past_era

The Jack Young Story
The Big Challenge.
Chapter 3
1949
The Orient Liner Orcades commenced its first trip to England for 1949 when it sailed from Sydney on Saturday January 29. The English port of destination was Southampton. Jack Young travelled Tourist Class on this voyage. The 28,472 ton vessel had a carrying capacity of 1560 passengers - 780 First Class and 780 Tourist Class. A passage duration of around four weeks enabled the vessel to make four round trips per year. Having departed Sydney, the Orcades made two further stops in Australia prior to heading for England. These were at Melbourne and Fremantle. As the Orcades didn’t stop at Adelaide, Jack Young had to travel from that city to Melbourne to board the ship. The official records of the voyage reveal two interesting points. Firstly, Jack listed his U.K. address as “Edinburgh Speedway, Meadowbank, Edinburgh”. Under the heading of “Occupation”, Jack listed “Woolscouror”. Jack had never worked with sheep or wool in his life. The job of a woolscourer is to clean raw wool by washing it. Before Jack sailed from Australia, Clem Mitchell had assured him that, if things went wrong at Meadowbank, he’d find Jack work with sheep in Scotland so he could earn his fare home. The work Clem mentioned to Jack was “crotching in the Highlands”. Crotching is the removal of the wool from a sheep's crotch area, usually to prevent the animal becoming flyblown. “Woolscouror” sounded better to Jack. Photographs of the Orcades can be viewed at the top of the page on the following link: - : http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Orient4.html#anchor785282 Or on this link: - : http://www.pnc.com.au/~byceme/orcades/orcades.htm
Jack loved music, particularly a sing-a-long around the piano. He had his own nickname for the piano – he called it a “goanna”, which is Australian rhyming slang for “pianna”. For those who don’t know, a goanna is a large lizard. Whenever Jack sang, it was always the same – loud and out of tune. His despairing wife Joan was often moved to chastise him on such occasions. Jack’s favourite response was “If I hadn’t taken up speedway I may well have been a singer.” To which Joan’s response was “God save us all.” One of my favourite photos of Jack Young is of him playing the drums. Although he never learnt to play a musical instrument, he was able to keep reasonable time on a drum kit. Jack was truly fortunate to have had a friend of many years as a shipmate on his voyage to England - Merv Harding. Jack said of Merv: - "Merv is a great guy and we've always been as thick as thieves. A bit of a humorist, he's a restless type, too, and is always up to something or other". Merv was also heading to the U.K. to try to break into speedway. They both would end up in Scotland. Merv and Jack spent many hours together during the sea trip, particularly around the ship’s “goanna”. If they weren’t making nuisances of themselves there, they were playing pranks on the other passengers. Jack was well known as a practical joker. By the time the vessel reached England, more than one of the passengers had just about despaired of Jack’s antics. One had light-heartedly threatened to “tip him overboard”. On one occasion Jack did end up, fully clothed, in the ship’s swimming pool. One of the ship’s pianist’s jobs of an evening was to accompany the passengers’ sing-a-longs until they were ready to retire. On numerous occasions during the voyage, the gatherings around the piano lasted late into the night. The poor pianist, worn-out by the seemingly endless requests for tunes from Jack and Merv, often begged the pair to have mercy and call an end to the frivolities. Jack’s wife, who was an accomplished pianist, often accompanied the revellers herself on future voyages to and from England. The only drawback being she had to put up with Jack’s singing. When the Orcades docked at Southampton on March 1, the homesick Jack Young surveyed the scene in front of him. His first impressions of England and its climate are unprintable. The day was bitterly cold, windy, and bleak. In fact, he had never been so cold in his life. Clem Mitchell was there to meet Jack, as was Eddie Lack, another rider signed by Edinburgh for the 1949 season. Eddie asked Jack, “Anything I can do for you?” The quick-witted Jack immediately replied, “Sure, get me a ticket on the next boat going home.” The group then headed for London where Clem had some business to attend to prior to returning to Scotland. During his years spent racing in Britain, Jack Young cemented lasting friendships with a number of people who supplied him with lodgings. One in particular was a Mrs. Brown of New Cross, with whom he first stayed while Clem Mitchell saw to his London affairs. Jack liked to tell stories about some of the families he stayed with during his years spent in Britain. He said he was constantly “chuffed” by their willingness to virtually “adopt him”, as he put it, and treat him as a family member. At times in later years he would become quite emotional when speaking of the hospitality he received from the marvellous people in England and Scotland. On more than one occasion he was asked to be present, and even give his opinion, during family discussions regarding finance and other such matters. Two days after his arrival in