 After the war he managed the West Ham Hammers alongside Stan Greatrex from 1946 until 1949.In 1950 Atkinson and his wife 'Tippy' (whom he married in 1937 - they met while she was working as Johnnie Hoskins' secretary) became promoters at the newly formed Rayleigh Rockets.Whilst promoting at Rayleigh he returned to riding again, for West Ham, but the twelve years away from competitive riding showed in his scoring.