout Cup (speedway)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Home . speedwayresearcher.org.uk.
2. Web site: Historic league tables. Speedway Archive.
3. Web site: BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964). Official British Speedway website. 13 August 2021.
4. Web site: Year by Year. Speedway Researcher. 13 August 2021.
5. Book: Rogers, Martin. The Illustrated History of Speedway. 1978. 129. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-904584-45-3.
6. News: Speedway Star Dies . Sunday Sun (Newcastle) . 23 September 1956 . 13 August 2021 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
7. Web site: 1956 National Trophy. Speedway archive.