Exeter Falcons Riders - W
Refurbishing
Apologies for the dropsheets, paint tins and scattered detritus. More information...
Name.......WAHLMANN, LEIF.
Seasons....1984.
Others.....Poole.
The nineteen year old Swede had come to Exeter on loan from neighbouring the
Poole camp, where he had failed to impress, and was beginning to establish
himself as a bright prospect when tragedy struck. Leif was riding in the
European junior championship at King's Lynn, when in heat 13 his engine was
to seize, causing him to crash badly, and he was to tragically die from the
resulting injuries.
Name.......WALSH, KEN.
Seasons....1950/51.
Others.....Harringay, Ipswich.
Australian Ken appears to have ridden for Exeter in a couple of meetings in
1955, but whether this was as a guest or not is uncertain. Ken was to appear
in 70 matches for Exeter in 50 & 51 and collected some 444 pts. Between 1952
and 1954 he was to ride in 78 meetings for Harringay, and scored 279 pts and
was to ride for the Aussies against a European team which they lost by 29-43
but he collected 10 of those points as indeed did Jack Geran, another former
Falcon. Ken was to announce his retirement from the sport at the end of 1955
to concentrate on building a taxi service business back home.
Name.......WATTS, BOB.
Seasons....1978/79.
Bob was the son of a local farmer and an inspiring grass tracker, who was
never to make his mark in the full team, but even though he managed only two
league rides in 78 he refused the offer of a free transfer and turned out for
five meetings in 1979. His reliability to answer short notice call ups was
invaluable for Exeter, as well as for the occasional side who found themselves
short on the night.
Name.......WEBSTER, ALF.
Seasons....1954.
Others.....Liverpool,Harringay,Swindon,Hull.
Alf spent just the one season at the County Ground, following his move from
Liverpool where he scored 269 pts from his 82 outings, and prior to that he
had been in the Swindon team that started out in 1949, whilst before that he
had been with Hull on their start of league racing in 1948. Following his stay
at Exeter he was to move to the Harringay circuit. Whilst at Liverpool, Alf
was to be lent to Wigan on their short speedway quest and topped the Panthers
scores with 9pts on their opening big night meeting against New Zealand, that
they won by 43 - 41.
Name.......WICKETT, RAY.
Seasons....1964
Others.....Plymouth,St.Austell.
Ray signed from St.Austell and was to make 17 appearances during the 1964 season
and scored a total of 57 points plus 12 Bonus points, but was shortly to suffer
a broken wrist that was to keep him out for the remainder of the season just as
he was emerging as a very useful second string.
Name.......WIGG, SIMON.
Seasons.....1996.
Others.......Weymouth, Birmingham,C.Heath,Oxford,Hackney,Bradford,Coventry.
King's Lynn.
Born in Aylesbury on October 15th, 1960, Simon stormed to record fifth World
Long track win in 1995 whilst racing under a Dutch licence, apart from many
other titles he has collected. Settling in well around the big Exeter track,
Simon was soon scoring highly and his very noticeable improvement saw him
qualify for the 1997 Grand Prix series. The introduction of the Elite League
in 1997 however, meant that Simon was to leave Exeter and moved on to join the
King's Lynn Camp.
Name.......WILLIAMS, JOHN.
Seasons....1980/81/82.
Others.....Ellsmere Port.
John was signed from Ellsmere in a £2,500 deal and was seen as a replacement
for Arnie Haley who's contract had been torn up following a failure to attend
a meeting. In 1980 he was to win the coveted "Westernapolis" trophy at the County Ground beating
former stars Scott Autrey and Vaclav Verner, both still in the British League at that time and scored
81 pts from his 15 matches that year. John was a more than useful reserve in 1981 when he notched
up a six point plus average, and although he decided to retire at the end of 1981 to concentrate on
a motorcycle repair business, he made a short return during 1982 to help out with an injury stricken
Falcon line up.
Name.......WILLIAMS, STUART.
Seasons....1986.
Stuart was to appear in six meetings for Exeter and from his total of fifteen
rides, he was to end up on an average 1.66 points.
Name.......WILLMOTT, SEAN.
Seasons....1984.
Others.....Hackney.
Sean was brought into the side in a bid to strengthen the line up on Exeter's
return to the British League in 1984, and after a quiet start he was soon
picking up valuable points for the "Falcons" and was to end the season on a
6.01 average from his 42 outings. An article from the Speedway mail from 1974
tells of how Lew Coffin had discovered a 12 year old sensation called Sean
Willmott, so one can only presume this was he.
Name.......WOFFINDEN, ROB.
Seasons....1993.
Others.....Sheffield,Scunthorpe,Workington.
Rob was to come to Exeter in July of '93 on loan as a replacement for injured
Frank Smart and made a big impact with a paid eleven against his former club,
Sheffield, before breaking a wrist and his Pelvis in his meeting against
Newcastle. Had made his debut for Workington in 1978 at Scunthorpe and was to
be found at Sheffield in 1994.
Name.......WOODCOCK, PHIL.
Seasons....1967/68/69/70/71/72.
Others.....Newport.
Phil appeared in 106 meetings for the Falcons and totaled 279 pts. He had
been capped as a Young England rider and was to move away from Exeter on
the arrival of Kevin Holden. Started out as an Exeter junior in 1967, and switched successfully
to Division Two Plymouth a year later. Appears Phil had something of a humorous nature as a
story tells of how Devils skipper Mike Cake and his buddy Phil Woodcock tucked their car in
behind British League secretary Dave Stevens' vehicle and followed him along the A2 from
Canterbury to his Rainham, Kent home. When Dave turned off the main road for his home Mike
and Phil followed, stopped their car outside his house, following him in, sat themselves down
on the settee and then promptly ordered tea and sandwiches for two!
Name.......WRIGHT, KEITH.
Seasons....1981/82.
Others.....Poole, Glasgow.
(image missing)
Australian Keith, who had qualified for the Australian Final of the World championship, had
been highly rated down under, and had come to Exeter for the start of the 1981 season. It
seems he was to then sign for Poole who immediately loaned him back to the County Ground
following an injury to new signing Dave Brewer. Keith was himself to receive a bad injury in
which he broke his leg during the 1 982 season, and was to no longer feature in the Falcons
side.
