Stanley Dell (born 31 October 1912 in Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 - died 24 November 1950) is a former speedway

Motorcycle speedway

Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...

 rider.

Career

Dell started his career at his local track at Coventry in 1932. When track close he moved to the West Ham Hammers

West Ham Hammers

The West Ham Hammers were a speedway team, first promoted by Jimmy Baxter in 1929.. They operated from the West Ham Stadium until the outbreak of World War II under several different promotions, most successfully under the control of Johnnie Hoskins....

 and spent three seasons at the Custom House track

West Ham Stadium

West Ham Stadium was a stadium that existed between 1928 and 1972 in Custom House, in east London...

. In 1937 he moved onto the Hackney Wick Wolves

Hackney Wick Wolves

Hackney Wick Wolves speedway opened in 1935 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London, and operated until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.-History:The Walthamstow Wolves closed at the end of the 1934 season and the team moved into Hackney Stadium...

, wher he stayed until the out break of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, winning the National League Division II Championship

Speedway National League

The National League was the top division of Speedway in the United Kingdom from 1932 until 1965 when it became known as the British League. Prior to 1932 there were only small regional leagues competing within the sport in the UK. The National League was re-incarnated in 1975 as the second division...

 in 1938. Whilst riding for a Hackney at West Ham he was involved in a crash that left him with a badly broken leg. Doctors thought an amputation

Amputation

Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...

 would be needed but Dell refused and his leg was saved.

After the war he joined the Birmingham Brummies where he was awarded the captaincy. However on the 7 May 1949, Dell was involved in big crash with Vic Duggan

Vic Duggan

Victor 'Vic' Duggan was a Speedway who won the London Riders' Championship in 1947 whilst with the Harringay Racers....

 and Arthur Payne. Dell was left with terrible injuries. Despite attempting a comeback in July 1949 he was clearly suffering from the effects of the crash.

He retired from racing at the end of that season and started a training school. The effects from the crash were still causing him health problems and further surgery was required. He did not reagin his health and died on 24 November 1950 aged just thirty eight.