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Eric Williams |
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Born Port Talbot, South Wales, 17 November 1927.
Died Mackay, Queensland, 24 July 2009 |
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The
Williams Brothers Eric's Eulogy
Southend with
Wembley Supporters 1950 Eric
still Clowning Despite_Health_Problems |
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Eric In 2008 |
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Christmas 2008 Eric with
his two daughters Mandy left and Linda right.
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Christmas At The Green's |
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Jenny, Emma with the family cat Milo, Eric, Robert, Linda,
Mandy Kneeling and Harry. |
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Harry Green says: Hello you manage the wonderful
website for my grandfather. I am the young boy
in the photos, now 23 would enjoy chatting with you
about wiggy (William Eric Williams). Cheers, Harry
Sent from my iPhone
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Jackie Gates 80th
Birthday |
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Eric Williams in the
red shirt with many of his pals at Jackie Gates 80th Birthday December 2006. Eileen Fearman sits with Jackie Gates in the front row.
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Eric Williams
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Reg Fearman writes: Eric and I raced against each other many times in
the late 1940's and early 1950's, he for Wembley and me for West Ham. Both
teams were invited to compete in the Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, in October
1950. It was when we returned to England from that match that we both
learned we had been chosen to represent England in Australia for their 1950-51
season. We sailed from Tilbury to Sydney on the SS Strathnaver along with
the remainder of the team and about 30 other speedway riders heading home to
Australia and New Zealand. Eric and I got to know each other pretty well and
shared a lot of fun on that four-week trip. Some of the photographs will
show the pranks which others had to endure. I went to live in New Zealand in
October 1954 until March 1956. Eric went to live in New Zealand in 1955 and
left there in 1997 to live in Mackay, Queensland.
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Eric and I had been in touch throughout the years
and in December 2006, I invited him down to the Gold Coast to celebrate the
80th birthday of his former Wembley team mate, Jackie Gates. From then on,
we were e-mailing each other frequently. I was devastated when he told
me at Christmas time last year that he had only three months to live. With
the help of his very close friends, Dr. Robert and Jenny Green, he
survived another four months. Over the past few months, Eric and I had
taken to talking on the telephone each Saturday morning and always shared a
tremendous amount of laughter. He always reminded me how lucky we had been
to have had such an interesting life, being involved with speedway racing,
travelling afar and meeting so many wonderful people. Just five days before
he died, he told me what a magic day he had had at the Mackay Golf Club,
following in a buggy the Pro-Am competition.
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During the latter months of his life, Eric bore
his sentence - as he called it - with bravery, courage and dignity - an
example to us all.
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Over the past few months, I have been in touch
with Jenny Green and it is with her approval and her family's wish that the
following extracts from her letter to me and the Eulogy read by Dr Robert
Green together with the memories of Eric by their children, Harry and Emma, be
posted on this web site. Eric's daughters, Linda and Mandy, who live in New
Zealand, have also given their blessing to this and the photographs which
follow. |
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Reg Fearman
4 August 2009
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An extract from the e-mail from Jenny Green to
Reg. |
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Yesterday (Thursday, 30 July) went off
really well - as far as funerals go. The chapel looked a picture with the
beautiful red & white (& green for Wales - "look you") Wembley coloured flower
arrangements adorning the alter; the white coffin, resplendent with a massive
red & white floral tribute & as a special token to our beloved Little
Welshman, a leek. He would have been smiling for sure at that!!! |
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Harry commenced proceedings by playing "Tango, by
Rodriguez, on his guitar, it was a favourite piece of Wiggy's. Emma & Harry
then delivered their tributes to the Little Welshman. Em was to go first but
was too choked with emotion so Harry recited his memories, both kids
supporting each other. Emma then steeled her resolve & delivered a wonderful
speech. They both spoke with dignity & devotion to the man they adored. I was
immensely proud of them & I'm sure Wiggy would have been too.
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Rev Janet conducted a beautiful service that was
personal & very appropriate |
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Rob then delivered his eulogy (I have attached
copies of all three. We would be honoured if you were to post these on the
website.) which was heartfelt, honest, very touching & with the right degree
of humour. Who would have thought there would be that much laughter at a
funeral. Wiggy would have heartily approved!!!! I then recited Dylan
Thomas's Rage rage against the light. I managed to read it clearly, sombrely &
with feeling (so my husband tells me) it's the very least I could have done. |
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We all then sprinkled red rose petals on top of
the coffin, Rev Janet closed & the 5 of us followed the coffin out. We then
greeted members of the congregation as they exited & adjourned to our home for
refreshments.
