Under lowering skies one of the early

competitors (above) gets under way on

the 63rd running of the VMCC‟s Banbury

Run, billed as “the largest gathering of

Veteran and Vintage machines in the

World”. Starting once again from the

extensive grounds of the Heritage Motor

Centre at Gaydon, the event was as usual

well over-subscribed, with the maximum

number of 600 machines taking part. Well

almost, since Sammy Miller, due to start

at number one on his 1920 Wooler, had

been taken ill during the days leading up

to the event and wasn‟t up to the long

journey north from his New Milton base.

Happily he has since made a full recovery. Even

without Sammy there was a fair contingent of

BMCT members in the field, including Peter

Burrows from Stafford on his 1915 269cc Royal

Ruby (below), Chris Oliver from Bartley near

Southampton with his splendid 1927 Zenith V-

twin (above), and Richard Duffin on the unique

680cc Burney that has featured in these pages

previously. One machine eagerly awaited machine

notably absent at Gaydon was the AJS in-line

four, latest restoration to emerge from the

Sammy Miller Museum, which James

Robinson, editor of The Classic Motor

Cycle, was down to ride. Unfortunately the

bike succumbed to trouble in the clutch

department while being tested before the

event and despite the best efforts of the

team it couldn‟t be fixed in time.

Fortunately for us however it will be

available to take pride of place on the

BMCT stand at the NEC Classic Motor-

bike Show in November. For details on how

to obtain discounted tickets and help the

BMCT, see page eight of this newsletter.

2011 BANBURY RUN

BMCT News Newsletter of The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust Autumn 2011

Inside this issue:

Trustees

Peter Wellings (Chairman)

Steve Bagley

Paul Barnes

John Handley

Mike Jackson

Nick Jeffery

John Kidson

Ian Walden OBE

Editor

Andy Bufton

Registered in England

No. 01445196

Registered Charity

No. 509420

www.bmct.org

Banbury Run

Ace Café Coventry

Milestones Parade

Haynes Show

1,000 Bikes

Book review

Norman Vanhouse

Museum News

Bonhams

Salon Privé

Members’ Page

NEC Show

1

2

2

3

4

5

5

5

6

6

7

8

Registered Office and

Administration

Matchless Management

Holly Cottage

Main Street

Bishampton

Pershore

WR10 2NH

This summer, the Rockers

returned as Coventry Transport

Museum and Ace Café London

presented a new exhibition

telling the story of how a

London transport cafe became

an international icon, and how

the café's customers redefined

what it meant to be a teenager

in the 1950s and 60s. Planned

as a transport café for lorry

drivers during the 1930s, the

Ace Café on London's North

Circular Road quickly became a

place where motorbike riders

gathered. In the 1950s the Ace

became the destination for a

new breed of motorcycle riders;

teenagers who met there to

listen to rock 'n' roll, and to

burn up the road doing “the

ton”. They were daring and

dangerous, and their lifestyle

has influenced fashion, music

and motorbikes ever since. For

“Coming of Age at the Ace

Café”, the Ace as it was in the

day is lovingly recreated inside

the Museum, filled with bikes,

clothes and stories from the

1950's and 60's. If you haven‟t

seen it yet, don‟t worry, there‟s

still time to catch this iconic

exhibition inside Coventry

Transport Museum before it

closes on October 2nd.

ACE CAFÉ RECREATED IN COVENTRY

Page 2 BMCT News

BMCT trustees at

the Ace Café

e x h i b i t i o n a t

Coventry Transport

Museum are (l to r)

Steve Bagley, Paul

B a r n e s , P e t e r

W el l in gs , Jo hn

Handley and John

Kidson

In June the Isle of Man celebrated 100

years of the Mountain Course with the

“Milestones of the Mountain” parade

lap. Among a host of star names

BMCT members John Kidson and

Ivan Rhodes were invited to take part

by the organisers who were paying

tribute to the riders and machines who

had left their mark on TT history over

the last century. John (right, at Bray

Hill), mounted on Ivan Rhodes‟ ex

works 495cc „Cammy‟ AJS R10, was

representing Jimmy Simpson who set

the first 50, 60 and 70 mph lap

records around the circuit, and Ivan

himself (left, at Creg-ny-Baa) was

playing the part of Stanley Woods,

winner of 10 TT races between 1923

and 1939. Ivan was mounted on the

same 1937 works 500 Velocette that

Woods himself rode in the TT parade

laps from 1979 to 1983.

