Background
Chitty was born in Toronto, Canada in 1909.
Chitty was born in Toronto, Canada in 1909.
Before taking up speedway he worked as an electrical engineer Chitty started speedway racing in 1930 in Detroit, Chicago and New York in the United States of America, where he was noticed in 1934 by Johnnie Hoskins. In 1935 he came to the United Kingdom for a trial with the West Ham Hammers.
He was not successful in his trial and was looking for other employment when the West Ham promoter Hoskins gave him another chance five months later, which he took.
He was offered a contract by the Hammers. A broken collarbone in 1936 caused a long layoff, and he returned in 1937, scoring moderately well.
The 1938 season saw a considerable improvement in his racing, Chitty winning the Opening Cup and the London Riders" Championship, both at New Cross. Chitty also served for a time as chairman of the Speedway Riders" Association.
Chitty qualified for the World Final held at Wembley Stadium in London in 1937, finishing 12th with 15 points.
He failed to qualify in 1938 but qualified again for the World Final in 1939. Unfortunately the 1939 Final was cancelled due to the outbreak of World World War World War II
During the war years he raced at Belle Vue in Manchester, which was the only track that ran all through the war. In the Winter of 1945/46, Chitty captained the ENSA team that toured Germany.
In 1946 he rejoined West Ham and was made team captain, reaching the finals of the British Riders Championship that year.
He was always the center of entertainment, often singing to the crowd and once even raced a cheetah. He retired in 1952.
1937 – London, Wembley Stadium – 12th – 4pts + 11 Semi-final pts
1939 – London, Wembley Stadium - Event cancelled due to World World War World War II