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We all felt the day was a celebration of Wiggy's
wonderful life rather than a mourning of his passing. Our friends all
enjoyed reading the tributes, drinking to Wiggy's memory & just getting
together. |
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Jenny |
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Robert Roger's Photos
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The Williams Brothers
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Photo Courtesy of Mike Kemp |
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The Williams brothers :- Eric, Freddie and
Ian, taken at Heathrow Airport London in the 1950s
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Eric Williams Mid 1980s |
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Courtesy of Ben Walch |
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Ben Walch says: Eric Williams, Meeanee Speedway Hawkes Bay NZ. Circa
mid 1980 on a practice day Eric in borrowed leathers showing the
lads how it’s done, with a smile. Photo credit; Bruce Jenkins. |
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Eric's Eulogy
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By Dr Robert Green
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It is my pleasure and honour to deliver
a eulogy for Eric. He was a father figure to me and a great friend. After
today's funeral service and cremation Eric's ashes will be sent to his family in
New Zealand where a memorial service will be held next week. |
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Prayers were said for Eric last Sunday in Margam Abbey in South Wales in the
United Kingdom, at a service attended by his sister Kate and brothers Freddie
and Ian. |
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Messages of condolence have been
streaming in from around the world. Eric was held in high esteem by his
speedway racing colleagues and fans. Copies of these messages can be viewed at
a social gathering to be held at our home directly after the funeral. The
address is 5 James Court Andergrove, off Fernleigh Avenue, and you are all
warmly invited to attend. |
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Eric was born in Taibach near Port
Talbot in South Wales 81 years ago. His father was a steelmaker who had a
passion for motorbikes which he passed on to his three sons Eric, Freddie and
Ian. All three rode in international speedway test match competition. Because
there weren’t any Welsh or British test teams during the period they raced, the
boys all rode for England. Freddie was world champion in 1950 and 1953. |
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Eric grew up in a loving working class
home during the Great Depression years. In 1941 at age 14 he entered an
apprenticeship in the Army Technical College. Soon afterwards he contracted
tuberculosis of the kidneys and after a prolonged hospitalisation (treatment of
tuberculosis in those days required 12 to 18 months in hospital) he was
discharged medically unfit from the Army. |
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Eric always felt that the military had
treated him poorly and carried a bitter grudge against the Ministry of Defence.
Over the last few years of his life he entered into and, I suspect, rather
enjoyed a fairly robust and vitriolic correspondence with the British Ministry
of Defence and various British MPs. This came to a dramatic and amusing climax
last December when his daughter Mandy was visiting from New Zealand. Two police
officers called at the house to question him over a hoax terrorist attack in
London. Eric had posted Christmas cards to various British MPs which contained
unpleasant messages and liberal quantities of talcum powder. The Whitehall Post
Office was closed and evacuated for several hours as authorities suspected an
anthrax attack from Moslem extremists. Eric admitted his guilt to the police
officers and was put on a good behaviour bond. He was disappointed as he was
hoping to be dragged back to Britain and was looking forward to his day in
court. I think Mandy was surprised but rather proud that her father was up to
such mischief at age 81. |
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In the late 1940s Eric's passion for
motorbikes developed. After initial trials events and grass track racing he
took up speedway racing and in 1948 became a professional at the Birmingham
track. He suffered a serious injury in his first season but had a successful
year in 1949 with the Cradley Heath Club. In 1950 he moved into the big league
when he joined the famous Wembley club, who raced at the stadium used for the
1948 Olympic Games. He represented England in home and away tests against
Australia and New Zealand between 1950 and 1960. He competed in three world
speedway finals with his best finish being fourth in 1955. |
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After the 1955 season he moved to New
Zealand to ride for Hawkes Bay. He returned to the United Kingdom for three
seasons in the early 1960s before eventually retiring from professional speedway
riding. |
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He married Helen in 1950; had two
daughters Linda and Mandy; and five grandchildren. After leaving speedway he
worked in the car and newspaper industries. He became a keen and talented
golfer. He played off a single figure handicap for many years, and gained a
reputation in Hawkes Bay as a tough opponent with perhaps one or two shots up
his sleeve. His love of motorbikes continued and he was an enthusiastic trials
bike rider in the 1970s and 80s, competing in amateur events against riders
often less than half his age.
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Helen died in 1993 and a year or so
later Eric got together with Margaret, whose husband Harold had died several
years before and had been a good friend of Eric’s.
