Given that Fred and his Hackney Team were touring the Country at least 5 nights a week, where they found the time is beyond belief, as Putt’s schedule was probably just as hectic! Putt Mossman and acrobatic partners atop a mid-1930s Indian Four From Fred’s diaries it seems that whenever Putt was in London, they tried to fit a game in at least once a week. As well as the obvious Speedway connection, they both loved to play Golf and as it happened, Fred was a member the exclusive Chorleywood Golf Club in Middlesex. The most significant pattern to emerge is a shared obsession with ‘Self Publicity’. Fred Evans was great friends with Putt! During these Pre-War years, Speedway in England was big indeed for a while, it was Britain’s top spectator sport. Putt was born in Iowa, USA in 1906, and traveled the world as a stunt rider, midget car racer, boxer, actor, and all around carny and showman. Putt Mossman demonstrating his broadsliding technique, leg-trailing in 1920s style, aboard a JAP Speedway racerĪnd this is where Oren ‘Putt’ Mossman comes into the story. To relate Fred’s story and explore the entire contents of the suitcase is beyond the scope of this post, but after years of dipping in and out of the thousands of items, many stories emerge.
Fred Evans survived the War, but apparently he was never reunited with his treasured possessions, which remains a complete mystery. Fred Evans was the Manager of Hackney Wick Speedway team, and it quickly became clear that the case contained personal effects from his time as Hackney ‘Wolves’ Manager, covering the period 1935 until the outbreak of the 1939-1945 conflict in Europe. That humble suitcase revealed a treasure trove of material related to just one man Frederick Lindop Evans. My anticipation was agonizing during the drive home, as there was no way to properly assess the contents of my prize until they could be spread out and sifted through. The welcome retort was “Give us a fiver!” Putt Mossman doing the ‘ladder trick’ aboard his Indian 4 – dig those crazy exhaust pipes!
A story about my uncle acrobatic mode full#
Closer inspection revealed some interesting stuff, including a mountain of photographs of pre-WW2 Speedway racing – a particular passion of mine! That set the heart racing without wanting to appear too eager for fear of escalating the price, the obvious question was asked – “How much for this old suitcase full of Newspapers?”. Some 20-odd years ago, whilst browsing a Junk Shop in Greenwich (southeast London), I found a very scruffy suitcase gathering dust, filled with a pile of old newspapers.
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