England, Jack saw snow for the first time. He was so cold in London that he wondered how he could possibly survive in Scotland. He was feeling down in the dumps and was deeply missing his family. Spending time with Mrs. Brown, who was a bright and cheerful person, was just the tonic Jack needed. He developed a deep fondness for "Ma Brown" as he called her. When Clem had concluded his business, he and Jack set off for Scotland. Jack and Mrs. Brown would meet again. Jack’s worst fears were realised when he arrived in Scotland – it was freezing cold. When the day of his trial at the Meadowbank track arrived, there was snow everywhere. As much of it as possible was cleared from the track. Clem Mitchell’s faith in Jack was vindicated, in fact Jack had those present looking on in amazement at the way he handled the slippery surface. Onlookers who witnessed his speed and bike control would have been forgiven for thinking Jack had been riding under such conditions for years. He was hastily presented with a contract which he wasted no time signing. Jack loved to tell the story of this Meadowbank trial. He told of being challenged as to how he was able to handle the conditions having never ridden on snow before. He replied, “ This is a lot easier than the celery patches that I first learnt to ride on!!!” That, of course, was a reference to his “home-made” practice track around the vegetable patch back home in Adelaide. Jack so impressed those who saw his trial that the Edinburgh management received a 1,000 pounds offer for his contract from the Glasgow Giants' manager, Johnnie Hoskins. This was before Jack had even ridden in a meeting. The Edinburgh management had no intention of letting Jack slip through their grasp and promptly refused the offer. Jack had arrived in Scotland as somewhat of a mystery rider. Little had appeared about his past in either the newspapers or the speedway magazines. I did find one interesting comment in my February issue of “Speedway Reporter”: - “Adelaide rider Jack Young ……… is to join Edinburgh. Young is hailed as the second Warren in Australia, and it is expected that he will very quickly earn himself a place in the Australian Test side.” Being compared to countryman Graham Warren, who had enjoyed such a highly successful English debut season the previous year, was indeed paying Jack a great compliment. As for the prediction about Test selection, that proved to be a very astute comment. Jack Young's practice sessions created a deal of interest. The following appeared in print just prior to his first racing appearance: - "Jack Young, the new Aussie, justified all the confidence shown in him by Clem Mitchell, who was responsible for his signing. He looks like being a firm favourite with Monarchs fans. An ex-gardener, Young, who is a quiet-spoken, fair-haired fellow, took up speedway only three seasons ago, although he had always been interested in motor bikes and first rode one at the age of twelve. From gardening to speedway racing- anything for a quiet life!" One can’t write about Jack Young’s rise to stardom in Britain without continually mentioning the person who contributed so much to his success. That was countryman Clem Mitchell. Clem, a highly experienced and widely travelled rider, had been a solid performer on the track for his English League clubs and his country during the pre-war years. He also had few peers when it came to tuning speedway motorcycles. Clem had prepared the bikes on which both Jack Milne and Bluey Wilkinson won their World Championships during the pre-war era. Although he originally went to Edinburgh in 1948 to look after the mechanical side of things for the club, he was called on to ride that season. Clem was appointed the Edinburgh captain for 1949. Prior to arriving in Scotland, Jack had never worked on a J.A.P. engine in his life. Fred Jolly had looked after his J.A.P. machinery in Adelaide. In fact, Jack knew nothing about the workings of a J.A.P. at all. Before the season at Edinburgh commenced, he spent many hours working alongside Clem in his workshop trying to take in as much as he could. Jack often commented in later life that he held Clem in high regard. He said that Clem gave him two very important pieces of advice which stood him in good stead for years – “believe in yourself and never work on your own engines”. Even excellent home crowds of around the 15,000 to 20,000 mark hadn’t helped the struggling Monarchs in the first post-war season of speedway in Edinburgh in 1948. The club finished bottom of the Second Division League. The management set about two major tasks prior to the commencement of the 1949 season. One was to build a stronger side; the other was to improve the track which had attracted much criticism from both riders and spectators during 1948. The major track changes were to the bends. The degree of banking was reduced and the track width increased. This work resulted in the track length being reduced by three yards. The off-season work done by Clem Mitchell shouldn’t be overlooked either. He remained in Scotland at the conclusion of the 1948 season and spent the winter preparing the machines to be used by the team’s riders in 1949. This work was carried out in the small workshop situated underneath the Meadowbank stand. The first meeting of the 1949 