Earls Court Shows recaptured with glass plate clarity!

Hidden away in Mortons’ Motorcycle Archive are almost two tons of glass plate images recalling our motorcycling heritage from as far back as the beginning of the 20th century, and as the accompanying images taken between 1949 and 1954 (next month we’ll sh

Although most of us probably associate glass plate photography with the family portrait studios of Victorian and Edwardian times, the time-proven method remained superior to film for research-quality images, including superbly-detailed wide-field photography, well into the 20th century, and a jewel in the crown among the millions of historical images in Mortons’ vast photographic archive is its priceless collection of glass plates.

Many of these recorded the Earls Court Motorcycle Shows from

1948 until 1960, a period of vast social change that reflected both the postwar peak of the British motorcycle industry and the first hints of its gradual decline.

Almost 20 years ago, the glass plate collection was called upon to illustrate a popular series of square-format, softback books published by Mortons, and in one about bike shows they were researched and captioned by Ken Hallworth, founding editor of Old Bike Mart and the first national secretary of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club.

Ken, who passed away at the age of 74 in December 2016, was a dyedin-the-wool vintage motorcycle enthusiast, and one of the warmest people you could wish to meet, and I hope his spirit will live on in his descriptions of many of the images accompanying this feature.

The crowds who flocked to the 1949 show, many in anticipation of better times to come during a period of sustained austerity, were greeted by a glittering showcase of home-built motorcycles, even though some of the best were reserved strictly for export in the desperate drive for foreign currency – but one thing that struck me most, notwithstanding cosmetic tweaks, was how similar many of them were to some machines still being built 10 years later.

The 1949 exhibits included five 350cc Douglas models powered by transverse flat twins whose origins lay in wartime generator sets; the export-only 500cc Matchless G9 Super Clubman parallel twin; the brand new 650cc Triumph Thunderbird parallel twin (two examples of which had just completed 500 consecutive miles at over 90mph); the 650cc BSA A10 Golden Flash parallel twin; the shaftdrive Sunbeam S7 in-line twin and its sportier S8 variant, a newcomer at the show; and a handsome 500cc parallel twin from Royal Enfield.

Velocette was plugging its whisperquiet 149cc LE at the expense of the more traditional 350cc and 500cc roadsters by showing no fewer than 10 examples, but a 350cc KTT racing single was also displayed to remind showgoers that a full works version had just taken the 350cc world championship in the hands of Freddie Frith.

Many neat-looking lightweights appeared in the smaller-capacity classes, including a brace of 125cc Douglas Vespa scooters; a 125cc

BSA Bantam attached to a Garrard Gazelle sidecar; a Villers-engined 197cc 200DS Dot lightweight; Excelsior’s Talisman twin powered by the Tyseley firm’s own 250cc two-stroke engine; and 125cc twostrokes from James, Royal Enfield and Norman.

A mighty 998cc Vincent Black Lightning was surrounded by drooling crowds throughout the show, but the response to the dodgem-like Bond Minicar, with a tiny 122cc Villiers engine beneath the bonnet, was perhaps a little more muted!

By the time Prince Philip opened the 1952 Earls Court Motorcycle Show on November 15, Britain was finally on the up-and-up, with the forthcoming coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on June 2 of the following year only adding to the spirit of optimism.

Opening the show, Philip tempered his observation that the British motorcycle industry enjoyed an unsurpassed world-wide reputation for excellence by warning against any kind of complacency.

For the coronation year, Ariel re-styled its 997cc Square Four with a four-pipe cylinder head, a new five-gallon petrol tank and an alternative Wedgwood Blue finish that was repeated on the Swallow Jet 80 sidecar it was hitched to.

DMW of Sedgley also revealed its 1953 Coronation model, powered by a 122cc Villiers engine and featuring a bottom-link Metal Profiles front fork.

As evidenced by two sturdy British singles, the 498cc Model 18S from Matchless and Velocette’s 349cc MAC, dual seats were starting to take over from the traditional sprung saddles.

Two small motorcycles from big firms that attracted admiring glances from younger show visitors were Royal Enfield’s brand new twostroke 148cc Ensign and Triumph’s peppy 149cc overhead-valve Terrier, and adding to the variety was a stylish 197cc Villiers-engined Dot roadster with a full swinging-arm.

