| Competition: | Southern Area League |
| Competitors: | 5 |
| Domesticcup1: | Champions |
| Domesticcup1 Winners: | California Poppies |
| Domesticcup2: | Riders' Championship |
| Domesticcup2 Winners: | Alby Golden |
| Highestaverage: | Ernie Lessiter |
| League Above: | National League Div 1 National League Div 2 |
| Prevseason: | 1953 |
| Nextseason: | 1955 |
The 1954 Southern Area League was the first season of the newly named regional third tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams. It replaced the defunct Southern League. With most of the Southern League teams moving up to Speedway National League Division Two, six new teams started the season—many of them making their debut in league speedway.[1]
Three teams finished equal on points at the top but California Poppies from California, Berkshire were champions by the slenderest possible margin of a single race point with all their rivals having an fixture in hand that was never ridden.
Aldershot Shots withdrew mid-season.[2] Ernie Lessiter of Ringwood topped the averages.[3]
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 18 | ||
| 2 | Ringwood Turfs | 15 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 18 | |
| 3 | Rye House Roosters | 15 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 18 | |
| 4 | Brafield Flying Foxes | 15 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 16 | |
| 5 | Eastbourne Eagles | 15 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 6 |
Withdrawal (Record expunged) : Aldershot Shots
| Rider | Team | C.M.A. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernie Lessiter | Ringwood | 10.86 | |
| 2 | Gil Goldfinch | California | 10.48 | |
| 3 | Jimmy Gleed | California | 10.21 | |
| 4 | Peter Mould | California | 9.83 | |
| 5 | Vic Hall | Brafield | 9.46 |
Alby Golden won the Riders' Championship. The final was held at Rye House Stadium on 3 October.[4] [5]
| width=25px | Pos. | width=180px | Rider | width=120px | Club | width=50px | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ringwood | 14+3 | |||||
| 2 | Ringwood | 14+2 | |||||
| 3 | Vic Ridgeon | Rye House | 12 | ||||
| 4 | Dave Slater | Rye House | 10 | ||||
| 5 | Fran Greasley | Brafield | 10 | ||||
| 6 | Vic Hall | Brafield | 8 | ||||
| 7 | Jimmy Gleed | California | 7 | ||||
| 8 | Jack Taylor | Eastbourne | 7 | ||||
| 9 | Pete Mould | California | 6 | ||||
| 10 | Geoff Woodger | Rye House | 6 | ||||
| 11 | Gil Goldfinch | California | 6 | ||||
| 12 | Bob Bunney | Aldershot/Eastbourne | 5 | ||||
| 13 | Bill Simpson (res) | Rye House | 5 | ||||
| 14 | Ron Burnett | Aldershot | 4 | ||||
| 15 | Syd George | Brafield | 2 | ||||
| 16 | Eric Hockaday | California | 2 | ||||
| 17 | Harry Wilson | Eastbourne | 2 | ||||
| 18 | Gordon Richards (res) | Eastbourne/Ringwood | 0 |
Aldershot (withdrew)
Brafield
California
Eastbourne
Ringwood
Rye House