BMCT News 47

Number 47

October 2020

A sight we were denied this year. A competitor leaves the start of the 2017 Banbury Run on his 1913 6hp Rex

NEWSLETTER OF THE BRITISH MOTORCYCLE CHARITABLE TRUST

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From The Chair Welcome to this, the 47th edition of BMCT News.

Since I wrote the introduction to Issue 46 we have seen some museums begin to reopen, but most, if not all, are operating under strict restrictions caused by the pandemic. Some are operating reduced opening hours and others have been forced to introduce a pre-booking system, so I recommend you check with each museum when planning a visit. Our website has links to the museums for the latest accurate information.

Elsewhere in this edition you’ll see news of an exciting addition to our collection, and information regarding the relocation of some of our exhibits. Particularly exciting is the appointment of two new Affiliated Museums, the Derby Museum of Making and the Isle of Man Motor Museum, both of which our members will be able to visit free from Spring 2021.

Take care, and stay safe.

Paul

New Acquisition

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he latest enhancement to the BMCT Collection is this extremely rare 1914 500cc Blackburne, thought to be the sole surviving veteran belt-drive Blackburne.

The particular significance of this machine, is that it is representative of the motorcycles used by the brave young men who volunteered to join the British Expeditionary Force as despatch riders when war was declared in 1914. The designers of the Blackburne, Cecil and Alick Burney, were two such men, and were attached to the 5th Signal Company, Royal Engineers. Another volunteer in the same unit was W.H.L. (Willie) Watson, who wrote a very good account of his experiences in the book “Adventures of a Despatch Rider”.

Engineering apprentices Cecil and Alick Burney acquired the patterns, drawings and rights to an engine designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and in 1912 started a venture to build motorcycles with the de Havilland engine. Known initially as Burney & Blackburne, the company's motorcycles attracted very favourable comments in the motorcycle press and the Burney brothers won many competitions riding the two prototypes.

In 2011, VMCC marque specialist for OEC and Blackburne, Martin Shelley, and his brother Nick (secretary of the Marston Sunbeam Club & Register) discovered the Burney brothers' medals and archives. The latter included an album of pictures taken in 1914 and early 1915 and a letter from the riders' company CO, Captain Doherty Holwell written to Mrs Burney, the brothers' widowed mother, testifying to their contribution to the unit's success in the early part of the war on the Western Front. This discovery led to the Shelley brothers publishing a book, “Two Wheels to War” (ISBN 9781911096580) which includes a complete annotated and illustrated edition of “Adventures of a Despatch Rider”. It also contains a vast amount of additional material, which adds greatly to the original account. The book also includes a list of over 400 despatch riders who landed in France in 1914, giving their personal details to enable relatives to research their history. A second edition of “Two Wheels to War” was included in the sale, signed by both authors.

Shortly after the new book was first published, a reunion of despatch riders' relatives was held, and the part-restored surviving Blackburne motorcycle seen here was displayed so the families could see the actual type of motorcycle featured on the cover of Two Wheels To War. The restoration was completed in 2018 and the bike successfully completed the 2019 Banbury Run. The Blackburne is presently displayed in the new BMCT section of the Sammy Miller Museum, in New Milton.

(Above) Co-author Martin Shelley with a copy of “Two Wheels to War”, and (top) Andy Bufton and Sammy Miller with the Blackburne

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New Home For The Jones Twin

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n early September our Jones 250 Twin was moved from its “What makes it special? The Silk Mill of John and Thomas temporary home in the Sammy Miller Museum to what will Lombe was one of the world’s first factories. be a stunning museum in the heart of Derby - the city where it was made at the hands of that gifted engineer, Dennis Jones.

“The silk throwing machines in this building were based on machines studied by John Lombe in Italy – the designs of The revamped Derby Museum of Making will open its doors these were copied and smuggled to England in an early to the public in the Silk Mill in the Spring of 2021 and the example of industrial espionage.

Jones will share a dedicated area with another well-known Derby-made motorcycle - a Silk 700S. Our photo above “The layout of the mills, with a large number of people in two shows the bike as we delivered it to the as yet unfinished buildings doing a number of processes, was the prototype for gallery on the first floor of the new museum. Here’s what the the modern factory and was a model for the later textile mills official press release has to say about the redevelopment: built for Arkwright and partners 50 years later.”

