The W/NG was originally supposed to be supplied to the French forces before the fall of Dunkirk.........similar in fact to the Velocette MAC(WD) "MDD"...........

Does this image show that the French actually received some W/NG's prior to the British military ? It is certainly an early version...........

I have studied the 1940 Ariel factory ledgers, and have come to this conclusion:
The first Ariels with despatch destination “French Government” left the Hall Green factory on April 29th 1940. Approximately 100 motorcycles had left the factory when on May 10th Germany invaded the Low Countries. Another 130 motorcycles were despatched before May 22nd, but all the later entries in the ledgers have their original destination and despatch date crossed out and a new destination (“British Government TT2”) and despatch date (in most cases a date in August – September 1940) has been added. Approximately 30 entries with original despatch date between May 28th and May 31st are exceptions (no crossed out destination or despatch date), these motorcycles may also have reached France.
When the German tanks broke through to the coast at Abbeville on May the 20th, Hitler’s aim was to secure the Channel ports. Hence Ariel’s sudden export-stop. Considering the fact that the May 28th – May 31st period coincides with Operation Dynamo, it is very unlikely that the 30 Ariels that were despatched during that period ever arrived in France...
So I think it’s reasonable to assume that approximately 230 Ariels arrived in France, although some of these (130 ?) may not have got any further than the channel port docks...

Mr François Vauvillers (who's an expert on the 1940 French military vehicles) has told me that the Ariels were supposed to be registered K0901 until K3000 (inclusive). 2100 Ariels had been ordered by the French Government. So this one is the 67th in this series, and I've seen a picture with K0932 as well.

Jan

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Bugger me Jan! That is chapter and verse!
Another good picture Steve. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Indeed, that's some detailed information....
The only thing I knew about this contract with the French is what Peter Hartley wrote in his book "The Ariel Story" from 1980 on page 144-145 and I quote:

....But the first military contract was with the French Army and a batch of these machines was shipped to France via Ostend (Belgium). Before they could reach their intended destination, France had capitulated and they sat out the rest of the war unpacked, and fortunately unnoticed by the Germans, in a warehouse in Ostend. After the war they were rediscovered, shipped back to England and sold of as army surplus......

i very like this picture, i've got it since years, but smaller on a book, very like the rider, he is equiped with full cavalry trim ( leather gaiters model 1900, and spurs!!)only the 1935 motorised jacket and helmet... totaly regular!! direct from horse to motorcycles... all the beauty of the french army think it's not easy to learn in only few days!!
many thanks for the infos Jan, very instructive.

email (option): leger-arnaud@wanadoo.fr

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If there were Ariels repatriated from an Ostend warehouse after the war, then I would suspect that they were unused late models from a rear depot left behind in 1945.

Does the above Ariel photo date from prior to the fall of France or is it an early Vichy image ?

The registration system changed under the Vichy Regime, so either this is a very early post June 22nd 1940 (Armistice) picture, assuming they hadn't changed the registration number yet, or a May 1940 picture showing a brand new W/NG. I would go for the second option...

Jan

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

Not sure Jan, maybe a vichy period picture, look at the headlamp, it's not a lucas, i zoom on it, too "domed" on the rear, too big ( or is it 8 inch??) and the lamp brakets are not in position for a lucas, it look like this type of marshal period headlamp, same position of the stays...

maybe an improvised modification???
it look like also this headlamp is a chromed one, because if it's the light, the rider helmet also may have withe reflect on it ( or maybe a more scientific reason?? )
and one more, their are no matricule number starting with a zero in 1940, i must have a look on the vichy period pictures.....

email (option): leger-arnaud@wanadoo.fr

Bonsoir Arnaud,

Hmm, good point about the headlamp, hadn't noticed that one yet. You could be right when you say that this isn't a Lucas 6". By the way, the other picture that I mentioned is in that François Vauvillers article that I sent you a couple of weeks ago. You will notice that this second Ariel also has a registration number starting with a zero. And I got this information about these registration numbers (starting with a zero) from François, and he should know! (After all, il est le "dieu" du vehicule français de 1940! )

Jan

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

YES!! but "le dieu du vehicule français" in his new book don't speak about numbers starting with zero..... strange isn't it???
in the 1 to 1000 serie, numbers are 629 or 914, not 0629 or 0914 and its a 1923 matricule serie... look like to be a very big "strange thing" but you are right the pics speak... sorry....

email (option): leger-arnaud@wanadoo.fr

In the first place, why would military vehicles for our French allies have been sent through neutral Belgium, the King of which was so anxious to avoid upsetting Germany that he refused to allow British officers to enter the country during the phoney war with a view to planning a possible defence of the Albert Canal and Dyle lines?... British observers made a couple of trips undercover in civilian clothes.

BEF phoney-war shipments to France were routed south of the Channel ports due to the vulnerability of the latter to air attack. France had huge ports at Cherbourg and Le Havre which were far more conveniently situated for handling freight out of Southampton.

The suggestion that the ultra-efficient German authorities failed to find a warehouse full of new motorcycles in a port town is also pushing it a bit.

I suspect that this is one of those urban myths along with the 100 lightweight Nortons that were lost with the BEF and the whole consignment of Velocettes that was sunk.

According to the VOC, my own Velocette MDD was part of the consignment ordered by the French but after Paris fell it was re-allocated to 565 AA Battery Oswestry on 8th July 1941. I guess mine is one of the ones that were supposed to have been sunk

Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

This type of headlight with bottom mounting is pretty common on ex French bikes. Do not know the brand though. Found this WDCO in Normandy with same headlight and mounting. Now in Malta.

Cheers,

Jacco