season for the Edinburgh Monarchs was a home fixture against another Scottish side, the Glasgow Giants. This fixture took place on April 2, a month and one day following Jack’s arrival in England aboard the Orcades. Johnnie Hoskins was one of the four directors of Ashfield Speedway Limited, the company which controlled the Giants. Merv Harding, Jack Young’s friend from South Australia, and fellow traveller to England aboard the Orcades, was a member of the visiting Giants side. This was also Merv’s first meeting since arriving in the country. Another Australian who was a member of the Giants team was Ken Le Breton. The Monarchs fans didn’t know what to expect from their new Aussie import. They’d heard and read good things about Jack during the weeks leading up to the season opener, including reports that he’d been beating some of the established riders in practice. The important question was how would he perform under the pressure of League racing. Although Jack wasn’t a complete stranger to teams’ racing, he had very few opportunities in Australia to develop the necessary skills required for this form of competition. Jack later commented on this matter: - "I told the Edinburgh folks that I didn't know a thing about it. I was told, 'Just hammer ahead straight from the gate and in time you'll find out what it's all about!' So it was 'solo' stuff for me for a while, but I've got the hang of it all right now." Clem Mitchell gave Edinburgh a great start by winning the first heat against the Giants. Dick Campbell, another Edinburgh rider, won the second heat. With Edinburgh leading 9-3, Jack Young rode his motorcycle to the starting area for heat three, his first race in Britain. His partner was Bill Baird. This heat resulted in a 5-1 for Edinburgh, with Jack winning from Baird and Merv Harding. Following the running of this third heat, Edinburgh led by 14 to 4. Jack’s next ride was in the sixth heat. He won again, defeating Ken Le Breton. Jack also won his remaining two heats to finish with a 12 point maximum on debut. Edinburgh started the season with an emphatic 57-27 victory. With the League match out of the way, the second half of the programme was held. This took the form of a series of scratch races. Jack was more relaxed as he came out onto the track for heat one. He maintained his 100% winning record on the night and went straight into the final. Jack won the final giving him six wins from six starts. Clem Mitchell was runner-up. It is debateable who was the happier about Jack's eye-catching debut performance, the rider himself or the person who had taken him under his wing since his arrival in England – Clem Mitchell. Of course, Jack had Clem to thank for providing him with such a fast and reliable motorcycle to ride. From a report on the meeting: - “Jack Young, 24-year-old Australian gardener, played his part in giving Edinburgh a rousing send-off when they defeated Glasgow Giants at Meadowbank. He scored a maximum and struck up a brilliant partnership with Bill Baird.” Because the length of the Edinburgh track had been reduced during the off-season, the rider recording the fastest time on the night would naturally be the track record holder at meeting's end. That honour also fell to Jack Young. Jack’s performance on debut was now the main topic of conversation among the Edinburgh supporters. Was his performance just a flash in the pan, or had the Edinburgh management pulled off a coup with their new signing? All eagerly awaited the second match. Having failed with his initial attempt to obtain the riding services of Jack Young, Johnnie Hoskins made the Edinburgh management a further offer for his contract following the defeat of the Giants at Meadowbank. The offer on this occasion was increased to 1,500 pounds. Not surprisingly, this approach was once again unsuccessful. Jack was very impressed by the organisation and presentation of the programme at his debut meeting. The work of the rakers and the set-up in the pits were two things that particularly intrigued him. He was fascinated at having his own allocated pit stall with his name displayed on it – “just like a nag at the Melbourne Cup” were Jack’s words. Jack was very proud of his achievement on debut. He well remembered Clem Mitchell’s assurances that, should he accept the Edinburgh offer and travel to Scotland, he would be good enough to more than pay his keep. In fact, the words “you’ll clean up” were those used by Clem. Having received an average weekly pay packet back in Australia of just six pounds, Jack was very pleased with the tidy sum he had made for his first night’s work at Old Meadowbank. It now seemed highly unlikely there would be any "crotching in the Highlands" for Jack "The Giant Killer" Young.

Left: Jack Young sporting the Edinburgh Monarchs' race jacket.	Centre: The Edinburgh track in 1949. The rider on the outside in second place is Jack Young.	Right: The multi-talented Clem Mitchell.
Acknowledgements. Sincere thanks to those who have kindly given of their time to help with the preparation of The Jack Young Story: - Jack's family and friends (especially the ever-patient Jeff Fisher), David Ireland, Alestair Gibson, Rod Webb, Barry Forsyth, Brian Collins, Keith Farman, Bryan Tungate, Graeme Frost and Leanne McVicar.
Thanks to Ross Garrigan. Brisbane.