Paddy Mills (speedway rider)
Paddy Mills | ||
Personal information | ||
---|---|---|
Nationality | United Kingdom | |
Date of birth | 1913 | |
Place of birth | Leicester, England | |
Current club information | ||
Career status | Retired | |
Career history | ||
Leicester Hounds Sheffield Norwich Stars |
1937 1938-1939 1946-1952 | |
Individual honours | ||
Team honours | ||
National League Division Two Champion | 1950 |
Horace Burke (born 1913), better known under the alias Paddy Mills, was a motorcycle speedway rider whose career spanned World War II.
Born Horace Burke in Leicester in 1913,[1] he adopted the name Paddy Mills and began his career at Leicester in 1937, riding for the Hounds in the Provincial League. In 1938 he joined Sheffield, spending a season there before joining the Royal Air Force.[2] He served in the RAF for six years, and was awarded the British Empire Medal.[2] After the war he joined the Norwich Stars, for whom he was the third highest points scorer in 1946, with 348 points in total.[2] He went on to be the team's leading points scorer in both 1947 and 1948.[2] He was picked to represent England in second test match in 1949, but suffered a fractured skull a few days before.[2]
In 1952 Mills became president of the newly formed Leicester Amateur Speedway Club, which had a training track at Syston.[3]
In the late 1960s, Mills ran training sessions for the Long Eaton Archers.