The show was remembered for its curiosities too, including a 98cc Corgi with a tiny box sidecar (honestly!); a 197cc Villiers-powered Ambassador boasting a huge diagonal tin cover concealing a primitive attempt at electric starting; and – wait for it! – not only a nicely-restyled Bond Minicar whose 197cc Villiers engine must have given it a huge power boost, but also a Bond Minitruck!

If anyone remembers ever seeing a butcher boy’s bike with a large carrier frame above the small front wheel, there’s a good chance it would have been a Pashley. The Aston, Birmingham, firm’s offering for the 1952 Show was a light tri-car design with a forward load-carrying platform, a 197cc Villiers 6E tucked away beneath a comfy-looking driving seat and a very neat rear end enclosure incorporating the petrol tank. Sadly, the roads were destined never to teem with them.

The 1953 Cycle and Motorcycle Show, boasting a fair degree of innovation and ever-more-stylish displays, was again dominated by British firms.

Norton sprung a sporting surprise with the appearance of its famous ‘kneeler’ on which, shortly before the show, Rhodesian Ray Amm had captured an amazing 61 speed records at Montlhery, France, including the hour record at 133.71 miles in an hour. Tragically, just 18 months later, Amm lost his life at Imola during his very first appearance for Gilera. He was just 27.

Fleetwing appearance

Another show highlight was

Greeves’ first appearance with its 25D Fleetwing, powered by a 242cc British Anzani rotary inlet valve two-stroke twin and featuring what would become the Essex firm’s trademark cast-alloy front frame member. The model also boasted rubber-in-torsion suspension front and rear.

Once again DMW caused a stir by showing a ‘Hornet’ racer powered by a 125cc overhead-camshaft engine from the French company AMC and featuring DMW’s composite P-type frame, an Earles-type leading-link front fork, light alloy hubs and fullwidth brakes.

A lovely-looking single-overheadcamshaft 250cc twin that would have been perfect for a whole range of new British lightweights was exhibited by J A Prestwich (JAP), but unfortunately it was never seen again.

Among the racing bikes and trophies displayed by Norton was a limitedproduction OHC ‘International’ roadster in a Featherbed frame with short Roadholder forks and a big 8in front brake.

Ariel revealed its lusty BSA A10-based but subtly restyled

650cc Huntmaster vertical twin which, attached to a Watsonian ‘Avon’ sidecar, had completed an ACU-observed 1700 mile journey covering seven countries in seven days at a cruising speed of 60mph and a petrol consumption of 45mpg. The 1954 Earls Court Show was a whopper, with no fewer than 187 exhibitors filling the show hall. In world motorcycle sport, British machines remained a force to be reckoned with, and four winners from the very same year were on display to prove it – Ray Amm’s oddlooking Norton ‘Proboscis’ that had brought him a Senior TT victory; Eric Oliver’s Norton Watsonian outfit that had done likewise in the sidecar TT; the AJS 7R/3 ‘tripleknocker,’ featuring two exhaust valves and a single inlet valve, on which Rod Coleman had taken the Junior TT and Hugh Viney’s ISDT Gold Medal-winning AJS Model 20 parallel twin.

Vincent displayed a sectioned version of what would prove to be its final V-twin model, the all-enclosed 998cc Series D Black Prince, accompanied by a 500cc single-cylinder successor to the Series C Comet, but sadly the famous company was doomed; the very last Vincent would roll off the Stevenage production line on December 18 of the following year.

The event saw the debuts of two British scooters – the 224cc Dayton Albatross and the 197cc Scootamobile produced by Exeter’s Harper Aircraft Co, both machines powered by Villiers engines.

The most innovative of the sidecars was perhaps Watsonian’s monocoque-constructed Monaco featuring trailing-arm suspension, stylish mudguard with built-in lighting, lift-up access and a useful rear boot.

Most lightweights at the time still looked a little ‘bitty,’ but the sleek styling applied to the full-sized, dual-seat 197cc Francis-Barnett Falcon 70, powered by a Villiers 8E two-stroke single, set the scene for several years to come.

