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17/6/07: OUR 60th ANNIVERSARY: 21st JUNE 2007 Its a landmark date this week. 21st June 2007 will be the 60th ANNIVERSARY of the first ever official Speedway Meeting in Cradley Heath. On the 21st June 1947, Cradley Heath entertained Wombwell in a National League Division 3 match. The attendance at Dudley Wood was listed as 12,000.Cradley won the match 46-36, led by Les Beaumont, Geoff Bennett and Eric Irons who all scored 9 points each. An initial track record of 81.6 was established by Beaumont. The club operated during consecutive seasons from 1947 to 1952 but then closed for 8 years. Dudley Wood opened its doors to speedway once again in 1960 and the bikes roared every single year until 1995 when the stadium was closed and sold off by the owners for residential development. The Heathens competed for one more season at Stoke in 1996 but have not raced competitively in the British Leagues since then, missing the last 11 seasons. A new planning application is now at an advanced stage, shortly to be submitted to Dudley Council. If successful, this would see the reintroduction of speedway to the area and continue the rich history of the famous Heathens.

24/05/06:     Cradley's original World Champion, Bruce Penhall, is due to appear live on BBC Radio's Planet Speedway next Wednesday (31st May, 7pm). The American superstar will be linking up with the Oxford-based programme from his home in California and fans can listen in on the Internet by visiting the Planet Speedway mini-site. The interview has been arranged courtesy of cradleyspeedway.co.uk and Heathens fans are invited to take an interactive part in the show. A chatroom will be open for speedway fans throughout the 30 minute programme and if fans have a question for Bruce they can join in the debate with presenter Jerome Sale reading them out to Bruce as the interview progresses. Visit the Planet Speedway Mini-Site for more details at www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/sport/speedway

24/4/06: Dudley Wood Parish Church (St Johns - next to the Vic in St Annes Road) are holding their Festival Week commencing Sunday 30th April 2006 and running on until 2nd May 2006.  There will be an exhibition marking the life and activities of Dudley Wood.
On Monday 1st May Les Beaumont will be there to meet the fans and sign autographs and there will also be video's in the Church Hall during the evening, everyone is welcome.  Start time is 7.30pm and the Exhibition will be open from 10.00am until 6.00pm on Sunday until Tuesday.

20/2/06: With another new season approaching, the once formidable Cradley duo of Greg Hancock and Billy Hamill have both joined new clubs in the British Elite League. 1997 World Champion Hancock will spearhead a new-look Reading side as they embark on an intriguing new era. Now nicknamed the Bulldogs, the club have been bought by Grand Prix rights holders BSI, and have entered the top flight with a view to moving to a new purpose-built stadium in the near future. Meanwhile, 1996 World Champion Hamill has caused a stir by signing for Wolverhampton. Many riders have crossed the Black Country divide, but rarely has a former number one heatleader plied his trade as both a Heathen and a Wolf. We wish both Greg and Billy the best of luck for 2006! Be sure to visit www.greghancock.com (one of the very best speedway sites we've seen to date) and www.billyhamill.com - Great to see both guys leading the way off-track as they always have done with some superb commercial vision.

30/10/05: Last night, Club CH staged the 'Spirit of '95' evening at Dudley Sports and Social Club. The event was a great success with all tickets being sold out months in advance.  It marked the 10th anniversary of the last ever speedway action at Dudley Wood, the challenge match between Greg Hancock and Billy Hamill Selects. As well as music from 1995 and a big screen DVD of the best Heathens moments from the season, there was a special appearance from John Wilson, the rider who made his Cradley debut in that year. Apologies were sent from several other team members including Simon Cross, who is now based in France, Jonathan Forsgren in Sweden and Scott Smith who was attending Berwick's End of Season Presentation Night.  Club CH would like to thank everyone who attended for making a very enjoyable night.