Gathering Speed
by Malc
In 1947 A decision was taken to build a new stadium and the area chosen was a village called Weir between the small market town of Rayleigh and the mostly rural district of Thundersley in Essex. It would be situated just six miles from Southend on the southside of the arterial (A127).
Speedway began on 17th July 1948 with open meetings before the Rayleigh Rockets team was established in 1949 and sadly finished, in 1973. The owners wanted to maximize the use of the venue and so over the years it also hosted harness horse racing, open-air wrestling, cycle speedway, midget cars, and firework displays they also held stock car and banger racing as well.
I loved the Speedway and every Saturday I would catch the Southend-bound train from Harold Wood Station to Rayleigh Station with some friends, and then make the long walk up from the station, through Rayleigh town centre to the Rayleigh Weir, to cheer on the Rockets. I still love to watch the sport and I am still a big fan of all bike racing (so much more exciting and dangerous than cars.) I was particularly drawn to speedway by the fact that the riders raced at speeds of up to 70 miles an hour with no brakes! That's pretty fast.
I loved to cheer on my favourite riders – Dingle Brown, Brian Foot, Laurie Etheridge and had Speedway posters on my bedroom wall where I lived with my parents and a wonderful Programme Board made and painted by my mate’s mum, complete with a Rocket rider on the front. When you go to speedway meetings you have the program open in the middle and record all the race results. Such great fun.
On bank holiday Mondays the stadium would host Speedway in the morning and we would hang around to watch the banger racing afterward – all for the price of the speedway ticket – great value.
But sadly, gone now is the track, and those glorious days. The only trace left of the venue is the name of the road that led to it - stadium way.
But there is an appointed day, not too far in the future, where it will take place the fastest of all events. The Bible talks about the time when the Church, those who are born again of God’s Spirit, being taken out of this world, to be with the Lord Jesus Christ, forever.
It is called the rapture of the church, and when it happens the Bible says it will happen in the twinkling of an eye – and that’s very fast! (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
The rapture will be the gathering of the saints in the clouds to meet the Lord. The saints are all who have been born-again of God's Spirit and sanctified.
Will you be there? You can be. Go HERE to find out how.