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Wally Mawdsley
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| A local businessman living in
Upminster at the time of Romford's formation, Mawdsley was the
"quiet" man of the trio of promoters, more used to dealing
with business matters than seeking the limelight. A despatch rider in
Germany during his time in the forces, Mawdsley was a rider with the
Rayleigh Rockets, later moving up to join Norwich Stars. Injury ended his racing career and, in 1960, Wally joined Exeter as promoter, where he began a long association with Pete Lansdale. Mawdsley was also a member of the Division 2 Management Committee. |
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Pete Lansdale
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| Team manager of the Bombers, Pete
Lansdale had a long track career, commencing after the war at
Southampton and moving on to Plymouth. After a number of years with the
Devon track, Pete transferred to Walthamstow. When they closed down,
Pete returned to Devon as rider/promoter at Exeter, eventually joining
forces with Wally Mawdsley. Pete stopped riding in 1963 and added team
manager duties to his responsibilities at Exeter. A resident of Hornchurch at the time of the formation of Romford, Lansdale had served in the RAF during the war as a flight engineer on Sutherlands in the Coastal Command. |
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Maurice Morley
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| The most recognisable of the
three, Maurice was very much the public face of the Promotion Team. His
experience in speedway dated back to the early fifties when, as a rider,
he was associated with Long Eaton, Exeter, New Cross and Odsal. In the
early sixties, Morley was appointed team manager of Provincial League
outfit Newcastle and subsequently held senior positions at Sheffield,
Halifax, Hackney and Wimbledon. It was from Wimbledon that he joined Mawdsley and Lansdale as Company Secretary and Speedway Manager of their Speedway Promotions company. His reputation as one of the country's foremost track layers was tested to the full when he laid the Brooklands track in nine days. His vast experience and shrewd tactical brain contributed greatly to Romford's success. |
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Romford promoters Wally Mawdsley (back row, centre) and Pete Lansdale (front row, centre) line up for the Exeter Falcons in 1961. Another familiar face to Bombers fans (front, left) is Len Silver, later promoter at Hackney and Rayleigh. (Photo courtesy Exeter Falcons website) |
