# Tom Farndon

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British speedway rider (1910–1935)

Tom Farndon Born 11 September 1910 Coventry, England Died 30 August 1935(1935-08-30) (aged 24) London, England Nationality British (English) Career history 1929-1930 Coventry 1931-1933 Crystal Palace Glaziers 1934-1935 New Cross Lambs Individual honours 1933 Star Riders' Champion 1934, 1935 London Riders' Champion 1934, 1935 British Individual Match Race Champion Team honours 1931, 1934 London Cup

**Thomas Farndon** (11 September 1910 – 30 August 1935),[1][2] was a British [speedway](/source/Motorcycle_speedway) rider who won the [Star Riders' Championship](/source/Star_Riders'_Championship) in 1933 whilst with the Crystal Palace Glaziers.[3][4]

## Career

Born in [Coventry](/source/Coventry), Farndon started his career at the Lythalls Lane track in [Foleshill](/source/Foleshill) and later rode for the [club](/source/Coventry_Bees) based at [Brandon Stadium](/source/Brandon_Stadium), before a spell with the [Crystal Palace Glaziers](/source/Crystal_Palace_Glaziers).[5] He moved to [New Cross Lambs](/source/New_Cross_Rangers) with Palace promoter Fred Mockford in 1934.[6]

Farndon was the British Individual Match Race Champion and was undefeated from 1934 until his death in 1935. At his time of death he had earned 21 international caps for the [England national speedway team](/source/England_national_speedway_team).[5]

## Film appearance

The speedway scenes from the 1933 film [Britannia of Billingsgate](/source/Britannia_of_Billingsgate) were shot at [Hackney Wick Stadium](/source/Hackney_Wick_Stadium) and featured some of the leading riders in Britain at the time including Farndon, [Colin Watson](/source/Colin_Watson_(speedway_rider)), [Arthur Warwick](/source/Arthur_Warwick), [Gus Kuhn](/source/Gus_Kuhn), [Claude Rye](/source/Claude_Rye) and [Ron Johnson](/source/Ron_Johnson_(speedway_rider)).[7]

## Death

Tom Farndon was killed after a crash on 28 August 1935 whilst racing at the [New Cross Stadium](/source/New_Cross_Stadium) in a second half scratch race final. He was involved in a collision with team-mate [Ron Johnson](/source/Ron_Johnson_(speedway_rider)), who clipped the safety fence and fell causing Farndon to crash into Johnson's bike. Farndon suffered a fractured skull and spine injury and was unconscious when he was transferred to the [Miller General Hospital](/source/Miller_General_Hospital) in Greenwich. Tom died two days later (on 30 August) in [Miller General Hospital](/source/Miller_General_Hospital), Greenwich, without regaining consciousness.[8][9][10]

Thousands lined the streets to see his funeral. An art deco memorial in the form of a motorbike racer, carved by local sculptor Richard Ormerod out of black granite stands at Tom's final resting place in St. Paul's Cemetery, Holbrook Lane, Coventry.

## Tom Farndon Memorial

Between 1935 and 1961, the Tom Farndon Memorial was held on 11 occasions at the New Cross Stadium. The running of the memorial was abandoned after 1961 on the closure of New Cross.

Year Winner 1935 Eric Langton () 1936 Jack Milne () 1937 Not Held 1938 Bluey Wilkinson () 1939–1945 Not Held due to World War II 1946 Malcolm Craven () 1947 Jeff Lloyd () 1948 Howdy Byford () 1949 Not Held 1950 Graham Warren () 1951 Jack Young () 1952–1958 Not Held 1959 Peter Craven () 1960 Ronnie Moore () 1961 Jack Young ()

## See also

[Rider deaths in motorcycle speedway](/source/Rider_deaths_in_motorcycle_speedway)

## External links

- [Vintage Speedway Magazine -Tom Farndon Story (Part One)](http://www.motorcycle-uk.com/vsm/tomfarndon1.htm)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

- [Vintage Speedway Magazine -Tom Farndon Story (Part Two)](https://web.archive.org/web/20070624143238/http://motorcycle-uk.com/vsm/tomfarndon2.htm)

- [Tom Farndon Headstone](https://web.archive.org/web/20110716183113/http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk/images/nrpBM/BMCL01.jpg)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Jacobs, N. & Chaplin, J. *Tom Farndon The Greatest Speedway Rider of Them All*, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7524-5140-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7524-5140-4)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). *Homes of British Speedway*. , [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7524-2210-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7524-2210-3)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Jacobs, N. *Speedway in London*, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7524-2221-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7524-2221-9)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Montague, Trevor (2004). *The A-Z of Sport*. Little, Brown. p. 518. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-316-72645-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-316-72645-1).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-URI_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-URI_5-1) ["ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022"](https://britishspeedway.co.uk/docs/Ultimate_Index_1929-2022.pdf) (PDF). *British Speedway*. Retrieved 28 July 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Jacobs, N. *Out of the Frying Pan The History of New Cross Speedway*, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7524-4476-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7524-4476-5)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Britannia Of Billingsgate (1933)"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCoJpvyb4eU). *YouTube*. 21 June 2016. [Archived](https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/cCoJpvyb4eU) from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Tom Farndon still unconscious in hospital"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000378/19350829/127/0006). *Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail*. 29 August 1935. Retrieved 6 August 2021 – via [British Newspaper Archive](/source/British_Newspaper_Archive).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Tom Farndon and Johnson injured"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19350829/172/0026). *Daily Mirror*. 29 August 1935. Retrieved 6 August 2021 – via [British Newspaper Archive](/source/British_Newspaper_Archive).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Farndon dies form injuries"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000681/19350831/011/0001). *Daily Herald*. 31 August 1935. Retrieved 6 August 2021 – via [British Newspaper Archive](/source/British_Newspaper_Archive).

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF WorldCat National United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tom Farndon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Farndon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Farndon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.