Neil Street

Neil Street

Speedway lost one of its finest men this week with the passing of Neil Street. By way of a tribute we publish this extract from Jeff Scott's Showered in Shale Book, recalling the day in 2006 when Jeff met Neil for the first time.

Between the meetings, the legendary Neil 'Bill' Street takes a lot of time and interest in my book and my research questions, while we sit in the welcome shade of the cubbyhole by the pits. He looks surprisingly cool in his trademark [red] jumper, despite the intense heat of the day and the severity of the loss that he's just endured in his capacity as the Newport team manager. He has immense experience and an attitude to life that places him somewhere between Gandalf and Yoda in the speedway world.

Neil chats easily and animatedly about his great-grandchildren one minute or switches seamlessly to his grandson Jason Crump's progress in this season's Grand Prix - notably how difficult it is to be the defending champion, the strain of all the travel on a proud father of a young family, as well as his recent bout with chicken pox ("it's much worse when you get it as an adult"). Neil goes to practically all Jason's Grand Prix meetings to help out in his corner of the pits along with Jason's father and his son-in-law, Phil Crump. Neil travels much less nowadays, especially since he relinquished his responsibilities as the Australian team manager, "it was time to hand over to a younger man". Which it's fair to say, in comparison to Neil, Craig Boyce most definitely is; though as a rider he's already reached 'veteran' status.

Neil has enjoyed the glory years of his management of the Aussie squad with great patriotism, particularly since he'd been so closely involved throughout the decade or so of their rise and dominance in team competitions. "We were so good they even had to change the rules to beat us," he says, but, sadly, in the way of all flesh, the team is ageing and, for Neil, has already past their best until "hopefully the next generation comes through again".

He chats affably with his eyes sparkling and alive but bristles immediately, at my reference to the common description of him as a "legendary figure" within the sport. The frequent repetition of this claim offends his modesty and frustrates him, "I'd like to dispense with all that bullshit about legends, as many people say this. I've done lots of things and made most of the things, as others would have done, I've been very fortunate".

A brief run through his curriculum vitae would find that he followed on from his riding career in Britain to become a successful and very skilled team manager for both club and country, his beloved Australia. He has been particularly successful for his country, where he single-handedly has encouraged and shaped the development of many later generations of riders in the UK. Mostly through his avowed policy to bring over "hordes of blokes" from Australia to gain vital experience here.

Neil came to this country in 1952, on March 2, from Melbourne on a one-way ticket that cost £25. He left behind a large family where, at an early age, he'd had to assume a lot of responsibility as the eldest child of nine who had a father who "was a drunkard". He grew up quickly "milking cows and the like" before he left for England at the age of 21 with no money to his name, to seek a different life. Upon arrival he was "very fortunate" to get to stay with Mrs Weekes in Exeter.

Through Neil's eyes, people experience the same issues and concerns the world over, because there's an underlying, shared "common bond". He encourages every young rider he meets to gain this experience, as he "hates to see young people missing opportunities". Neil has intense pride in his family and also in his workmanship "I've built four houses, two in Victoria and two here, with my own hands". However, when push comes to shove you have absolutely no difficulty to believe that he's "not interested in material possessions" and that really "it's all about living".

It's also a sad fact that many young men, of whatever nationality, who set out to be speedway riders just won't ever make the grade. In Neil's experience, "three quarters of the riders can't ride". It's a blunt analysis, but he believes way too many riders get obsessed with details that are ultimately irrelevant to their performance; "they get too complicated" and obsess about comparatively minor technical matters - such as clutches, gear ratios and ignitions - when really "it's all about throttle control!" In an ideal world they should ride their bikes "like a jockey, feeling everything through your backside - what the tyres are doing and the surface - and riding the bike using their throttle accordingly". This skill is beyond many riders ability and consequently hampers their performance.

I could listen for hours to this kindly, informed and most humane of men but since he has already missed the first couple of races of the Conference League meeting, Neil just can't bear to miss the chance to watch the next generation of riders any longer. He heads off to the steps of the pits metal viewing platform, just like any other keen fan of the sport, to catch up on the detail of the races he's missed and complete his programme correctly with the help of another fan.

Jeff met Neil on other occasions and you can read about those on Jeff's Blog

This article was first published on 6th October 2011

Harold Doonan:

"I met Neil many years ago and as a Weymouth supported was over the moon when he was made manager, he brought over a rider named Terry Tulloch who lived with me for 3 seasons hence to say Neil spent a lot of time at my house and we travelled a lot together going to meetings, I found him a true gent and very knowlegable about life and told me how he first arrived in England, we used to do the track at Weymouth after the meeting with me driving the tractor and Neil working the grader are freindship continued when he moved to Poole, I learnt so much from him, a great man sadly missed."

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