Edinburgh Monarchs Speedway came to life in 1948 and soon became a huge part of the City's culture for weekend entertainment. Like everything else, times have now changed and we are no longer regarded significant in the City where we thrived. Needless to say this has never stopped the fans who will travel anywhere following the Monarchs. This is our tribute to the team we love, the riders we idolise, the lengths we travel, the cups we've held, the celebrations we've had and the happy days we enjoy .... and still the good time just keep rolling .....
Jack Young - Australia & Edinburgh
1953: Dick Campbell - Champion Rider
1961: Dougie, Wayne, Jimmy, Dick & Willie in a 4-Team Tournament
Young Monarchs then, legends now - George Hunter & Jimmy Tannock
1963: Who would be crowd Scottish Open Champion receiving a £50 cheque from Evening Dispatch
L to R: G. Hunter, W. Briggs, W. Templeton, A. Wells, J. Tannock, I. Hoskins, K. Cameron & D. Templeton. Pictured infront of the packed stadium crowd.
1964: A busy season - Monarchs and Scotland were victorious against New Zealand
George Hunter becomes Scottish Open Champion
Wayne Briggs meets the ladies / We never were afraid of the Tigers ...
Wayne Briggs & Alf Wells: Scottish Best Pairs Champs / Cpt Doug with new Danish recruit, Preven Andreasen / Who did these fans grow up to be?
1965: Dougie in a glamour standwich / Sibling rivalry at the Scottish Derby / Miss Edinburgh Speedway Finalist's
Scottish Champ '65 Arne Pander, 2nd - George Hunter, 3rd - Ivan Mauger
1966: Bertola takes Kevin Thorpie under his wing / The Squads - Scotland v England
Mr H & Cpt Doug introduce Bengt 'The Jet' Jansson / Dirty riding?? / Georgie receives cheque from Sunday Mirror
MSSC present the team with new frames
A beauty of a queue
George Hunter & Peter Craven compair notes in the pits
'The Ladybank Express' back to front on the bike
And with every team; come crashes and motor trouble
The 'Jet' Jansson hit the deck / Bernie Persson has overhall in the pits
George didn't need to blow his own trumpet / George wins the Superbike prize sponsored by Scottish Gas Board
1967: Old pals - Colin McKee, Dougie and Bengt Jansson
Scottish Champions: '66 Bill Landels, 2nd Charlie Monk, 3rd Ivan Mauger / '67 Barry Briggs, 2nd Ray Wilson, 3rd Bernie Persson
Class of '67: Bert Harkins, Oyvind S. Berg, Reidar Eide, Ian 'Mac', Jimmy Tannock, Tommy Hughson, Dougie Templeton, Bernie Persson, George Hunter, Billy Landels. missing faces are Brian Colins, Brian Black and Alex Hughson.
1968: George on 2 minutes / Rolling starts .... Never!! / Alistair Brady awarded Scottish Junior Champion
Still The Magnificent 7: L to R. Reidar Eide. George Hunter. Dougie Templeton (on bike). Alex Hughson. Bernie Persson. Bert Harkins. Brian Collins
1969: Rule No 1 - Team Ride. Reidar & Dougie take 5-1 against the Tigers / Haggis ready at the tapes
Pits protest at World Champ Meeting / 1st bend bunching
..... and we got waterlogged in the sixties too!
Footage from Old Meadowbank,thanks toNational Library of Scotland - http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=5853&search_term=speedway&search_join_type=AND&search_fuzzy=yes