MILESTONES OF THE MOUNTAIN TRIBUTE

The Haynes Motor Museum at Sparkford held

their first annual Motorcycle Show at the museum

in August. Timed to coincide with the second

annual Jeff Clew Run which

starts from the museum car

park, the show offered

enthusiasts the chance to

partake of Ducati test rides, a

wheelie machine, drift car and

Dream Car rides and watch a

stunning display of stunt

riding. If that wasn‟t enough

excitement there were also the

thrills and spills of the Wall of

Death to take in as well. Local

groups such as Bikesafe,

RoSPA and the Freewheelers also had stands, and

the BMCT were represented with an exhibition

featuring our 1937 Brough Superior SS80 (above)

which normally resides inside the museum. The

Jeff Clew Run, organised by the Dorset Section of

the VMCC in memory of the well-known rider,

writer and motorcycle

historian, attracted an entry

of 82 machines, whose riders

tackled either a thirty or

seventy mile route, starting in

the car park at 11 am and

ending up back at the

museum for well-earned rest

and refreshments in the

afternoon. Our photo above

shows riders assembling and

preparing for the start of the

Run, which thankfully took

place under (mostly) clear and sunny skies. On

the BMCT stand we were pleased to meet many

of our members and enrol some new ones too.

HAYNES MOTORCYCLE SHOW INCORPORATING

THE 2011 VMCC JEFF CLEW RUN

Autumn 2011

Other

attractions at

Sparkford

included a

‘Drift Car’

demonstration

(below)

Page 3

Among the entries on the Jeff Clew Run were these nice BSA V-twins (a Model G side valve and an ohv Y13) and this lovely Cotton-Blackburne

FESTIVAL OF 1,000 BIKES IN PICTURES

Page 4 BMCT News

The 2011 VMCC Festival of 1,000 Bikes at Mallory Park was another great success for the club with

huge crowds attending over the weekend. These photos show just a sample of what was on offer.

Graham Rhodes gives a good workout to the fabulous supercharged 1939 Velocette “Roarer” 500 twin

Ariel 3 out-dragging Triumph from the hairpin…? Harley top end, BSA bottom. Weird.

Our stand in the Avenue of Clubs was busy as usual A nice New Hudson V-twin on a club stand

Getting down to it on a Coventry Eagle

Superbly engineered four cylinder 500cc Ariel Arrow

An enthusiastically ridden Arrow rounds the hairpin

Amongst the moderns was this new Norton Commando

Dave McMahon (Rudge)

Rare 1937 Carlton-Villiers

REVIEW

MUSEUM NEWS

Autumn 2011 Page 5

HAYNES INTERNATIONAL MOTOR MUSEUM have announced a

major new £3.4 million museum redevelopment project (see below)

which will start in September 2011. The entire museum frontage will

be replaced with new entrance, gift shop and restaurant as well as

more exhibition space and improved visitor facilities. The museum

will be open throughout the build and everything possible will be done

to keep the disruption to a minimum however some minor disruption

is envisaged. Haynes advise visitors to contact them on 01963 440804

if they have any major concerns about which facilities and displays

will be available during their visit.

Shire Library have recently published a companion

volume to Mick Walker‟s “British Motorcycles of the

1940s and „50s” which came out last year. The new

volume picks up where the last one left off, and

covers the boom years of the early sixties through the

decline and fall of the British motorcycle industry in

the nineteen seventies. Both volumes are in 64 page

softback A5 format, and are clearly not intended as

major reference works, but are instead very readable

accounts of what was happening in the industry

during those periods. The later volume covers the

Café Racer culture, the rise of the Japanese factories,

the dawn of the superbike and the importance to

British manufacturers of the American market. There

are suggestions for further reading for those who want

to delve into the subject in greater depth.

Both volumes available now at £6.99 each from Shire

Publications, West Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 0PH

The late Norman Vanhouse was laid to rest on 2nd June 2011 at

Robin Hood Crematorium, Shirley, Birmingham.

Born in 1916, Norman spent 35 years in motor cycle competitions

and experimental departments before joining BSA in 1952 as a

sales representative. Throughout his life, Norman was a significant

competitor in motorcycle sporting events winning over 150 awards,

notably for hill climbs and trials. But perhaps his greatest claim to

fame was being part of the 1952 International Six Days Trial team

that won both the Team Award and captured the coveted Maudes

Trophy. Riding 4500 miles from Birmingham to Vienna, then

through Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, the 500cc BSA

A7 team -which included Brian Martin and Fred Rist - put on a

faultless performance and returned safely to Birmingham, thereby

securing the Val Page, Herbert Perkins and David Munro-designed

parallel twins' reputation as a competent, reliable, all-weather

tourer.

Norman, who had seen active service with the British Army riding

(notably) BSA M20s, later published a book entitled “BSA

Competition History”, a down-to-earth, amusing and highly

insightful book that's still available today. - from “Sump” August 2011

NORMAN VANHOUSE

Norman Vanhouse (far right) with Brian

Martin, Fred Rist and the Maudes Trophy

One of the Maudes Trophy twins is in the

National Motorcycle Museum

“British Motorcycles of the

1960s and 70s” by Mick Walker

This barn-find 1955 BSA 500cc

Gold Star is just one of the lots

due to be offered at Bonhams

auction at the Carole Nash

Classic Mechanics show at

Stafford this autumn. Estimate

is £3,000 - £4,000.

