I did know this...but now I don't!!... ..What is the catalogue reference number for on the wartime contract plates?....Ian (I think) ...

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

I beleive its a quick reference number so fitters can find the relevent spare parts list.

Rob.

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

The 'catalogue reference' appears on all the contract documentation, back to the 1920s (and presumably the inception of the consecutively numbered contract system). It is clear that it was used at the time and not just applied retrospectively.

Within certain broad groups, contract numbers seem to have been issued consecutively to any manufacturer, giving us the situation where C5107 was Royal Enfield, C5108 Triumph, C5109 Norton and C5110 BSA for instance.

These contract numbers must have been a War Office reference as they applied to both RAOC and RASC orders.

Within this system, the contracts issued to each manufacturer had their own consecutive numbering system - the 'catalogue reference', starting with '1' - This was based solely on the manufacturer and ignored models.

The main use of the number on the contract plate was probably spare parts ordering but I suspect from its prominence on the contract documentation that it may well have had a use in terms of contact with the manufacturers, such as warranty claims.

It has to be borne in mind that nearly all our bikes came with a two year guarantee. (How the hell did they manage that under service conditions at a time when private buyers were lucky to get six months, parts only ?)