“Widely regarded as the site of the first fully mechanised The BMCT trustees are delighted that the Jones Twin will factory in the world, The Silk Mill is the southern gateway to have a home in such an impressive and prestigious new the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. Situated in the venue, our latest affiliated museum. centre of Derby, The Silk Mill is undergoing a major redevelopment programme with an ambition to reopen in 2021 as Derby Silk Mill – Museum of Making, bringing thousands of visitors to the city each year.

“This concept has been developed by Derby Museums in collaboration with our audiences, volunteers and partner organisations. These partnerships have resulted in a shared ambition to create a Museum of Making that will foster a spirit of experimentation and create conditions for learning and wellbeing. It will shape the way Derby is understood and appreciated and the way in which people from all places are inspired to see themselves as the next generation of innovators, makers and creators. The £16.4m redevelopment programme is financially supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Derby City Council and Arts Council England.

Artist’s impression of the new museum

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A Wolverhampton Thoroughbred Following our recent acquisition of the 1914 Junior TT AJS, Ivan Rhodes reminds us of the marque’s continued success in the first post-war TT 100 years ago:

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onday June 15th 2020 marked the Centenary of Cyril Williams winning the 1920 Junior TT riding a new design of 2¾ hp overhead valve AJS, one of eight special machines designed and built by Harry Stevens with the express intention of repeating the win in the same event in 1914 when Eric Williams ( no relation) was the victor, riding a super-tuned side valve AJS with a double primary chain drive and twospeed gearbox, thus giving four ratios. However, the much improved power output of the new OHV engine was such that the two-speed primary drive arrangement failed to last the fivelap race, and the furious pace of the competition (mainly headed by Watson-Bourne and Holroyd on Blackburnes, and Ronald Clark on a very rapid 250 Levis, entered in the Lightweight class, which was run concurrently) was such that favoured AJS teamsters Eric Williams, Howard Davies, Harry Harris and Ossie Wade fell by the wayside, all having “lost their dogs”, the term used to describe a broken drive side mainshaft.

Late entry Cyril Williams had been gradually working his way through the field and was in the lead on the last lap but then he “lost his dogs” just beyond Keppel Gate five miles from the finish and had to coast down through Creg-ny-Baa and

The AJS machines on route to Liverpool for the 1920 T.T. races

Ivan Rhodes contemplates the reconstructed AJS after its first test run with engine no. 8

The Centenary of Williams’s win was celebrated this year by the Williams and Stevens families. Cyril’s great-granddaughter Sarah, along with her father Charles and other members of the Williams family, had set up a telephone link which included Peter Stevens, son of the late Geoffrey Stevens of the Wolverhampton AJS dynasty, and at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon I myself received a pre-arranged telephone call bringing me into the equation since I had the remains of one of the eight engines - actually number 8 - produced for that event which had been brought to me thirty years ago with the comment “We think you would be able to do something with this”. Over the years this machine has evolved to the extent that we now have a bicycle representative of that used by Howard Davies to take solo and sidecar records at Brooklands in 1920¹.

While we were all connected over this telephone link the machine was ridden up and down our drive, thus giving the assembled group the sound-effect of the 1920 Junior TT winner, and it goes very well, too!

Brandish to Hillberry, from where he had to push up Cronk-nyMona, coast down to Governor’s, and toil up the hill out of the dip to the finish, crossing the line in a state of utter exhaustion but still nearly ten minutes ahead of Watson-Bourne in second place. AJS thus became the first OHV bike to win a TT.

¹ On 19th October 1920 Howard Davies took an experimental 2¾hp. overhead valve machine and sidecar to Brooklands and set a series of outstanding records, both for a solo machine, and a combination. He broke 14 records and became the first rider to achieve 80m.p.h. on a 2¾hp. machine.

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New Home For Scooter Collection

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e’re pleased to be able to announce that from Spring 2021 the British Motor Scooter Collection will have a new home in one of our newly affiliated museums, the Isle of Man Motor Museum at Jurby.

The BMCT trustees were faced with a difficult problem when the Scooter Exhibition at the Haynes International Motor Museum came to an end earlier this year. Finding a venue capable of displaying 40-plus machines to the public was not an easy task, and we were delighted when Denis and Darren Cunningham offered to house the complete exhibition at their impressive recently built museum on the Isle of Man. All was in train to transport the scooters and have a display up and running for the summer season, but then you-know-what got in the way, and everything was put on ice. We’re pleased to say that things are beginning to move at last, and the first consignment of machines has now made its way across the Irish Sea. Situated on the former RAF Jurby in the sunny north of the Isle of Man, the privately funded Museum was purpose designed and houses over 400 vehicles. Opened in May 2015, it has become a petrolhead’s paradise with something for everyone to enjoy.

