Don Cuppleditch
Born25 October 1923 (1923-10-25)
Leeds, England
Died20 December 2018(2018-12-20) (aged 95)
Australia
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1948–1954Edinburgh
1954–1955Belle Vue

Donald Dearnley Cuppleditch (25 October 1923 – 20 December 2018) was a motorcycle speedway rider from England.[1]

Biography

Cuppleditch, born in Leeds, was first noticed riding a form of speedway in early 1947, when attached to the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment and taking part in makeshift events overseas.[2] He began his British leagues career riding for Edinburgh Monarchs during the 1948 Speedway National League Division Two season.[3]

The following season he improved as a rider and became an important part of the Scottish club's plans. He would ride for Ediburgh for seven years from 1948 to 1954 and recorded some impressive season averages including 9.54 in 1952 and 10.36 in 1953, the latter being the second best average in the entire division.[4] In-between, he reached the Championship round of the 1952 Individual Speedway World Championship and 1953 Individual Speedway World Championship and won the International round meeting at Old Meadowbank on 18 July 1953.[5]

Mid-way through the 1954 season, his form attracted interest from the division one teams and West Ham Hammers failed in a bid to sign him before Belle Vue Aces were successful. Edinburgh withdrew from the league shortly afterwards due to the loss of their two best riders.[6] He remained at Belle Vue until the end of the 1955 season.[7]

After speedway he would later emigrate to Australia.

References

  1. ↑ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "Speedway racing by the Dead Sea". The Sphere. 1 February 1947. Retrieved 12 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ↑ "1948 season". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "World Speedway Championship, Edinburgh rider wins qualifying round". The Scotsman. 20 July 1953. Retrieved 12 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ "Monarchs bid for help went unheeded". Edinburgh Evening News. 1 July 1954. Retrieved 12 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
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