This article is about British motorcycle racer. For the American football coach, see H. Frank Lawrence. For the American basketball coach, see Lawrence Frank.
Lawrence began his career before the war at Dagenham, but his career was put on hold while he served during the war in the Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot, flying Hawker Typhoons.[2][3] He married in 1940 but was shot down by the German forces and held as a prisoner of war for three and a half years.[2]
When speedway racing resumed in 1946 he joined the West Ham Hammers, where he was hurt in a freak accident when Jack Cooley crashed, his bike going through the safety fence and hitting Lawrence while he sat in the pits.[2] He transferred later in the season to New Cross[4] where he became a regular member of the team.[2][5]