canadian speedway

BEHIND EVERY GOOD MAN......

Stands a good woman. And in Stan Bradbury's case it was his late wife Dorothy.

I first met her in the Stands at Welland Speedway. Here was this woman with an English accent holding court, explaining everything about speedway to anyone who wanted to know. Whether it was the rules and regulations or the history of the sport. She was such an ambassador for the sport that I had grown up watching in England as a young boy.

What I didn't know at the time was who she was and how much work she put into the sport in Canada . Nor did I know the man she was married to was an ex rider from England , Stan Bradbury. Even more amazing was this woman who had a distinctive English accent was indeed born in Australia not the old country!

Later on after I joined the speedway family in Canada did I find out more about this wonderful woman who was always at speedway meetings with her husband. She had a passion for the sport that her husband had done for a living and for fun in Canada . While Stan was in the pits Dorothy could be found working on the unconverted to get them to support speedway. I spent many an unfashionable hour manning the booth at winter motorcycle shows with her and Stan “selling the sport” to any passerby who came with in earshot of our booth. I learned that they had designed our display as well as stored it for the club and more often than not, worked the booth. It was a long day or weekend as you were on your feet more often than not but Dorothy kept us going. Even sharing food and drink if we needed it. I was really happy for her when one day in Toronto her favorite ice skater Elvis Stoko came to our booth and sat on one of our bikes and Dorothy got to meet him and have a little talk. You guessed it she was talking speedway to Elvis!

On looking back at some of their speedway photos she was always there supporting Stan at the track. She was always quick to come over and give you a warm welcome not to mention words of encouragement. I remember a time when I had to “laydown” my bike to avoid a fallen rider and when I came off the track I was given a pat on the back for a “job well done” by Dorothy.

Sadly Dorothy is no longer with us having put up a valiant fight against cancer. She is missed by many of us in speedway and even today when I go to Welland I half expect to see and hear her in the stands.

Article: Tiger Tom Marriott