I have seen other pictures of this scene and they seem to be part of a set. I have gone through my collection, as I remembered seeing the Hotel sign before, and have found these two other views.





Hope they are of interest.....

email (option): stinkypete80@hotmail.com

i noticed from these pictures and others i have seen that the anti enemy use damage was not consistance ie some have front wheels missing and some dont i think with some effort at least 1/3rd of these bike could be put back into running condition and used by the enemy there should have been a directive issued stating that at least front wheels should be remove and petrol tanks punctured and timing case smashed this way there would be non of these part available to get some running

email (option): roger.beck@node6.com

Some look like accident/enemy action damage so the rider may not have been in any condition to destroy the bike.

email (option): stinkypete80@hotmail.com

My understanding is that at the time of Dunkirk there was no 'standard' method of vehicle disablement, but that as a result of the widespread use of repaired vehicles by the Germans, this was subsequently introduced..I don't think allied planning really took account of the possibility of widespread vehicle abandonment..
I seem to remember I read that in a book about the 1939/40 campaign in France ...Ian

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