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In 1997 they moved to Mackay to be close
to Margaret's daughter Jenny and her grandchildren Harry and Emma. Eric soon
became a much loved and respected member of our family. He was a wonderful
grandfather to the twins and thrilled and entertained them with his silly
nonsense for many happy hours. He managed to convince them that his car could
fly, and taught them many of his daft sayings.
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Eric introduced me to golf 10 years ago
and patiently wandered around the Mackay course watching me butcher the ball and
getting very angry. He was amazingly indulgent and encouraging. He was very
pleased and, I am sure, relieved when I finally managed to break a hundred and
obtain a handicap which would allow me to play competition golf and leave him in
peace. He held my hand during my first year or so of competition play and
remained very competitive himself off an overgenerous handicap of 15. In his
70s he had lost length off the tee but retained an excellent short game and a
mercurial touch with the putter. It was a sad day when he finally gave the game
away because of increasing arthritis of his hips and knees. He was a stickler
for etiquette and at times was an absolute pain to play with or against. A
month or so ago he gave me a hideous fairway wood cover complete with a very
grumpy face so that I could remember him in years to come whilst playing the
game that he loved. As if I could ever forget. |
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Eric's great passion in his final years
was his biography. He was a wonderful storyteller and his memoirs were soon
passed around his old speedway mates. This eventually led to his collaboration
with Ross Garrigan, a speedway enthusiast and talented author who lives in
Brisbane, who so far has edited 21 short chapters and posted them on The
Speedway History Forum web site. Ross is up to the mid 1950s and has plenty
more of Eric's material to draw upon. The response to these memoirs has been
staggering. People who Eric hadn't heard of for years and plenty who he'd never
met before started e-mailing and phoning him from around the world. He just
loved reminiscing with his speedway mates and his stories brought great joy and
moments of nostalgia to his friends, fans & family. Hopefully, Ross will finish
off the biography and may even go on to publish the collection. |
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Eric's last year was marked by his
deteriorating health. He refused active treatment for his multiple myeloma but
did let me keep him comfortable with painkillers and occasional blood
transfusions. He never complained and bore his illness with great dignity. He
remained mentally alert until the very end. Several of us here today saw him
slowly staggering around the Pro-Am competition at the Mackay Golf Club just a
few days before his death. He sat beside the 18th green with a bourbon and Coke
in his hand and thoroughly enjoyed the play-off late on Sunday afternoon. As
the Irishman, Eddie Barr, missed the putt to keep his hopes alive Eric muttered
under his breath "Oh that's a shame".
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And so we farewell Eric. In Mackay we
have known him for his great sense of fun and mischievous personality. Speedway
fans around the world will remember him for his great achievements in the 1940s
and 50s. Anyone who has played golf with him is unlikely to forget Eric!
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He was a little Welshman but had a huge
personality. I am proud to have known him. He will be sorely missed.
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Eric chose the piece of music you are
about to hear for his funeral. He loved classical music, and particularly
baroque and early 19th century composers. His favourites were Vivaldi and
Mozart. I was surprised to hear that he picked the famous adagio by Samuel
Barber. It must be the only piece of 20th-century classical music that he
liked. It's a beautiful piece of music which goes for about five minutes.
During this time you might like to reflect upon your memories of Eric, and also
perhaps your own life and mortality. Afterwards Jenny will read a famous poem
by the great Welshman Dylan Thomas.
Farewell Eric, yachi da.
Robert
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What I
Remember Of
Wiggy
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By
Harry |
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What I remember most about Wiggy was
his loving nature & his delightful sense of humour. |
I loved the way he would sit down &
listen with me as I played guitar for him. He really loved classical music –
especially Vivaldi, so we heard it a lot!!! |
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I enjoyed listening to him talk of his
life in Port Talbot as a boy & all the mischief he & his 2 brothers got up to.
They gave “sister Kate” a hard time & used to shoot potato pellets at her.
Kate got to be a pretty fast runner!! |
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Wiggy was always interested in my
sports & he & Margie would always come to my soccer games – even in the
pouring rain. He was always at our cross countries & athletics days cheering
for us. He liked to help out too & be involved so he would attend the high
jump, & rake the long jump pit. |
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He meant the world to me. |
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When we would have sleepovers round
Margie & Wiggy’s house as children, he would always take us on walks down
Lamberts Beach. It was always so much fun. |
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When Emma & I were 6 years old we 2
would go down to the park at the end of their road & before we crossed Wiggy
would always say “look left, look right & look left again,” to make sure there
was no traffic coming. He always used to say “always be prepared for the
unexpected.” How those sayings have stuck with us! |
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When we were really little we used to
go to the park & play on the slide. Before Emma & I would go down, he would
reach out in front of us & demand a ticket. The first few times we went down,
the ticket was “valid”, then he would say the ticket was out of date & we
weren’t allowed to go down. So we would say “look behind you Wigs there is a
purple elephant!! He would turn around & take his arm off the slide & we would
go down laughing, thinking that we had fooled him – but that was Wiggy just
being Wiggy, a loving, caring grandfather that was always there for me. I will
never forget him. |
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My
Memories
Of Wiggy
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By Emma
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When I think of Wiggy many memories come into my head, so when I was asked to
think of a few of them, I was faced with a challenge: What memories should I
select? |
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In the end I selected some of my favourites.
