The Ariel WNG formally owned by Ted Cotton is still in the same paint 45 years on and looking pretty good.

Rob

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

Back in 1988, when I got my M20, this was the only bit of information I could find on Military Motorcycles, other than a feature or two in "Classic Bike". With no 'net, your sources of correct restoration information were severely restricted, if they even existed at all. I still have my copy of this book, looked at it many, many times back then.

email (option): m20wc51@yahoo.com

Hi, The chap on the Norton is Roger Deadman, I met him and his Dad on the MVCG Arnhem Tour in 1977. They were driving a 6x6 GMC on that trip and they very kindly used to take my brother and my camping gear every day during the trip. I also have a well thumbed copy of that book. The first BSA WM20 C40086 pictured was belonged to Henry Kisley and he had a sidecar attached on the Arnhem Tour, his friend also had one with sidecar and a trailer if I remember correctly

email (option): mickwalsh57@gmail.com

Roger Deadman is still active in the Norton Owners Club and has a number of pre-and post-war Nortons. He sold the Big 4 along with a WD16H back in the early 1990s but I have an idea that he was working on another WD16H.

Matchless GVN 174 is my old bike now owned by John Tinley
It was Founders day 1976 or 77. I think one of the first themed days due to titch Allen having been relating some of his DR days in Motorcycle Sport.

What is noticeable nowadays is the laxness of authenticity back then, the sort of amazing detail and research that is availiable here just was not around then here.

As long as it approximated to a WD machine,paint it green that'll do.

GVN174 as it was photographed was knocked up in a month out of whatever fitted out of my stock of Matchless spares; As time went by it got more and more authentic, as that was the era when WD bike riders were regarded as nuts and I was given [yes given all those rare parts] masses of bits, often off genuine bikes being converted to trials bikes.

I loved it, fake as it was, and did many happy miles on it including a trip to Arnhem to try to blag a job on Bridge Too Far; [unsuccessful]

It was a wrench to part with it, but I don't ride what I still have much now.

and in case you are wondering, yes John Tinley got all the true history of it and a bit more.

It also featured in an early issue of Classic Motorcycle, with a lot of inaccurate BS in the article I wrote.

['That, and the fact that it was civilian registered in Nottingham in June 1967, is all I know about its history... Jeff']

Dawson Motors in Nottingham sold a lot of ex WD machines through the 60's and there are many with Nottingham registration numbers...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

email (option): jeffharvey490@gmail.com

Hi Michael,That was a blast from the past ,I have still got the GMC and two wd 16h ,s iv,e allways regretted selling the Big 4 it is the one in the national motorcycle museum

email (option): roger_deadman@yahoo.co.uk

How about the Velocette's, I seem to remember John Turner telling me when he bought one that there were only a couple of his model MAF? in the country?

Pendennis Castle July 2001

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

I checked both my MDD and MAF out Rob, but no matches. According to O&M there were about 1400 MDD's and only 947 MAF's before the contract with Velloce was canceled. But I've a feeling that some more MAF were produced....Maybe sent to Russia as I've seen MAF riders handbooks written in Russian. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Hi Roger. Good to hear from you. There was a picture of the Big4 in last months Real Classics magazine in the museum. I rode pillion on my brother Rod's M20 on the Arnhem tour and then had my own M20 finished for the Bastogne tour in Aug 1978 and I think you again carried our camping gear etc which was a great help and made the trip more enjoyable for me and my pal Kieron who rode pillion. I still have my M20 and did the 65th & 70th and hopefully 75th Normandy Anniversary

email (option): mickwalsh57@gmail.com

I bought my copy of the book in 1978 or 79 in the BMS shop in Dorking.

The man on the BSA M20 reg MTV 67F serial C4992320 is Keith Chandler.
He was then the VMCC "military machine expert".

I visited him when I was staying with another marvellous character George Yeomans.
A man with tons of metal where I found most of the military stuff I needed for my civilianised WD16H.
With hindsight I should have bought more, but that is life.
George put me up when I asked if there was a campsite nearby Drayton Mill. Being alone he offered me to stay with him.
He lived in Chaddesley Corbet, a hamlet without street lighting. Something I was not used to coming from well lit Holland.
There was a local brewery in the same street with very tasty beer!
When at Drayton Mill I encountered Keith Chandler. Lateron I visited him at his home nearby.
He was the first person to tell me something on military contracts for Nortons.
Unfortunately I lost contact with him and he appears to have extracted himself from the military machine scheme completely.
In that time I also visited Roger Deadman. His father showed me the Big 4 as Roger was away that evening. I contacted Roger many years later in my quest to find information for my Norton WD16H/Big4 website.

Cheers

Rob

email (option): wd16h@telfort.nl

Indeed I was the WD Marque Specialist for the VMCC in the 1970s and attended the Founders Day Rally where Bruce Main Smith took most of the photos that appear in the book featured here. I still have my BSA M.20 MTV 67F and the army C number on the machine was that which came off a Matchless G3L ridden by Gordon Jeal the BSA Marque Specialist for the VMCC and who helped me enormously when I was restoring my M.20 in 1973 / 74.

email (option): keithchandler@clistandchandler.co.uk

found this old post by rob. royal enfield model C reg number HGJ 949, ive been offered that bike, does any one know anything about it?

thanks, barry

email (option): fullerbarry@hotmail.co.uk

The frame number of this bike is 15211, the duplicated frame number is 15289. The same bike was for sale on eBay in January 2021. It was on eBay again last week. Initial price was £6500 if I remember well, this price was lowered at least two times, but I think it still didn't sell at £4900. I've got pictures here of how it looked like in 2021, and it's definitely deteriorated over the last year.

Jan

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

yeh the start price was a bit high but yeah it was eventually lowered to 4800, i can get it way less than that and i am veiwing it soon, he originally brought it last year for 5200 but was let down buy his mechanic, thats why the fuel tank is all bare metal. the resr of the bike to me doesnt look in bad condition but it will be restored, either as per 1970s pic or as it should be.
im assume this is a war time machine??

barry

email (option): fullerbarry@hotmail.co.uk

1941 indeed.

Jan

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

Thanks for this thread ... I now have a copy of the book coming my way . Look forward to reading it and see the photos ... There are plenty of copies available at reasonable prices . Especially if your in the UK and forgo the expense of shipping to the states... Mine is coming from Maryland so no shipping charge... I love this forum :)

email (option): wadeschields@mindspring.com

All of the registration numbers are on the current DVLA data base apart from three...492 DH Triumph TRW,...DJU 929 Triumph 5SW,...NDU 706 P Triumph TRW....I must admit I half expected 492 DH to be on another vehicle as a personal number but it isn't...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com