The core of the Museum’s collection is the Cunningham Collection. Assembled by father and son team Denis and Darren Cunningham over the past 30 years, this unique gathering of both historically significant vehicles with very personal family stories led the Cunninghams to establish the Museum in order to share their passion. See our next issue for a progress update.

BMCT Display At Sammy Miller’s

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ammy Miller and Andy Bufton are seen above in the area of the Sammy Miller Museum which has been dedicated to the BMCT. Sammy is about to remove the Jones Twin as it goes up to its new home in Derby, and the space will be filled by the return of the Wooler Flat Four, which has been on loan to the Grampian Transport Museum for the last two seasons. The display in the BMCT area will change frequently as we refresh displays by moving bikes around the museums.

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MotoBall Revival at Brooklands

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rooklands has long been famous for motorcycle racing and record breaking but the weekend of 26th and 27th September saw a new chapter in the motorcycling history of the famous Surrey track. The Hayes and Southall Motorcycle Club Motoball section played two days of matches on the Brooklands Finishing Straight.

The idea started when John Bottomley, founder of the Brooklands Motorcycle Team, met Ray Attewell of the Hayes and Southall Club at the Southern Classic Show.

The Museum management agreed that the scheme could go ahead as part of the Brooklands Motorcycle Show in June 2020 and planning began.

Then came coronavirus. The plans were thwarted and the Museum closed. As the Covid restrictions were eased in July, John Bottomley re-opened the plans with Ray Attewell. A scheme was worked out to run the matches with Covid precautions that would suit the Museum, the ACU, the Local Authority and the Police. Steve Castle of Brooklands Museum achieved the daunting task of meeting all the safety requirements, permits and official permissions. The stage was set.

The hard work of setting out the pitch, goalposts and paddock fell to the volunteers of the Brooklands Motorcycle Team who had to engineer strong bases to mount the goalposts without damaging the historic concrete.

Over the weekend, everything ran to plan. Playing for the first time in 14 months, the Hayes and Southall riders soon found the Brooklands concrete to be a fast but unforgiving surface.

There were falls, but apart from a few bruises and minor aches nobody was hurt. By the time of the final session, the teams were well and truly up to speed and the fun was fast and furious. As Ray Attewell said, “Motoball is gladiatorial!”

The final score, after four matches was Young Upstarts 2, Veterans 0.

The trophy and awards arrived on track in a 4.5 litre Bentley and were presented at arm’s length with a litter-picking grip Covid safe to the last! The success and pleasure of the event have ensured that it will be repeated at next year’s Brooklands Motorcycle Show. Let us hope Mr Covid and his nasty little virus will be long gone by then so that the matches can be part of a much larger motorcycling festival.

Josh Attewell (Suzuki), captain of the Upstarts challenges Nigel Hains (Suzuki) of the Veterans team for possession.

Geoff Attewell (Suzuki), Captain of the Veterans, gets to meet the Brooklands concrete while Ben Bloxham (Yamaha) of the Upstarts takes avoiding action.

Photo credits: Oliver Dixon

Forgotten Make Reborn later became Wardill & Sons, and in 1927 Henry Jnr. and Percy Wardill produced the Wardill motorcycle with a “revolutionary” 347 cc two-stroke supercharged engine.

Although well built and fast, it was too unconventional to appeal to the buying public, and few were sold.

Photo: Paul Fears Photography

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Fast forward to the present day, Mark Wardill a direct descendant of Henry Wardill, is re-launching the Wardill brand, with a brand new motorcycle built in Pontypridd, South Wales; the Wardill 4. Using the same core values as the original motorcycle, “every bike will be meticulously hand built from the bare frame to the paint to perfection, in a new workshop using modern design techniques, aviation quality steel, combined with vintage styling to provide an unrivalled raw riding experience, giving the rider a direct connection with the road”.

he Wardill Motor and Cycle Works was established in Carshalton, Surrey, England by Henry Wardill Snr. in Using a Chinese engine based on a Suzuki GN250 unit, the 1903 to repair and maintain cars, motorcycles, and bicycles. It 2020 Wardill 4 is said to capable of 90 mph!

