Issue 41 December 2018
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NEW MUSEUM JOINS AFF ILIATION SCHEME
Dennis Norton (seated in front of our Banshee) proudly displaying his Affiliation Certificate, surrounded by BMCT trustees (l to r) John Handley, Mike Jackson, Nick Jeffery, John Kidson, Ian Walden, Peter Wellings and Paul Barnes.
The Norton Museum Collection has become the fifteenth museum to affiliate with the BMCT. The museum, in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, is the culmination of a lifetime’s work by the founder, Dennis Norton. And that’s a clue - this is NOT a museum of Norton motorcycles! There are motorcycles present, however. Two of them, to be precise, both are Banshees, made in Bromsgrove, and they’re believed to be the only two survivors of the marque in the world. Dennis started his collection of interesting objects when he was given a Miller No.1 carbide lamp while working at what was then the Austin Motor Company at Longbridge. That was enough to spark Dennis’s interest in collecting, and he soon began to concentrate on items from the local Bromsgrove area. Local crafts included nail and button making, glass, and the world famous Bromsgrove Guild, which was known for the decorative features that adorned important buildings all over the world - the gates at Buckingham Palace and Liver Birds atop the Royal Liver building in Liverpool are examples of the things they produced. The collection also represents the
lives of the local people through hundreds of artefacts from toys and wirelesses to haberdashery and jewellery. Initially based in a redundant school building outside Bromsgrove, the ever expanding Norton Collection became so popular that a new home had to be found, leading to Dennis acquiring and restoring a derelict Georgian house on Birmingham Road, Bromsgrove. The Collection continued to grow, but as it prospered the local council took an interest, and bumped up the rates! Unable to meet the Council’s demands Dennis sold the property and eventually the Norton Collection, by now a registered charity, re-located to the Coach House next door, where it has been ever since. BMCT members will of course be particularly interested in the two Banshee bikes present in the museum. The first is the 1922 Villiers-engined solo that until recently formed part of the BMCT’s display at the Sammy Miller Museum and now on loan to the Norton Collection. The other is an interesting sidecar combination with a Barr & Stroud sleeve-valve engine and a custommade aluminium bodied sidecar, made for local a local shoe shop and used by them for
shoe repair collections and deliveries in the 1920s. Interestingly the BMCT’s bike was owned by Dennis Norton 35 years ago, but he sold it to buy the sidecar outfit!
The Banshee factory was originally based in Hull, but because of transport problems between there and the Midlands, where most of the components came from, they re-located to Crown Close in Bromsgrove in 1920. The Norton Collection Museum is at 26 Birmingham Road, Bromsgrove B61 0DD, and is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The founder, Dennis Norton BEM will happily arrange group visits at other times. Phone him on 01527 919531. www.nortoncollectionmuseumtrust.org.uk
Cover photo - Sammy Miller welcomes the BMCT’s Jones 250 Twin, which has replaced the Banshee in the BMCT display at the Sammy Miller Museum for a limited time. Our acquisition of the bike was described in BMCT News number 35. Thanks to Terry Joslin for the photo.
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OLGA KEVELOS BOOK RE VIEW The title says it all- Olga Kevelos was born into a wealthy Birmingham family, father Greek, mother English. She ploughed her own furrow through WW2, becoming a narrow boat trainee after trying civil service life, then embarked on a remarkable motorcycle career post-war. She gained a Gold medal in the ISDT and Special First Class Award in the Scottish Six Days Trial and successfully rode an amazing selection of offBook Review 'Playing with the Boys: road bikes including Francis-Barnett, Norton, Olga Kevelos - Motorcycle Sportswoman Ariel, Greeves, Triumph, BSA, Butler, Valon - an Extraordinary 20th Century Life in (from Len Vale-Onslow), Maico, Parilla, CZ and Suzuki.
Order from the 'Shop Now' link : www.facebook.com/olgakevelosbiography (no Facebook account required) or contact the author directly: Colin Turbett, Beinn Nuis Publishing, Shiskine, Isle of Arran, North Ayrshire, KA27 8EP. E-mail: ctur282388@aol.com.
Words and Photographs'
Nick Jeffery writes that although reviews of this book have appeared elsewhere this is such a worthy production that it merits exposure to any member who has not come across it.