Also on offer will be the bike

that was once purported to be

“the fastest privately owned

motorcycle in the World

suitable for road use”, the 1929

Brough Superior SS100 „Moby

Dick‟. Tested by a magazine in

1931 it achieved a top speed of

106 mph, remarkable in an age

when few vehicles of any kind

could reach three figure speeds.

Further tuning to the 1142cc

JAP motor increased the

maximum to 115 mph, with 109

available in second gear of the

three-speed „box. Bonhams pre-

sale estimate is £240,000 to

£250,000.

Also on offer is Phil Pike‟s

1926 Maudes Trophy-winning

588cc ohv Norton (est. £28,000-

£30,000) which helped the

Birmingham factory to win the

prestigious award for the fourth

consecutive year.

The sale is on 16th October.

the Duke and Duchess of

Northumberland. Spectators

stopped in their tracks when

Sam fired up the mighty super-

charged V4 to ride onto the red

carpet where the panel of judges

waited give their opinion on the

Sammy Miller‟s wonderful

1939 AJS V4 took the top prize

at Salon Privé, the summer‟s

most exclusive Concours d‟

Elegance competition held on

the lawns of Syon House, the

West London stately home of

magnificent array of cars and

bikes. Behind Sammy in the

photo above is another example

of AJS ingenuity, the E95

Porcupine, being shown before

its shipment to California where

it later failed to sell at auction.

BONHAMS TO SELL BARN FIND GOLD STAR

SAMMY’S V4 TAKES SALON PRIVE HONOURS

Page 6 BMCT News

More from the Salon

Privé Concours at Syon

Park in July

„Moby Dick‟

Autumn 2011 Page 7 MEMBERS’ PAGE

NEW MEMBERS

We welcome the following new members

and supporters of our cause:

Harry Payne, Ickenham Judith Coote, Warwick Malcolm Griffin, Warwick Robert Shaw, Newbury Charlie Laver, Ascot Alastair Brown, Bexhill-on-Sea P F Chessun, Ascot David Gatehouse, Salisbury Peter Godfrey, Banbridge N.I. Leonard Maskell, Beckenham Steven Morrey, Solihull Jan Barber, Staines Michael Stenson, Higham Ferrers Andrew Holmes, London David Phillips, Blandford St Mary Eileen Phillips, Blandford St Mary Glenville Phillips, Blandford St Mary Tony Crabtree, Daventry Chris Poole, Leigh Sinton Norman Holden, Bisley Mrs D M Holden, Bisley Clive Osman, Beeston Heather Taylor, Bournemouth Jack Phillips, Marlow Geoff Howarth, Bishopsteignton Alan Wrigley, Sutton Scotney Chris Mayes, Lingfield R Broadhurst, Macclesfield Steven Wood, Yeovil Matthew Ridings, Bournemouth Raymond Leggett, Littlehampton Andrew Dovey, Weybridge David Leach, Bournemouth R D Lobb, Bournemouth Mike Kuszyk, Colchester Len Tomkins, Lymington John Bruford, Weymouth Maurice Barnes, Holbury

NEC CLASSIC SHOW TICKETS - SPECIAL OFFER FOR MEMBERS Tickets are now on sale for this year‟s Classic Motorbike Show at Birmingham‟s National Exhibition Centre. Run once again in conjunction with the Classic Motor Show, the event dates are 11, 12 and 13 November. See page 8 for details of how ordering your tickets in advance can help you and benefit the BMCT.

The 1956 BSA C12 above is owned by member

no. A439, J M Atkinson from West Canford

Heath, near Poole. Remarkably the bike has had

only one other owner since new and until recently

had been off the road for some 25 years. A retired

carpenter, Mr. Atkinson now has his sights set on

obtaining a 1947 Matchless of the type he rode in

the nineteen fifties and which never let him down.

John Walters (A193) sends this photo of his 1960

BSA A10 Super Rocket which has a very interest-

ing early history. The bike was first registered to

BSA at Armoury Road, and was owned by them

for just over a year before being sold on. The

original buff log book is in John‟s possession and

shows that this particular A10 was built using an

A7 frame, and other cycle parts that were to be

used in a later model to emerge from the factory -

the Rocket Gold Star. The gearbox is an RRT2,

the front and rear brakes are Gold Star items, and

when John stripped the engine he found that the

internals had been highly polished, all of which

points to this bike being an early RGS prototype,

built following the suggestion by Eddie Dow to

the BSA factory in 1959 that such a model would

be a good seller. John is keen to find out more

about this bike - reg. number 797 BOF. Anyone

with information can contact him through Andy

Bufton at the BMCT office address.

IS THIS A FACTORY EXPERIMENTAL BSA ?

Edited and published by Matchless Management Services, Holly Cottage, Bishampton, Pershore, WR10 2NH