From back of photos,"On Autobahn south of Hannover,taken from passenger seat of Bedford L.Y.3 Tonner at speed"



Below,Nortons brake lever is at an odd angle.

I think that Norton has fallen over at some point !

Interesting images, and as usual some new questions.

The Norton's mudguard seems to show the spearhead sign of 1 Corps...but an arm of service serial in the 200s doesn't fit with that. Were there any other photos that might give a clue to the type of unit ?

C4681450 fits nicely into contract C12426 but the other number is a puzzle. It looks like C5603065 or similar. This was a number allocated to the Middle East though. It can't be C1560306 as that was reserved for rebuilt cars, and the only other possibility is C4560306 and that would have been an M20 !

I just think it's nice that they were happy to be photographed.
I hope they got to go home.

Mark.

email (option): pes.sales@btconnect.com

The photographer was a member of the RASC, there's some other photos with the same photographers name and number on, there's a date on some of them 1946 but with a ? next to it, the guy on the BSA looks like he has a tank suit on, don't know what the Norton Rider's got around his waist or is it on the pillion seat?.

Hi Rik, the smaller photo with the Matchless G3L is the same Norton on as the the larger one (same rider, same luggage), the tank number is C5603066, will show a better image when I get back later.

That would be great, Steve. I hadn't even spotted a Matchie !

These are the two small photos.



below,one of the other photos showing the convoy,with one of the over taking motor cycles in the distance.

They also stopped off at a military cemetery,the autobahn with trucks on in the back ground.

I am confused by the Norton with number C5603066 as Rik is.
That does not fit in any known range of numbers and based ion the number it would be a (late) 1945 built machine, however it does not have the raised front mudguard of the last contract!
The ones built after S5161 were either RN or unknown but with sidecars.

Very nice pictures, thank you for sharing.

Cheers,

Rob

email (option): wd16h@telfort.nl

Thanks, Steve. Based on the RAF casualties, the crew of Halifax II JB850, these were graves concentrated at the newly constructed Becklingen / Soltau cemetery. CWGC gives the date of concentration as August 1946.

In terms of the 'odd' WD serial number, I wonder if the information that we have in the reprinted "Chilwell" lists is correct ? It shows 5600001 - 5700000 as "Various, allotted to Middle East" and 5700001 - 5799999 as "Various, allotted to Canadian Forces" Many of the Nortons in service with the post-war BAOR are likely to have been ex-Canadian as they were the main users during the later part of the war. Could it be that the allocations are transposed in the listings and that it is a Canadian reallocation ?

A study of the Key Cards might shed some light.

The BSA M20 number appears to be 14121, am I right in saying its either C5214121 WM20 103421 contract S2603 or perhaps C1414121 a rebuild serial, however there is no M20 with a rebuild serial near to that in the keycards so probably the first one.

Rob

email (option): robmiller11(a)yahoo.co.uk