The start of speedway in Berwick began in late 1967, when speedway promoter Danny Taylor left the Glasgow Tigers after just one season due to travel problems from Glasgow to his chicken farm business in Jedburgh. He announced that he was in negotiation with Berwick Rangers to use Shielfield Park.[1]
Berwick's debut season coincided with the inaugural British League Division Two season in 1968.[2] Berwick's first home fixture was a challenge match against Newcastle Colts on 18 May 1968.[3] The team struggled during their first two seasons finishing last in 1968 and 14th in 1969.[4]
1970s
Berwick competed in all nine seasons of the British League division 2 or the National League as it was called from 1975. The team only achieved mediocrity but the fans saw several number 1 riders including Doug Wyer, Graham Jones and Steve McDermott. The team did manage a fourth place finish and a Knockout Cup final appearance in 1979.[5]
1980s
The team finally won their first silverware during the 1980 National League season after winning the Division 2 Knockout Cup. Strong performances from McDermott and Wayne Brown also saw the team finish fourth; Brown was also the national league riders champion in 1980.[6] The success achieved in 1980 was remarkable because the team raced knowing that they had been given notice to leave the stadium in September.[7] the team raced their final fixtures at Brough Park including the second leg of the Knockout Cup.[8] The football team unsuccessfully attempted to buy the speedway team during October 1980.[9]
In 1981, the Bandits remained homeless and carried on riding home fixtures at Barrow, Workington and Glasgow before being forced to quit NL racing after a protest from Edinburgh boss Mike Parker. The Bandits were, however, allowed to defend their KO Cup, reaching the final against Edinburgh, which the Monarchs won.[10]
Bruce Cribb
Jim McMillan
Work began in January 1982 on a new stadium at the Berrington Lough Stadium near Ancroft, Northumberland[11] The first meeting was held on 24 April 1982, when Berwick defeated Edinburgh.[12] From 1982 to 1988, Berwick were difficult to beat at home but gained little success, Bruce Cribb and Jim McMillan came and went by the time Mark Courtney and David Blackburn arrived. The pair helped the team win Knockout Cup for only the second time in their history but sadly the team's talisman Steve McDermott had retired and missed the victory. McDerrmott was also national league riders champion in 1983.
1990s
During the 1991 British League season (the team's only top flight season, whilst owned by Entrepreneur Terry Lindon) they won the Gold Cup.[13] However, events deteriorated, with the club racing in tier 2 the following season and then missing the 1993 season only running two open meetings during that year. The team returned as an Academy team in 1994 and won two successive division three championships. The last meeting staged at Berrington Lough was the Academy League KO Cup Final against Stoke Potters on 21 October 1995.
The team had raced 13 years at Berrington Lough but due to its remote location the club were always fighting an uphill battle to maintain good attendances and make a profit. They did however win the British League Division Two Knockout Cup and Gold Cup while at the stadium.[14] When the greyhound racing lease at Shielfield Park was ended by Berwick Rangers in 1995, the Berwick speedway promoter Mike Hope took the lease and the Bandits left Berrington Lough for their original home.[15] On 9 July 1995, bikes returned to Shielfield Park for the first time in 15 years so that council officials could carry out noise tests, and on 17 August 1996, the Bandits started their second spell at the Tweedmouth track. The team moved back to the second tier called the Premier League in 1997 and ran a junior team in the third tier.
In 2005, the team finished 2nd in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the Knockout Cup and Young Shield.[18] After an awful 2007, the Bandits made the final of the Young Shield, losing out to Workington Comets in what turned out to be promoter Peter Waite's last meeting in charge. In 2009, a new shortlived promotion came in, spearheaded by longtime supporter and North Berwick butcher John Anderson and Cornhill shopkeeper Linda Waite.
2010s
Lynda Waite stepped down as promoter in 2010 and after her departure, John Anderson announced the new investor was George Hepburn, owner of Berwick building contractor George Hepburn and Son Ltd. It was then announced that Dave Peet (team manager, late-2008 to mid-2010) had departed from the club and had been replaced by the track curator and staff manager Ian Rae. Rae's association with speedway in Berwick-upon-Tweed extended back to his role as stadium manager at their Berrington Lough Stadium, followed by several years – up until 2001 – as team manager. The team recorded consecutive mid-table finishes from 2010 to 2014 but did win the Premier League Four-Team Championship for a second time in 2012.[19]
In 2015, the Bandits owner John Anderson announced mid-season, amid a run of poor results[20] and dwindling attendances, that it was time for someone new to takeover[21] or liquidate of the club's assets. Eventually three new associate directors (Michael Mullan, Dennis Hush and Darren Amers) came aboard, and the Bandits declared their intention to continue but the three resigned citing the incumbent owner's reluctance to change.