But off-road was not her only talent: she road -raced bikes at Ansty and Goodwood and in the Thruxton 500-miler (on an Ariel Arrow) and with cars in Kieft and in Rex McCandless's Formula 3 car. She participated Below left, Olga (Norton) at Goodwood in 1951, in Honda's successful Maudes Trophy Greeves-mounted (above) in 1954, and (below) standing attempt on Honda 50s in 1962 and was very alongside Rex McCandless in his F3 car involved with the organisation of Birmingham Club events. On retirement she ran a pub with her brother and was a Mastermind contestant. All this and more is told in this 160 page A4-format book with over 250 photographs and other memorabilia reproduced including press cuttings, programme extracts and correspondence. Highly recommended. £20 + £4 p+p.
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At October’s Classic Motorcycle Mechanics show the emphasis of exhibits is usually on the later Japanese and Continental classic bikes. Hidden amongst them were some highlights to interest British bike enthusiasts, like Graham Bowen’s restoration of a unit-construction Triumph Bonneville (above). Looking absolutely correct as if it had just rolled off the production line, this was not an over-restored indulgence, and rightly claimed the prize for Best British Bike at the show.
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Biggest surprise of the two-day Bonhams auction at Stafford was the sectioned AJS 500 Springtwin display. Originally made for the 1952 Earls Court motorcycle show, this working motorised unit had an estimate of £8,000 - £12,000, but fierce competition between two bidders saw the hammer fall at a whopping £55,000 plus commissions. It is rumoured that US talk show host and noted collector Jay Leno was one of the interested parties. Bonhams top seller was a dismantled Brough Superior that made £264,500.
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NEWS FROM OUR Crowds gathered at Brooklands Museum on Sunday 30th September 2018 to commemorate the activities on the Brooklands site during the First World War. Re-enactors set up camp in the main paddock and carried out rifle drill and educated visitors on the life of a soldier during those difficult years. Period vehicles and aircraft were on display and the Museum’s Motorcycle Team arranged a recreation of the motorcycle Serpentine challenge originally held at the United Services Event on 19 August 1915. Entrants on
Photo credit: Murray Marsh
their period motorcycles tackled the obstacles, impressing the audience with their skills. On site was the BMCT’s 1916 Matchless 8B/2M Motorcycle Gun Carrier on loan for the day from the Tank Museum. As well as adding to the atmosphere of the WW1 camp, the Matchless was part of the photo opportunity on the newly opened start/finish straight. The photos show re-enactors with the Matchless and rider Julian Wade on a 1914 WD BSA Model H taking part in the Serpentine demonstration. - Martin Gegg
In 2020, Manx National Heritage plans to open a new permanent gallery honouring the history of the world’s most historic motorsport event – the Isle of Man TT. In advance of the new gallery, over the summer Manx National Heritage staged ‘Racing Lines’, a special exhibition at the Manx Museum in Douglas. It offered the opportunity to discover a selection of interesting items acquired for the upcoming gallery, including the BMCT’s recently acquired 350 Manx Norton (left), the memorial urn for Karl Gall, leathers worn by David Jefferies when he shattered the 125mph barrier in 2000, and the champagne bottle with which John McGuiness toasted victory in 2007. The exhibition was put together by Matthew Richardson, Social History Curator at Manx National Heritage, who said: “Manx National Heritage has been collecting fabulous TT artefacts for over 20 years now, including leathers, helmets, memorabilia and historic machines. “We wanted to give people a sneak preview of the sort of things that they will see in the new gallery, but our work is not yet complete. We would also like the public’s help in sourcing additional TT, MGP and motorcycle related objects, stories and memorabilia. We’d be very interested to hear from anyone who can help”. If you can help with information or the loan of TT-related memorabilia, contact Matthew at matthew.richardson@gov.im
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A F F I L I AT E D M U S E U M S News from the Sammy Miller Museum is that restorer Bob Stanley has hung up his overalls after 46 years as Sammy’s right-hand man. Joining as a mere youth of sixteen in 1972, Bob (on the left of our picture, with Andy Bufton, Sammy Miller, and BMCT Life President Trevor Wellings) has played an important part in restoring dozens of rare British bikes that might otherwise have rusted away to nothing, including several rescued by the BMCT and entrusted to the workshops of the Museum, like the Wooler in the photo. It’s Bob’s stated intention to retire to somewhere in Wales where he might open a bikers’ B&B, and he will continue as a valued Associate Member of the BMCT. Good luck for the future, Bob. Meanwhile , the Museum has a new attraction - the BMCT’s Jones Twin has arrived for a somewhat shorter stay while a permanent home is being prepared for it at the Derby Museum. Sammy himself couldn’t resist taking the little twin for a spin (below).
