{{Short description|Australian speedway rider}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}} {{Use Australian English|date=October 2014}} {{Infobox Speedway rider | image = Aub lawson.jpg | name= Aub Lawson | nationality = Australian | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1914|4|5}} | death_date = {{death date and age|1977|1|20|1914|4|5|df=y}} | birth_place = Warialda, New South Wales | years1 = 1939 | career1 = Wembley Lions | years2 = 1939 | career2 = Middlesbrough Bears | years3 = 1947-1951 | career3 = West Ham Hammers | years4 = 1953-1960 | career4 = Norwich Stars | indivyear1 = 1951 | indivhonour1 = London Riders' Championship | indivyear2 = 1948, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1963 | indivhonour2 = NSW State Champion | indivyear3 = 1949 | indivhonour3 = SA State Champion | indivyear4 = 1952, 1956 | indivhonour4 = Qld State Champion | indivyear5 = 1961 | indivhonour5 = WA State Champion | indivyear6 = 1951 | indivhonour6 = The Laurels | teamyear1 = 1955 | teamhonour1 = National Trophy }}
'''Aubrey "Aub" Lawson''' (born 5 April 1914 in Kelly's Gully, Warialda, New South Wales - died 20 January 1977) was an Australian international speedway rider who featured in ten World Championship finals including the 1939 final which was never run due to the outbreak of World War II.<ref>Addison J. (1948). ''The People Speedway Guide''. Odhams Press Limited</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Montague|first=Trevor|title=The A-Z of Sport|year=2004|page=523|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=0-316-72645-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://britishspeedway.co.uk/docs/Ultimate_Index_1929-2022.pdf |title=ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022 |website=British Speedway |access-date=29 July 2023}}</ref>
==Career== Lawson first came to the UK in 1939 and rode in two leagues for the Wembley Lions<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19390315/255/0029 |title=Ice Star's 50 stitches in one knee! |website=Daily Mirror |date=15 March 1939 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=23 August 2024}}</ref> and Middlesbrough Bears<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk/specialfeaturesrideraverages.pdf |title=Rider averages 1929 to 2009 |website=Speedway Researcher |access-date=29 July 2023}}</ref> but at his mother's insistence, his sister accompanied him as chaperone.<ref>{{cite book|last=White|first=Peter|title=Australian Dictionary of Biography|publisher=Melbourne University Press|year=2000|volume=15|pages=64–65|url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lawson-aubrey-10792|access-date=2008-09-30}}</ref>
It was not until after the war in 1947 that he returned to the UK when league racing started again. He joined the West Ham Hammers where he stayed for five seasons, top scoring in three of them. In 1951 he won the London Riders' Championship whilst riding for the Hammers.<ref>Belton, Brian (2003). ''Hammerin' Round''. {{ISBN|0-7524-2438-6}}</ref> After a year back in Australia he returned to the UK where he joined the Norwich Stars, where he remained until he retired from racing in 1960. Lawson then returned to Australia where he continued racing in Sydney, winning his then record 5th NSW Championship in 1963, adding to those he had won in 1948, 1950, 1953 and 1954.<ref>[http://speedwaychampions.com/AustralianChampions.aspx NSW Championships section] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706204745/http://speedwaychampions.com/AustralianChampions.aspx |date=6 July 2011 }}</ref>
==World final appearances== * 1939 - {{flagicon|ENG}} London, Wembley Stadium - Event cancelled due to World War II * 1949 - {{flagicon|ENG}} London, Wembley Stadium - 8th - 8pts * 1950 - {{flagicon|ENG}} London, Wembley Stadium - 4th - 10pts * 1951 - {{flagicon|ENG}} London, Wembley Stadium - 10th - 7pts * 1953 - {{flagicon|ENG}} London, Wembley Stadium - 9th - 7pts * 1954 - {{flagicon|ENG}} London, Wembley Stadium - 14th - 4pts * 1957 - {{flagicon|ENG}} London, Wembley Stadium - 4th - 11pts * 1958 - {{flagicon|ENG}} London, Wembley Stadium - '''3rd''' - 11pts * 1959 - {{flagicon|ENG}} London, Wembley Stadium - 5th - 11pts * 1960 - {{flagicon|ENG}} London, Wembley Stadium - 14th - 4pts<ref>Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. {{ISBN|0-7524-2402-5}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lawson-aubrey-10792 Lawson, Aubrey (1914 - 1977)]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Aubrey}} Category:1914 births Category:1977 deaths Category:Australian speedway riders Category:Sportsmen from New South Wales Category:Wembley Lions riders Category:West Ham Hammers riders Category:Australian expatriate speedway riders in England Category:Norwich Stars riders Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen