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Horace Albert Burke (24 July 1912 – 29 January 1975), better known under the alias Paddy Mills, was a motorcycle speedway rider whose career spanned World War II.

Career

Born Horace Burke in Leicester in 1913, 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. He served in the RAF for six years, and was awarded the British Empire Medal. After the war he joined the Norwich Stars, for whom he was the third highest points scorer in 1946, with 348 points in total. He went on to be the team's leading points scorer in both 1947 and 1948 and the club captain.He was picked to represent England in second test match in 1949, but suffered a fractured skull a few days before.

In 1952 Mills became president of the newly formed Leicester Amateur Speedway Club, which had a training track at Syston. In the late 1960s, Mills ran training sessions for the Long Eaton Archers.

References

1. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
2. "Paddy Mills". Sheffield Evening Telegraph. 14 June 1939. Retrieved 29 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
3. Dalling, Philip (2007) Nottingham and Long Eaton Speedway, Stadia, ISBN 978-0-7524-4163-4, p. 155
4. ^ Morgan, Tom (1949) Who's Who in Speedway, Sport-in-Print, p. 53
5. "Speedway Ace wants to join Leicester". Leicester Evening Mail. 24 February 1951. Retrieved 29 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. Bamford, R & Jarvis J. (2001) Homes of British Speedway, ISBN 0-7524-2210-3, p. 150

• 1912 births
• 1975 deaths
• British speedway riders
• English motorcycle racers
• Sportspeople from Leicester
• Sheffield Tigers riders
• Norwich Stars riders
• Stoke Potters riders
• 20th-century English sportsmen