Sammy Miller Museum Winter Opening From Monday 10th December 2018 we will be closed weekdays, open at weekends, until fully re-opening 7 days a week on Monday 18th February 2019 for the half term break. See our Christmas closing times below. Christmas Holiday The Museum will be closed from Monday 24th December 2018 until the weekend of Saturday 5th January 2019.
Photo: Terry Joslin
A GRAND DAY OUT FOR THE UNIBUS In June the Prescott Bike Festival, postponed from its original Spring date due to bad weather, saw Mike Webster make an attempt on the hill on his 1920 Unibus. The scooter was made by the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company at Sunningend Works, Cheltenham, as the firm sought to diversify after World War 1. Adverts of the time called it “The Car on Two Wheels”, and it is widely acknowledged as the first ever fully-enclosed scooter. Top speed from the 2½ hp two-stroke was around 30 mph, and the sole concessionaires were The Service Motor Company of 245 Oxford Street, London. Mike’s is one of two known survivors. When not climbing Prescott the Unibus can be seen in its BMCTfunded glass display case at the Jet Age Museum near Gloucester.
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Bike Trip to London The second of my motorcycle rides to visit as many of the museums affiliated to the British Motorcycle Charitable Trust as I can. On this trip I planned to visit The London Motorcycle Museum, Brooklands Museum and The British Motor Museum.
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of the Thailand Moto GP on one of the televisions. Some of the customers’ bikes were pretty cool as well. I thought Sunday afternoon would be quiet on the roads. They probably were, compared to week-days, but were still busy and my ride to my hotel in Hayes, West London, was stop-go all the way. My small hotel’s claim to fame is that the author George Orwell lived and taught there when it was a private school in the 1930’s. My first evening there was spent in a Wetherspoon pub just down the road (walking, of course).
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of the demise of Meriden. The collection comprised about 50 machines, plus engines, and a host of other related items including an interesting cut-away TR6 which was driven by an unseen electric motor to show every aspect of how the machine worked. Even the front suspension went up and down. We then moved into another building where bikes were being worked on plus other parts and curiosities including an illfated 1950’s boat project, the brainchild of Philip Vincent who is best known for his high-class motorcycles. The main display area featured examples of machines from other British manufacturers, mostly long gone. Also included were three bikes built in the early 1960s to break land speed records. During my visit I was told of the museum’s struggle to continue in the face of mounting pressure from the cash-strapped local council who own the freehold to the
Day 2 I had planned on spending the morning at the London Motorcycle Museum but ended up staying all day. I arrived a few minutes before opening at their underwhelming Day 1 premises in Greenford, west London. But by Sunday October 7, 2018 dawned bright the time a helpful lady who was chatting but cold. I was on the road by 8 am, which nearby had photographed me and bike had looked unlikely a few days earlier when my recently purchased 2011 Triumph Bonneville SE was stolen from my drive. Luckily it was recovered within the hour, but with a badly damaged ignition switch. As I was not sure of getting a replacement by the weekend, I rebuilt it using superglue! I had intended to do this trip on my 50cc Suzuki, as I did back in May 2018 when I visited museums in the south of England, but that was playing up with an ignition problem, which at the time of writing I have not managed to cure. After a hot coffee at a service station – it was bloomin’ cold! - the route took me along the A5 towards Towcester, but roadworks blocked my route. The detour sent us past Silverstone on a race day, not a good piece of route planning! An hour was wasted getting back on my route but the rest of the ride into London was uneventful, and I arrived at my first destination in beneath the museum’s sign, the door was property. It would be a tragedy if this Shoreditch somewhat later than planned. opened, and I was greeted by the three wonderful place was to lose its fight for volunteers who were looking after the place survival. It really needs greater support that day. Inside was a wonderful collection from the motorcycle community to ensure of nearly 200 bikes plus other bike related it exists for visitors to enjoy in