Is it possible to find out which bike my Grandad rode?
Would there be any logs of what why where when?
I know very little about my now departed Grandad,only he was a dispatch rider in the second world war.
I myself have riden motorcycles since 12yrs old,
can any body shed any light on if i can trace anything at all?
Any help would be great thanks.
Anthony
Anthony, sadly very little chance at all unless your family have any surviving photos or documents relating to his service.
The wartime vehicle documents have all been destroyed and even then there was unlikely to have been any link to individual riders.
Do you know which unit he served with ?
Your first step should be to apply for his service records (there is a charge of £30). If the next of kin applies or he died more than twenty years ago, this will be a full set of copies.
With this information, you can begin to research the unit history...War Diaries just might include some vehicle information or serial numbers and the IWM may have photographs of that unit which might include a motorcycle....
It's not going to be quick or easy and there is absolutely no guarantee of success but based on the dates and theatre of operations, we can give a fair idea of what he might have been riding.
If you want to follow this up, I'd suggest membership of the WW2talk forum. There is no better place to follow up British Forces service with assistance from knowledgeable posters.
