Stan Bradbury
18 December 1926 - 03 June 2021
Stan started racing Speedway in England in 1945. He rode for Stoke, Wolverhampton and Motherwell to mention a few. He also raced in Sweden and Ireland.
He immigrated to Canada in 1957 with his wife Dorothy and 2 year old son David and 9 month old daughter Susan, 9 months after arriving in Canada came daughter Hazel and 16 months later another son, Alan joined the family.
Stan along with Mike Tams and Bob Fisher made several attempts to get Speedway going in Canada but the big break came in 1972 after meeting Wes Pierce the promoter at Welland County Speedway and then the Robinson brothers from Spencerport, New York.
With hard work and persistence Speedway became a regular class on Saturday nights at Welland County Speedway and in Batavia NY and Owego NY. Eventually Speedway added venues in Paris ON, Shannonville ON and St. Marcel PQ.
Stan was far more than just a competitor, he helped new riders learn the ropes and set up their bikes, he would even loan a bike to anyone who wanted to give it a go. He became the go to guy for repairs and frame and handlebar straightening. He made steel shoes worn for both Speedway and Flat track. He was also one of the founding members of the Canadian Speedway Racing Association. He held the post of Secretary for many years.
His extensive self taught mechanical abilities earned him the "Best Motorcycle Mechanic in Ontario" award in 1982. He also wrote a book called "Speedway Notes" which he had uploaded onto the internet for anyone that was interested. He had everything in his notes from how to set your gear ratio to the importance of learning to lay down your bike, He also wrote the Speedway rulebook for use by the Canadian Motorcycle Association.
Even the likes of Ivan Mauger and his wife Rae visited Stan and Dorothy to see what he was up to.
In 2006 Stan was inducted into the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame. He was known as "The Man Who Established Speedway Racing in Canada".
Stan will be sadly missed by his family and all that knew him. He was predeceased by his wife Dorothy (also a great influence in the promotion of Speedway) and his son-in-law Tony Armstrong (1978 Canadian Speedway Champion and also rode in England with Crayford)