the future. parts and paraphernalia. After coffee in the Derek Minter trophy room (funded by the BMCT - Ed.) I briefly viewed the separate building dedicated to Triumph, then back in the seating area watched an entertaining video of 2 nd World War soldiers being taught how to ride and look after BSA motorcycles. The Bike Shed, situated in a number of The museum does not have a kitchen, so I railway arches in Shoreditch, is a ‘cool’ walked to the local shops for lunch. On my venue with a restaurant, bar, shop etc., and return I was given a very interesting and well worth a visit. Those arriving by bike can knowledgeable tour by Jerry, one of the ride through the covered seating area into a volunteers. We started in the Triumph free bike park in one of the arches. After a collection where I learnt about the history good lunch I admired the custom bikes on of some of the rare exhibits including display, winced at the prices in the shop – prototypes, specials and racing machines mainly biker clothing – and watched some dating from its earliest creations to the time
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After leaving the museum, I rode the six miles to the Ace Cafe on the North Circular. I visited this iconic building for the first time last year on my way home from Brighton on my Suzuki AS50. Then it was a Sunday
afternoon and it was buzzing with bikes, but at 5 pm on a Monday afternoon it was quiet. So, after a mug of tea and a look round the shop area, I headed back into the traffic for the ride back to my hotel. My evening was spent dining at the same Wetherspoon pub as the previous evening.
Day 3 After an early breakfast and bike loaded, the sat-nav guided me southwards past Heathrow, Sunbury-on-Thames, Walton-onThames and Weybridge before arriving at the former Brooklands motor racing circuit at 9.35 a.m. This allowed me enough time to take a couple of photos of me and the signs before being allowed to enter the museum a few minutes ahead of the 10 am opening time.
collection of Grand Prix cars and engines, some from the dawn of motor racing when Brooklands was the place to race. Having wandered around this assemblage of artefacts including my favourite, a wonderful 1930s three-wheel Morgan in racing trim, I walked across to the Malcolm Campbell Shed (Campbell was based here for many years) where some of his Bluebird-related items are on display. There are also displays of drawings, maps etc. showing the history of the site as it was transformed from part of a gentleman's country estate into the first purpose-built motor racing venue in the world. The work almost bankrupted the owner and ruined his health but was worth it in the end. This building connects to the one housing, amongst other things, the museum’s motorcycle collection, in one corner a magnificent Brough Superior. Also on display were another Brough, a rare Kerry-Abingdon 3.5 hp, an O.K. Supreme [both made in Birmingham] and a rather strange looking Earles Cotton-JAP 500cc, amongst a whole host of interesting machinery. I must also mention the Grindlay-Peerless with the spelling mistake on the tank! After a good while perusing dozens of interesting exhibits it was time to have a walk outside in the warm sunshine. At the top of the Test Hill – an increasingly steep roadway used for time trials – is a path which leads to a bridge over the famous banked
circuit which rises about 30 feet above the flat inside line of the track. This may be as steep as the historic Fiat test track on the roof of the Lingotto building in Turin, which I
The exhibits are grouped into three areas: Motoring, Aviation and the Track and Test Hill. The first two are based in mainly the original buildings and sheds. The motoring area was the one which most interested me, and which happened to be the one nearest the entrance. The Jackson Shed housed a
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have driven round in a classic Mini, heart in mouth. Lunch was taken in the Sunbeam Cafe housed in the iconic original clubhouse building. A lovely sense of times past, not a modern cafeteria. I then had time for a brief look round the Aviation area which included a ‘plane parking area with, amongst others, a VC10, a BAC 1-11, and of course a Concorde most of the design and manufacture of which took place here. In a large hangar nearby is a the recently opened Brooklands Aircraft Factory which shows how ‘planes were built in days gone by. One could spend a whole day just looking in more detail at all the aircraft related exhibits. I didn’t have time to see the London Bus Museum, housed in another huge purposebuilt building, as I wanted to fit in a quick visit to the British Motor Museum