Book Review: Tommy Price and Bill Kitchen

Wembley super-fan Peter Lush is back with a new book dedicated to two of the Lions' greatest ever riders - Tommy Price and Bill Kitchen.

Although Lush didn't see either ride, he's put together a detailed and affectionate tribute to the two gents, bringing their careers back into focus decades after they retired.

It's very much a book of two halves, with the two stories being told separately, leading off with Price before Kitchen's story takes up the latter sections. It's an approach that works well, both from a story-telling and economic perspective, combining two books into one makes sense.

Tommy Price will forever be remembered as the first British rider to be crowned World Champion and the book covers his rapid rise from raw novice to champion. It also details his racing career during the war years, since he was not called up for active service, he was able to appear regularly in the day-time meetings that Belle Vue staged throughout the conflict.

Post-war he really cemented his reputation by being crowned the British Riders Champion (a competition being staged in lieu of a genuine world championship while Europe recovered from 6 years of war).

He followed that up by winning the real thing in 1949 (admittedly aided by some home track advantage under the twin towers).

His career continued until the end of the 1956 season, by which time the sport had become a shadow of its former self, but Tommy remained a solid scorer for the Lions. The death of legendary guiding figure Arthur Elvin meant that the whole club folded at that point, so Tommy's retirement seemed well-timed.

He continued his involvement by becoming team manager for the West Ham Hammers during their successful period in the mid-sixties.

The second half of the book covers Bill Kitchen, who never reached quite the same heights as Tommy Price, but was a legendary rider in his own right - reaching three world finals and twice finishing runner-up in the aforementioned British Riders Championship.

His career was another that straddled World War II, starting off with the Belle Vue Aces as something of an overnight sensation, building upon his experience on the grasstracks. In the years between 1933 and 1939 he contributed more than 2000 points to the Aces' cause.

Although he was serving in the army (reaching the rank of sergeant), he was able to make semi-regular appearances in war time meetings, showing that he had lost none of his skills.

It was therefore no surprise that he was in the demand when league racing was restarted in 1946, with the available riders being pooled and shared out between the competing tracks. Wembley were quick to snap him up, making him their first pick in the draft. Thus began a happy association between the rider and the sport's most glamorous club.

His scoring in those initial post-war years was phenomenal and he was incredibly popular with the Lions faithful. Those his scoring slipped a little as the 1950s commenced (not surprising as he was now in his forties), he remained a valued team member until he entered semi-retirement in 1953.

Bill didn't retain any significant involvement with the sport immediately after his retirement, but he did re-emerge in later years working for the Speedway Control Board as a track inspector.

His family have contributed to the book, sharing memories and private photographs. Many other pictures of both Tommy and Bill have been sourced from the amazing John Somerville Collection. No doubt lots of these will be new to most readers.

The author, Peter Lush, has done a remarkable job in writing this book, it's very readable and not simply a rehashing of old reports and results. Contemporary quotes are used to add context and to move along the narrative. We get a good picture of both men as individuals as well as riders.

Whether you are fully familiar with the subjects, or just vaguely aware of their names, you'll find something of interest in these pages and come away knowing a lot more about both.

There's a statistical section at the end that details the records and achievements of both riders, always of interest to most likely purchasers of a speedway book.

Congratulations to Peter Lush and London League Publications for bringing yet another interesting speedway book to market.

You can find out more and order your copy at the London League Publications website.

This article was first published on 6th July 2025

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