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The thing I remember most about Wiggy was the funny things he would say, for
example whenever Harry or I spilt or dropped something he would say,
“Carelessness, carelessness”. Of coarse this stuck with us and was often
repeated back to him whenever he did something careless. |
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He would also say Yachi dah and bullytheewitharkwee, which meant various
things from Goodbye to Cheers. He told us they were Welsh but whether or not
we believed him is a different story. |
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Another fond memory I have of Wiggy is him telling us that his car could fly.
Harry and I didn’t believe him at first but then later on he managed to
convince us, why would he lie? |
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Harry and I would aways ask him to fly his car when we were inside, but he
would always say something like: “ It can only carry me”, or “ I’m having
technical difficulties”. Harry
and
I still believed him all the way until we were
around ten, when we figured out that Wiggy had had so many technical
difficulties that his car simply could not fly. |
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Wiggy was a great story teller and would often answer my questions with a
made-up tale. My favourite was when I asked what happened to his little finger
(he didn’t have the top part of it), he replied saying that he had been
swimming when a lady suddenly got attacked by a Great White shark, he quickly
swam over to her and fought off the shark, but the shark bit the top off his
finger before it swam away scared. I always wondered how a shark with huge
teeth could only take about half a centimetre off the end of a finger. |
I later found out that it got caught in a seat adjuster, not quite as
dramatic as the first story. |
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In Grade two we were given a book, selected from the library at random and we
had to read it and write about it. I coincidently received a book about
speedway that had a picture of Wiggy in it. I was amazed that Wiggy was in a
book, so I asked him about speedway, he told me all about it and I realised
that MY Grandad was famous! WOW! He even showed me a picture of him signing
autographs. |
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I
remember Wiggy always smiling; he was a happy person who I am blessed with
having known. He was always a goat around us and was full of fun, but would
make sure we behaved ourselves. |
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I
could not have asked for a better Grandad, he was supportive, willing to play
with us and would teach us various things from how to dig properly with a
shovel to how to fall of your bike with minimal injury- you have to roll by
the way. I shall dearly miss him and all the fun times we shared. |
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Sydney
Australia
1950 - 1951 |
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Jack Arnfield Lionel
Levy Jim Courtney Eric Williams Jackie Gates around the beer barrel in Sydney Australia
1950 - 1951 |
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Eric Williams,
Barry
Briggs & Split Waterman |
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New Cross 1960 |
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Freddie Williams,
Gerry Hussey (West Ham) & Eric Williams
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At Wembley 1953 |
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Our Transport,
Sydney
To Adelaide |
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Our transport Sydney
to Adelaide Piloted by Lionel van Praag. Left to right Tommy Miller Aub Lawson
Bob Fletcher Eric Williams centre Jack Parker Keith Ryan
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Bob
Fletcher, Reg Fearman Tommy Miller & Eric Williams |
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Bob
Fletcher, Reg Fearman holds the bucket, Tommy Miller, Eric Williams, our
performance enough to make Team Manager
Harry Tovey cry.
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Doreen, Helen, Reg & Eric |
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Doreen Helen
Reg and Eric around the Pianola at Alan Gerrerd's house 1951 Sydney. |
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Eric Williams,
Bruce
Abernathy & Reg Fearman |
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Eric Williams Bruce
Abernathy (Wembley & New Zealand) Reg Fearman inspect a Midget Racing Car at
Sydney Showground 1950. |
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Eric Williams In Action For
Great Britain |
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Eric Williams,
Bruce
Abernathy & Reg Fearman |
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Eric Williams Bruce
Abernathy Reg Fearman Sydney Showground 1950-51 |
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Eric Williams &
Reg Fearman |
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Eric Williams and
Reg Fearman in fine voice at the home of photographer Alan Gerard Sydney 1951
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Eric Williams &
Reg Fearman At Bathurst |
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Eric Williams and
Reg Fearman in action at the Bathurst speedway in 1951.
