Alfred's sad story and his 1915 mystery motorcycle. (upd. pre 1915 Premier ?)

By Lewis Wood: "The photograph shows Alfred Allen Pidgeon and his family as well as of course the motorcycle. Alfred is one of the men listed on our war memorial in Banstead in Surrey and I have been researching these men for the last six years. All their stories are published on the website of the Banstead History Research Group of which I am a member.
I am continually on the lookout for photos of the men and was fortunate enough to be sent this one which is now shown on our website along with Alfred's story (He was hit in the face by a rifle bullet). I try and add as much information as I can and would be grateful for any details of the motorcycle. Alfred was killed in 1916 (corr. 1917) at Passchendaele and judging by his son's age in the photo, it was probably taken in about 1915. Was this a common model? What might it have cost? Was it used for a specific role? Was it an old model by 1915? Anything at all which will add to Alfred's story. Thank you for your assistance."

Publié:

mercredi novembre 21st, 2012

Inconnu

12 Avril 2015, 11:42

I'd agree with comment 7 the most - a collection of commonly-available parts (Druid forks, Bosch Magneto, Brown & Barlow carburettor, Chater Lea fittings, possibly a Davison hand oil pump), which makes it difficult to put a name to.

The apparent lack of any clutch or 'free engine' is slightly puzzling, and presumably required a push or bump start.

From comment 2, it might be possible to look into the registration record for P7613.
According to the Kithead Trust:

http://www.kitheadtrust.org.uk/index.html

they hold a card index for Surrey registrations.

SURREY
Kithead Trust
Card index up to JPL (9/1944), also KPB 1-37 of 1945.

Inconnu

24 Novembre 2012, 11:30

The bike is built from common proprietary parts, which makes it very hard to identify positively. All the parts are consistent with a 1912 build date, in agreement with the late 11/early 12 rego number. The motor is Precision (built by F.E. Baker in Birmingham), the frame parts seem to be Chater Lea, and the front fork is the very common Druid. The bike was likely assembled by one of the smaller makers: Hobart catalogued a model like this for 1912 only, but the oil pump and front guard were different to the bike in the photo. There are sure to have been other makers building very similar machines. I can't see pedaling gear, so I wonder if the bike is to "TT Roadster" spec, in which case a vigorous run-and-jump start would be required!

Inconnu

23 Novembre 2012, 19:17

Thank you all for this amazing detail. I will give it a few more days, then add the information to the BHRG website.
I have just received another email complementing us on the detail we add to our memorial stories, and it is only with help such as yours that we can achieve this. Thanks again.

Inconnu

22 Novembre 2012, 20:37

Addendum:
Type: Imperial 3.5 hp, price initially 49 pounds, 55 pounds in 1912, initially via belt drive, then chain, from 1915 with three-speed gearbox
Top speed 50mph
Available from 1913 with sidecar

best regards fritz

Inconnu

22 Novembre 2012, 20:11

my guess: Rover 1912/13 (fork, front brakes, tank design)- 3,5 hp, 499 ccm, sv-engine - this type was introduced in 1910

sad story; worth every effort to maintain memories to prevent this in the future

Inconnu

22 Novembre 2012, 11:30

Nice picture and a very sad story, not uncommon as PWC readers will be aware. The machine depicted is certainly not a Triumph and may well be a Premier, but it's registration dates from 1911 or early 1912 so is earlier than 1915 for sure.

Inconnu

22 Novembre 2012, 11:20

The P registration indicates a Surrey registration number. I'm not sure if the records survive, but if they do, a qucik search will reveal the make and model.

Inconnu

22 Novembre 2012, 01:37

Interesting. Most of the bike looks as if it is a Triumph 500cc, due to the tank and the cylinder head, but the fork I recognize from a Premier motorcycle of the same era. Not 100% certain, but this would be my best guess.

Alfred's sad story and his 1915 mystery motorcycle. (upd. pre 1915 Premier ?)

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