FEMALE TRAILBLAZER

I hoped you could help shed some light on this picture of my great grandmother on her motorcycle. She must have been a trailblazer in her day! She also worked in an aircraft factory and was involved in attaching the fabric covering to the frames. Would you be able to give any details about the bike and perhaps help us date the photo?

Graham Hall

Hi Graham. What a fantastic picture, and all the more timely at present with the centenary of universal suffrage! You can just make out the word ‘Coventry’ on the tank and I would say this is a two-speed, 269cc, Villiers-powered Coventry Eagle dating from around 1919/20. In 1920 it would have cost £75/12s, so let’s hope she bought it in 1919 when it was priced at £54/12s! At the conclusion of WWI there was a huge demand for motorcycles, so factories – often starting from scratch having worn out their equipment on war contracts – were unable to keep pace. New models advertised in February often weren’t in showrooms till autumn. So it may well be a 1920 bike. Thanks for sending it in. Rick Parkington