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B M C T S av e s U n i q u e B r i t i s h M o t o r c yc l e f o r T h e N a t i o n A rare First World War Machine Gun Motorcycle Combination has been loaned to the Tank Museum. The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust beat off foreign bidders at Bonhams auction on Saturday 20th June to save a rare WW1 Matchless Vickers 8B/2M motorcycle combination for the nation. The bike has been acquired for loan to the Tank Museum at Bovington, where it has occasionally been seen at special events in the past. But why the Tank Museum? When the first tank crews were assembled in February 1916 a number of mechanically minded soldiers were available from the Motor Machine Gun Service based at Bisley. These men had been trained to use motorcycle combinations – similar to the one purchased – but the onset of trench warfare had made the combinations virtually useless on the Western Front. 700 men from the Motor Machine Gun Service transferred en bloc to the new Armoured Car Section of the Motor Machine Gun Service in March 1916 and they were joined by 100 drivers from the Army Service Corps along with men from a variety of other units. These men became the first to take the new tanks into action in September 1916. This particular Matchless Combination was one of 250 originally ordered by the Russian Government in 1917 – but the revolution caused the cancellation of the order and the machines were
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Our latest acquisition being delivered to its new home at Bovington. Delighted Tank Museum representatives are (from left) Richard Smith (Museum Director), David Willey (Curator) and Chris van Schaardenburgh (Head of Collections)
made available to the British Services. After the war many such motorcycles and other vehicles were sold off to the public and this combination was bought by a landed gentleman who lived near Dorchester to be used on his estate. Found years later and expertly restored to military specification by Chris Roberts (now a BMCT member), it was often demonstrated by Chris at the Tank Museum and elsewhere before being put up for sale. The combination was bought by the British Motorcycle Charitable Trust with assistance from money left to us by the late Martin Tiller. It is one of
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From 1912 onwards H. Collier & Sons produced the Matchless Model 8B fitted with the Swiss MAG 7hp engine. In 1915 the model was updated to incorporate an interchangeable spare wheel and designated the 8B/2. Due to the demands of the war the 8B/2M (M for Military) model was developed to a specification laid down by the Russian Army and fitted with the more
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powerful 8hp JAP engine with a bore and stroke of 85.5mm x 85mm. Lubrication was automatic, with extra oil delivered via a Best & Lloyd combined pump and drip feed. The basic machine was well specified and equipped with a kick starter, three speed countershaft gearbox, fully enclosed rear chain drive, and rear hub brake. The wheel hubs themselves
only three surviving WW1 M/G motorcycle combinations in the UK (the other two are Clynos) and David Willey the Curator at the Tank Museum said ‘it is a magnificent addition to the collections here, and helps us tell the story of those first men who ventured out in tanks nearly 100 years ago’. Of course, the good news for our members is that the wonderful Tank Museum is the latest to join the ranks of our affiliated museums, meaning BMCT members can now get free admission to view this important piece of history.
8 B / 2 M were specially designed to allow for high pressure lubrication in view of the arduous conditions the machines were expected to face. After the end of hostilities Matchless developed the 8B into the well known Model H combination with swinging arm rear suspension which had a long production run, continuing virtually unchanged until 1927.