STYLING IT UP IN A BERET

The first black and white shot (above) shows my dad, Jack Barnard (at the controls) and his brother Phil having fun at Ossington aerodrome and woods near Newark. The second shot (right) shows my dad’s mate Stuart Neale at the helm with my dad in the ‘chair’. I am unsure what the side-valve V-twin scrambles outfit was. The third shot shows my dad again, proudly displaying his new S8 Sunbeam (you may be able to date this by the fact that it is brand new), with his younger brother ‘Mad’ Harry on an uknown machine and Stuart again on his Ajs/matchless (?). When not in casual clothes with beret and wellies, my dad’s riding gear would always be a smart suit and tie, with polished shoes.

Hi John, thanks for sending these through – great photos! The sidecar outfit is an AJS 1000cc V-twin of the mid 1930s – a heavy beast, but with plenty of stomp for pulling through the mud! It’s more difficult to date the group photo accurately, though, with the registration not visible on the new Sunbeam – but these came out in 1949. The registration on the AJS seems to be KNN – a 1949 Nottingham number – so assuming that one isn’t new, the photo was probably taken in the early ’50s. There is too little of the middle bike visible for me to identify, unfortunately – but there are at least some clues to what it isn’t. It still has inverted levers and I’d guess it’s late ’20s/early ’30s. The forks are Webb, so it isn’t one of the big names – including Sunbeam or Rudge. Velocette used Webb forks, but were foot change, and a hand lever is just visible; Panther also used them, but it isn’t one of those, either. That definitely narrows it down a bit for you, Rick.