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Members’ Page UNEXPECTED BENEFITS OF BMCT MEMBERSHIP BMCT membership had an unexpected benefit for John Dix recently. John left his wallet behind when making a purchase at an autojumble, and it was found by another customer of the stall. There was no identification in the wallet, save John’s BMCT card.

The finder contacted our membership secretary, who was able to put John in touch, and the wallet and all its contents were returned safely!

DINO’S BIKES (Part 2)

Last month we published a photo of BMCT member Dino Paglia’s stunning restoration of a BSA Rocket III. As promised, this time we feature another of Dino’s bikes, a beautiful X75 Hurricane. Here’s what he has to say about it: “This bike was the first Hurricane to go to Holland. They had three in total, and this bike was on show at the Rai in Amsterdam in 1973. I have owned it for fifteen years, and the restoration consisted of stripping and restoring every part. There are no reproduction parts apart from the obvious tyres and fuel pipes, it even has it original Dunlop rim tapes and inner tubes in perfect condition. I would say with confidence it is over 95% original. I have the original Dutch logbook and its original rear number plate, and an original black and white photo of it at the Rai in that show in ‘73. I feel so lucky to own it.”

Don’t miss Dino’s 1938 Speed Twin restoration in the next issue!

It’s a bit modern, we know, but technically this could be described as a British motorcycle. It’s a Petronas FP1, it belongs to one Guy Martin, and it’s been one of this season’s star exhibits at the Grampian Transport Museum.

2003 saw the production of 150 Petronas FP1 machines with 50 designated for racing and testing and 100 bikes destined for the open market. When the project began, the aim was to create a machine to compete in Moto GP, but plans changed and the bike was eventually developed as a WSBK machine. The FP1 was developed and manufactured by UK based engineering firm MSX International and had a 900cc Suter Racing liquid cooled inline 3 engine at its heart which in race trim developed just shy of 190bhp. Petronas raised their profile massively when they joined forces with four-time Superbike World Champion Carl Fogarty to form a racing team -Foggy Petronas Racing- with riders Troy Corser and James Haydon to participate in the Superbike World Championship. The road going bike retained most of its track equipment and saw the addition of light clusters and a detune of the engine to satisfy road regulations. The bike retains the look and feel of its racing sibling and is a true race replica. At only 181kg, performance is still impressive seventeen years after its creation, and it benefits from components which were top of the line when it was built, such as Öhlins suspension and Brembo brakes.

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T HE BR I T I S H MOTOR CYCL E C HA RI TABL E TRUS T Registered in England No. 01445196 Registered Charity No. 509420 Registered Office: Holly Cottage Main Street Bishampton Pershore WR10 2NH United Kingdom Life President Trevor F. Wellings Trustees: Paul Barnes (Chairman) Ian Walden OBE Peter Wellings John Handley Mike Jackson Nick Jeffery John Kidson Mike Penn Secretary & Editor Andy Bufton Mob: 07754 880116 Email: editor@bmct.org

The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust (BMCT) was originally formed in 1979 to facilitate the building of the National Motorcycle Museum at Bickenhill, near Solihull in the West Midlands.

Since 1995, however, the BMCT has been an entirely separate organisation, a grant-making Charity dedicated to the promotion of British motor cycle engineering heritage through a network of affiliated transport and local interest museums throughout the country.

Our affiliated museums are: Black Country Living Museum, Dudley British Motor Museum, Gaydon Brooklands Museum, Weybridge Coventry Transport Museum Derby Museum of Making Dover Transport Museum Gloucester Life Museum Grampian Transport Museum, Aberdeen Haynes International Motor Museum

Associate Membership is open to all, and allows free entry to all the museums in our affiliation scheme. Our funding comes from membership fees, bequests, donations, and income from our investments. Please direct any enquiries to the secretary, at the Registered Office address on the left.

Internal Fire Museum of Power, Ceredigion Isle of Man Motor Museum, Jurby Jet Age Museum, Gloucester Manx Museum, Douglas, Isle of Man Museum in the Park, Stroud National Motor Museum, Beaulieu Sammy Miller Museum, New Milton Tank Museum, Bovington

www.bmct.org

The Norton Collection Museum, Bromsgrove

Preserving the past...for the future Parting Shot...

Spirit of the Sixties. A nostalgic period shot of a Velocette Thruxton being enjoyed to the full by its youthful owner.

Published by Matchless Management Services, Holly Cottage, Main Street, Bishampton, Pershore WR10 2NH