The habit of riding on the tank by Canadians is interesting. A friend of mine who has now passed had taken his motorcyclist course in Germany in the 60’s. Using a TRW at the time, he said the instructors who were trained during the war or had been trained by veterans were still telling students to ride as far forward as possible right up on the tank. The reason given to him was that the further forward you were the farther away you were from the bucking action of the rear of the bike. Whether or not this was an effective way of minimizing the rattling of kidneys, it’s interesting to see it was actually being taught to motorcyclists long after the war.
I've always understood from WW2 motorcyclists that the riding position on the tank had to do with the prevention of pinched veins.
With a higher and more upfront riding position the legs are more in a 45 degrees instead of a 30 degrees position.
Canadian soldiers were significant taller than European soldiers, therefore you only see these riding adjustments with Canadians.
Ref Ron’s comment. The Winged Wheel Patch and The Dispatch Rider by Harry Watts - the former only seems to be available second hand at premium prices, the latter not at all. If anyone has copies looking for a good new home at reasonable prices, I would be interested. I’ve always been interested in the Canadians because they were billeted in my home village and also the village where I now live. Their concrete roads and foundations of huts still exist. The generations of my parents and grandparents were full of tales of their exploits. Such as my grandfather having to lock his teenage daughter (my aunt) in her bedroom on several occasions to keep her away from them. I still use Canadian tools on my Jeep that he traded for his garden veg and poached game.