at Gaydon on my way home. On my way out, I bought a souvenir lapel badge, but strangely they did not have a Brooklands sticker for my top-box. I collected my helmet from the shop staff who had kindly stored it for me, reset my sat -nav, and headed for Windsor and onwards, avoiding the M25 and M40. The ride north was uneventful. I arrived at the BMM in time for a very short visit to a place I have visited many times in the past. It houses some wonderful vehicles, even though it is somewhat lacking in motorcycles. I saw two Rover ‘bikes, both around 100 years old. I was assured that there at least two others in the collection and was told that they had left the collecting and displaying of motorcycles to the National Motorcycle Museum which is only 20 miles away. The museum does however host the famous annual VMCC Banbury Run for motorcycles manufactured before 1931. Over the three days I (mostly) enjoyed 276 miles of incident-free riding on my Bonnie, which went well, with no trouble at all with my superglued switch. All the museums I visited on this trip, and my previous one, were interesting, varying in size and scope. The smaller ones had a more personal vibe, but all were well worth visiting. - Barry Heath (Member A1671)
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T H E B R I T I S H M OTO R C Y C L E C H A R I TA B L E T RU S T Registered in England No. 01445196 Registered Charity No. 509420 Registered Office: Holly Cottage Main Street Bishampton Pershore WR10 2NH UK Life President Trevor F. Wellings Trustees: Ian Walden OBE (Chairman) Peter Wellings Paul Barnes John Handley Mike Jackson Nick Jeffery John Kidson Mike Penn
The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust (BMCT) was originally formed in 1979 to facilitate the building of the National Motorcycle Museum at Bickenhill, near Solihull in the West Midlands, but since 1995 the BMCT has been an entirely separate organisation, a grant-making Charity dedicated to the promotion of British motor cycle engineering heritage through a network of affiliated transport museums throughout the country. Associate Membership is open to all, and allows free entry to all the museums in our affiliation scheme. Our funding comes from membership fees, bequests, donations, and income from our investments. Please direct any enquiries to the secretary, at the Registered Office address on the left.
Affiliated Museums: Black Country Living Museum, Dudley British Motor Museum, Gaydon Brooklands Museum, Weybridge Coventry Transport Museum Dover Transport Museum Gloucester Life Museum Haynes International Motor Museum Jet Age Museum, Gloucester London Motorcycle Museum Manx Museum, Isle of Man National Motor Museum, Beaulieu Sammy Miller Museum, New Milton Stroud Museum in the Park The Tank Museum, Bovington The Norton Collection Museum, Bromsgrove
Secretary & Editor: Andy Bufton www.bmct.org
Tel: 01386 462524 Mob: 07754 880116 Email: info@bmct.org
Preserving the past...for the future DATES FOR YOUR DIARY - 2019
January 5th-6th February 2nd-3rd February 16th-17th March 10th March 17th March 24th
Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic Show, Newark Showground, Winthorpe, Nottinghamshire NG24 2NY Classic MotorCycle Show, Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet, SomerseytBA4 6QN Classic Dirt Bike Show, Telford International Centre, Shropshire TF3 4JH British Classic Bike Day, Ace CafĂŠ, London, Ace Corner, London NW10 7UD Wistanstow Vintage and Classic Motorcycle Show, Wistanstow, Craven Arms, Shropshire SY7 8DQ 80th Sunbeam MCC Pioneer Run starts at Tattenham Corner Racecourse Car Parks, Epsom Downs KT18 5LQ
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Michael Harvey Christopher Patten Helen Patten Hannah Wickson Nigel Wickson Peter Denning Martin Bowley Mark Reeve John Webb Shaun Russell Nicholas Ray Philip Rowley Derek Russell Frank Lockwood Kelly Lockwood Jacqueline Thurgood-Sochon Helen Sochon Janet Russell Graham Clarke Keith Smith Sarah Sutton Neil Paten John Rosevear
David Daw Ian Pullen Vincent Woolley Garry Staunton David Thorne Robert Peel Steve Lambert Ian Bates John Warwick Lorraine Warwick Colin Williams Catherine Bates Gordon Walker-Love Ian Davies Linda Watkins Michael Watkins Timothy Frampton Rosemarie Frampton David Challis Robin Hek Bryan Mackreth Amy Keil Susan Frake
Barney Dunford Scott Williams Martin Felstead Mary Felstead David Cookson David Crawford Vicky Margetts Jimmy Hinde Ronald Macmillan Brian Bird Keith Ring John Tiley Russell Margetts Peter Keeping Simon Bennett Christopher Russell Duncan Hewitt David Tomlinson Anthony Luther Steven Luther Neil Foddering
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