DUDLEY McKEAN HAS DIED

NEWS Sunday 4th September 2011, 11:26am

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

We have received news that the popular Monarch of the sixties Dudley McKean has died in Australia, suspected to be from a heart attack. He was 73 and rode for Monarchs in 1962-3 and 1966.

?Cuddly Dudley?, as he was always known, took up speedway after a spell in the Australian army. After two seasons racing he came to the UK with Kevin Torpie to be met by Johnnie Hoskins, who sent Torpie to Middlesbrough and McKean to Edinburgh.

He was hailed rather excessively as ?The new Jack Young? though he was pretty inexperienced. He said later ?I had nowhere near the ability that everybody thought I had. I had no more ability than the Edinburgh novices.?

In fact he was injured in practice but was nevertheless persuaded to ride in his debut meeting, being injured again. However he stuck at the job, gradually improving, and when he came back in 1966 after two seasons off, he was a much improved rider. He scored a total of 249 league points for Monarchs.

He admitted ?I was a bit of a big-head, independent, whatever. Out here we talk about whingeing poms, well I guess I was the greatest whingeing Aussie they ever had over there.

?I worked with one guy, Jock Smith, and he invited me home for tea one night. He asked how I was going and I said ?No bloody good!' He said ?Yeah but you are an Australian and you'll give it a go!'

?There's no doubt about that and I was very proud when he said that to me. I don't think I could ever be accused of not trying.?

He came from Bendigo, Victoria but more recently lived in Perth, doing a bit of gold prospecting. He married an Edinburgh girl during his racing career, and had a son and daughter.

Brian Collins has stayed with Dudley and he also asked to be remembered to mechanic Artie Fisher and John Gibson of the Evening News when interviewed in the nineties. News of his passing was sent by former Meadowbank junior rider Duncan Mitchell.