In 2016, John Anderson and his fellow directors Ryan Anderson and George Hepburn sold the club[22] to 2016 team manager Scott Courtney, his younger brother Jamie Courtney and 1992 world champion Gary Havelock.[23][24] The turmoil at the top was mirrored on the track with continual team changes and a bottom of the league finish in 2017.
In 2018, Havelock left the club and in 2019, Scott Courtney took a 'back-seat role' in the club, leaving his brother Jamie, along with new co-promoters Gary Flint and Steven Dews. In 2019, Berwick narrowly missed out on a play-off spot for the second season running.[25]
2020s
Following a season lost to the COVID-19 pandemic,(The only meeting that year being the British U21 final ran behind closed doors and live streamed) the Bandits returned to race in the SGB Championship. The track underwent changes in specifications during 2024.[26]
Berwick Bullets formerly Berwick Border Raiders are the development side to the Bandits.[27] For the 2021 National League season, the team was Leon Flint and Kyle Bickley (the two riders named as the reserves for the main team in 2021)[28] with the remaining five riders being: Greg Blair, Ben Rathbone, Ryan MacDonald, Kieran Douglas, and Mason Watson.[29]
Poole Pirates are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions.
Shielfield Park is a football stadium that is home to Berwick Rangers and Berwick Bandits speedway team. Although Berwick Rangers is a Scottish Lowland Football League club, Shielfield Park is situated in the English county of Northumberland.
The Workington Comets are a British motorcycle speedway club, based in Workington, Cumbria based at the Northside Speedway track. The team previously operated from 1970 to 2018 and were based at Derwent Park Stadium. They re-opened in 2022 and competed in the 2023 National Development League speedway season.
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The Lakeside Hammers were a speedway team who raced in the British league system from 1984 to 2018, most recently racing in the SGB Championship in 2018. The team were nicknamed the Hammers after the West Ham Hammers, a speedway team that closed twelve years earlier. The team's home track, the Arena Essex Raceway, closed shortly before the end of the 2018 season.
Cradley Heathens were a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed primarily at the top level of British speedway at Dudley Wood Stadium until its closure in 1995. The team was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National League, reverting to the Cradley Heathens name in 2013 but ceased operating after the 2019 season.
Leicester Lions are a speedway team which originally operated from 1968 until 1983 and again from 2011. The team race at the Beaumont Park Stadium. Since 2019, the club have also ran a junior side known as the Lion Cubs.
The Middlesbrough Bears were a British speedway team which operated under various names from 1939 until their closure in 1996.
Adrian Rymel is a former motorcycle speedway rider from the Czech Republic. He earned 8 international caps for the Czech Republic national speedway team.
The 2011 Premier League Knock-Out Cup was the 44th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams in British speedway.
Kevin Doolan is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider.
The 1979 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom.
The 1980 National League was contested as the second division of Speedway in the United Kingdom.
The 1981 National League was contested as the second division/tier of Speedway in the United Kingdom.
The 1983 National League was the second tier of motorcycle speedway racing in the United Kingdom.
The 1984 National League was contested as the second division of motorcycle speedway in the United Kingdom.
The National League was the second tier of British speedway racing in 1989.
Barrow Park Road Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Park Road, Barrow-in-Furness.
The Speedway Great Britain Championship 2017 was the second division of British speedway. It was the first time that it was known as the SGB Championship after changing its name from the Premier League.
Berrington Lough Stadium also called the Berwick Motorcycle Centre was a purpose-built motorcycle speedway track located in Berrington Lough, a rural part of Northumberland, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The location of the track was approximately 1 mile north of Bowsden and 2 miles west of Berrington. The stadium was the home of the speedway team known as the Berwick Bandits. Today there is virtually no indication that a stadium existed, as a result of its demolition and removal.
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Bruce Cribb
Jim McMillan