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Carry On Sailing! |
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Eric
Williams Reg Fearman & Harold Bull |
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Eric
Williams Reg Fearman and Harold Bull, St Austell and Vic Duggan's cousin. On
board SS Orcades 1951 bound for London Tilbury from Sydney.
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SS Orcades Feb 1951
Bound For London |
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Orcades Feb 1951
Bound for London Tilbury Aub Lawson Allan Quinn Don Prettijohn Harold Bull Bill
Jemison Helen Williams Jackie Gates Reg Fearman Noel Watson Eric Williams -
behind Eric Bob Leverenz - Vic Sage Mick Callaghan Don Lawson Bob Fletcher Eddie
Rigg Frank Malouf |
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SS Oronsay
1951 |
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Oronsay 1951 Jackie
Gates Eric Williams Reg Fearman Bob Fletcher Noel Watson |
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"Carry on sailing"
Oronsay 1951 Eric
Williams and others sitting on the ships rail in front of Eddie Rigg Tommy
Miller Keith Gurtner Steve Langton Frank Malouf ? Alan Wall Graham Williams Alec
Hunter Jack Chignell and Mick Callaghan |
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Sydney Sportsground
In November 1950 |
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Reg Fearman Tommy Miller Eric Williams Eddie Rigg at practice
at the Sydney Sportsground in November 1950 |
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The Sydney Sports
Ground November 1950 |
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Eddie Rigg Eric Williams Tommy Miller Reg Fearman at practice
at the Sydney Sportsground November 1950. Four in a line probably staged for the
press. |
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England Team In
Sydney 1950 - 1951 |
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England Team in Sydney 1950 - 1951 At the Showground. Left to
Right Jack Parker Derek Tailby Reg Fearman Eric Williams Eddie Rigg Bob Fletcher
Tommy Miller |
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Southend With The Wembley
Supporters
1950 |
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Jackie Gates Eric
Williams fun day out at Southend with the Wembley supporters 1950 |
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Wembley Lions 1950 |
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Wembley Lions 1950 Eric Williams stands with his right
hand on the handlebar of the machine also in the photo brother Freddie Tommy
Price Jimmy Gooch Alf Bottoms George Wilks Bob Wells Bill Kitchen Bruce
Abernathy Bill Gilbert Jackie gates Den Cosby Manager in the suit Duncan King
and the trainer Tommy in the white coat |
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Speedway Echo
May 1950 |
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The Speedway Echo May 1950 front page Eric Williams is in the bottom right
hand corner |
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Eric Williams In Action
At Wembley |
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Eric Williams, Raye
& Ivan Mauger With Ian Hoskins |
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Eric Williams Raye and Ivan Mauger Ian Hoskins at Jackie
Gates 80th Birthday December 2006 Burleigh Heads Gold Coast Queensland |
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Jackie, Reg & Eric |
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Jackie Gates the 80th Birthday boy, Reg Fearman, Eric
Williams gives Reg's chin a wipe !!
What was that about Reg? Do you need nursing now old boy? |
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Ivan Mauger Greg Kentwell Ian Hoskins Bluey Scott Kevin Torpie Bill Bryden
Front Jackie Gates
Eric Williams & Reg Fearman. |
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Eric Williams Blows His Nose On Bruce Abernathy's
Scarf ! |
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Eric Williams In
Perth,
Nov 1950 |
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Eric and Helen Williams, Peter Dykes,
& Bluey Langtry |
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Eric and Helen Williams, Peter Dykes,
Eric in middle & Bluey Langtry |
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Eric Williams and Bruce Abernathy adjust the ships compass
!! Strathnaver Nov 1950 Eric Williams Hoists Helen's Knickers SS Strathnaver Nov 1950 |
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Eric (Right) Reg (Left)
& Peter Dykes In
Perth, Nov 1950 |
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Nov 1950 Group On SS Strathnaver Eric Williams
Sitting Second Right
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Christmas Day 2008
Eric Williams At The Greens |
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Christmas day 2008 at the Greens. Left Eric Williams, right Dr Robert Green,
Eric's daughter Mandy in the red hat, Harry,
Robert and Jenny's son at the back in the grey hat and Jenny in the
blue
hat and specs. |
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Eric Still
Clowning! Despite
Health Problems |
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Eric Williams
December 2008 out of hospital in time for Christmas after a
minor stroke.
Left leg out and Wembley colours complete with walker !!! |
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The contents of the site are © and should not be
reproduced elsewhere for financial gain. The contributors to this site
gave the pictures and information on that understanding. If anyone has
any issue or objections to any items on the site please
e-mail
and I will amend or remove the item. Where possible credit
has been given to the owner of each item. |