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Maury Mattingley, born in Totton, Hampshire in 1923, first appeared at his local Speedway track, Southampton Saints in 1950 following Army service during WWII in Italy, North Africa and Greece meaning that his Speedway career did not start until he was 27, quite a late start, but with loads of desire and determination to develop a career in his chosen sport.

 

Southampton Saints must have appreciated his efforts because it was 8 years before he moved on, having ridden at Coventry Bees and Plymouth Devils before being signed by Wolverhampton Wolves in 1963, being part of the Provincial League title winning team in his first year with them.

 

His success continued with wins in the Jack Unstead Trophy, the Essex Championship and the Scottish Open Championship in 1963. The following year, Trevor Redmond signed Maury for the Glasgow Tigers where he rode until 1967 when he retired at  44 years old.

 

His stint riding for Glasgow proved a first amongst Speedway riders as he chose to live at home in Southampton to oversee his flourishing engineering business and commuted to his home meetings by air, flying from Heathrow to Glasgow each week. Airport staff got used to seeing Maury rushing through check-in with bits of Speedway frame under his arm and around his shoulders. This was long before the days of high security at airports and arriving 2 hours before the flight time to check-in.

 

His interest in engineering spread beyond his business and he produced his own Mattingley Speedway frames which were used successfully by many top riders. He also invented the Mattigley "Flicker",a mechanical means of removing tear-off strips to keep the wet shale from filling in the riders' goggles.It was very successful and was operated by the means of a lever on the left side of the helmet peak. Maury used to cause some amusement at Glasgow as he raced down the long White City straights and as he passed the grandstand, he would "salute" the crowd but he was just using his Flicker to clear his view. It became such a ritual that many of the crowd began saluting back as Maury went past!

 

After retirement, Maury retained his interest in Speedway as a member of the WSRA and became our President in 2000. He also had a long term interest in small scale steam engines and produced a number, some of which are still in service for the pleasure of tourists and holiday makers in the south.

 

Taken ill with a stroke in September 2007, he was admitted to hospital where he passed peacefully away two months later at the age of 84. Maury left his wife, Rosita, herself a keen motorcyclist who once rode at Glasgow White City, son Tony, who rode Speedway at Exeter and daughter, Marie, a keen horsewoman who won many rosettes in Show Jumping and Hunter Trials.

 

A commemorative plaque for Maury has been installed in the Memorial Garden near the National Speedway Museum at Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.

The above on the left shows Maury on the front of the tractor after winning the Scottish Open Championship with I believe Eric Boocock second and George Hunter third - and on on the right I have no idea except it must be when he was riding for Glasgow.

Maury Mattingley