Freddie Williams (speedway rider)

Frederick Owen Williams (12 March 1926 – 20 January 2013) was a motorcycle speedway rider from Wales who was World Champion on two occasions.[1] He was the winner of the Speedway World Championship in 1950 and 1953 and runner-up in 1952.[2][3]

Freddie Williams
Freddie Williams in 1950
Born(1926-03-12)12 March 1926
Port Talbot, Wales
Died20 January 2013 (aged 86)
Swindon, England
NationalityBritish (Welsh)
Career history
1947–1956Wembley Lions
Individual honours
1950, 1953World Champion
Team honours
1949, 1950, 1951,
1952, 1953		National League Champion
1948, 1954National Trophy winner
1949, 1950, 1951,
1954		London Cup

Career

Williams grew up in Port Talbot, where he was a classmate of Richard Burton, and they played together in the school rugby team.[4] In 1941 he moved to Portsmouth where he started an apprenticeship in the dockyards as an engineer-fitter.[4][5] He was a despatch rider in World War II, and began his speedway career as the war ended, after initially competing in grasstrack.[4] After attending training sessions at Rye House, he was signed by Alec Jackson for the Wembley Lions, and in 1948 got a regular place in the team after injuries to George Wilks and Bill Kitchen.[6]

Williams rode for the Wembley Lions for his entire career, from 1947 until 1956.[7] Williams became the first British rider to win two World titles (in 1950 and 1953), a feat only matched by Peter Craven (in 1955 and 1962) and Tai Woffinden (2013, 2015, 2018).

Williams represented England in test match series, gaining his first cap in 1949.[5][8]

In 1953 he married Olympic skater Pat Devries.[9][10][4] His two younger brothers, Ian Williams and Eric Williams, were also speedway riders, and Freddie acted as Ian's mechanic at the 1957 World Final.[6][11][12]

Williams presented the winner's trophy to Australian rider Chris Holder at the 2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.[6] Like Williams, Holder would go on to become the World Champion at the end of the 2012 Speedway Grand Prix season. Williams finished second behind (Jack Young in the 1952 World Final at Wembley Stadium.

Williams died on 20 January 2013, aged 86, in the Great Western Hospital in Swindon following a stroke the previous day.[6][13][14][15]

Williams is the only Welshman, to win speedway's ultimate individual prize.

World Final appearances

Grasstrack racing
  • Southern Centre Champion 1948.[16]

References
  1. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  2. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
  3. Montague, Trevor (2004). The A-Z of Sport. Little, Brown. p. 532. ISBN 0-316-72645-1.
  4. Rhys, Steffan (2011) "Richard Burton's school days recalled by speedway star", Western Mail, 25 June 2011, retrieved 2011-11-27
  5. Morgan, Tom (1949) Who's Who in Speedway, Sport-in-Print, p. 74
  6. Chaplin, John (2013) "Freddie Williams", Speedway Star, 26 January 2013, pp. 3–5
  7. Jacobs, Norman (2001). Speedway in London. ISBN 0-7524-2221-9
  8. Foster, P. (2005) History of the Speedway Ashes, The History Press Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-3468-3
  9. "Off the Beaten Track". Speedway Star page 14. 5 November 2022.
  10. "Freddie Williams 1998". Welsh Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  11. "Zmarł dwukrotny mistrz świata Freddie Williams" (in Polish). sportowefakty.pl. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  12. "The Williams brothers". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  13. "RIP Freddie Williams". speedwaygp.com. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  14. "Freddie Williams". swindonrobins.co. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  15. "Obituary; Saturday Telegraph 26 January 2013". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  16. "Freddie Williams - Grasstrack GB".
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