James represented 40 years of progress by displaying a 1915 2¼ horsepower machine alongside a 1955 224cc Villiers-powered Colonel two-stroke single, and into the same category came Ambassador’s tidy-looking

224cc Supreme, boasting wellvalanced mudguards and a comfy dual seat.

The show also marked the coming transition from sprung-hub to full swinging-arm rear suspension for Triumph’s legendary 498cc Speed Twin, which made the 1955 display model look more handsome than ever, and those who could afford it both at home and abroad just couldn’t wait to get their hands on one!

Stand preparations for the 1949 Earls Court Show were clearly incomplete when this glass plate image of Charlie Rogers’ International Six Days’ Trial gold medal-winning 350cc ohv Royal Enfield Bullet was taken. The Redditch firm pioneered swinging-arm rear suspension with this model, and many other manufacturers would follow suit during the following decade.

Parallel twins were growing in size, and two brand new 650s, the Triumph Thunderbird and BSA Golden Flash, were displayed for the first time at the 1949 show. In his caption to this glass plate image of the Beesa 20 years ago, Ken Hallworth wrote: “The Model A10 Golden Flash would be the basis for, arguably, BSA’s most popular model-line of all time. Enamelled in a striking polychromatic beige and with plunger rear suspension, the big twin went well, stopped well – thanks to an 8in front brake – and gained an enviable reputation for reliability.”

The Bond Minicar, powered by a tiny 122cc Villiers two-stroke engine and three-speed gearbox, aroused much curiosity at the 1949 Earls Court Show.

At the 1949 show, Douglas displayed several models based around its transverse ohv 350cc flat twin whose engine was developed from a wartime generator set.

TwoBSAshow-stealers–the650cctwinand125ccBantam,werefeaturedon the cover of The Motor Cycle’s London Show issue in October 1949.

Opening the 1952 Earls Court Motorcycle Show, Prince Philip praised the reputation of British motorcycle industry throughout the world, but warned against complacency or relaxation of effort. In his caption Ken Hallworth added: “Trade dignitaries, here assembled behind him, would have done well to hang upon his every word.”

Another oddity at the 1952 show was this Pashley delivery tri-car, powered by a 197cc Villiers engine.

Quirky or what? This miniature box sidecar for, of all things, a 98cc Corgi scooter, was demonstrated at the 1952 Earls Court Show. Ken Hallworth couldn’t resist: “Capable of being parachuted behind enemy lines (it must have put the fear of god into them – Ed) it had reached Mk IV form by 1952, which meant front wheel springing, a steel weathershield and an electric horn, none of which improved its potential for hauling commercial supplies around town…”

In anticipation of the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Ariel reworked its 997cc Square Four by giving it a four-pipe cylinder head, deep-section fivegallon petrol tank and an attractive alternative finish of Wedgwood blue, the latter extended to a Swallow Jet 80 sidecar at the 1952 show.

For The Motor Cycle’s London Show Guide issue of November 13, 1952, the 498cc Matchless G9 Super Clubman took centre stage.

Brightening the anti-climax after the 1953 Coronation, that year’s Earls Court Cycle and Motorcycle Show was as bright, breezy and hopeful for British manufacturers as anyone could have wished.

Powered by a 125cc French AMC camshaft engine, and with an Earles-type leading-link front fork, DMW’s ‘Hornet’ racer was a big surprise at the 1953 show.

After taking a sackful of records at Montlhery in France in the hands of Rhodesian road racing star Ray Amm, the Norton ‘flying fish’ kneeler was proudly displayed at the 1953 show.

It was a thumbs-up for the 500cc BSA Golden Flash on the cover of this 1953 Show Guide issue of The Motor Cycle.

What a sight for sore eyes the Earls Court exhibition floor looked in 1954, with Ariel’s ‘dark horse’ absolutely unmissable. Pointing inwards at the bottom left, NSU’s 49cc, two-speed Quickly was to make a huge impact in the years to come.

For the 1954 show, James marked 40 years of lightweight progress by showing a 1915 2¼ hp (225cc) roadster against a 224cc Colonel, brand new for the 1955 season.

Exhibited by J A Prestwich (JAP), this sparkling 250cc twin engine, with a chain-driven overhead camshaft, was just what British motorcycle makers needed... but after the 1953 show it was never seen again!

Out with the sprung hub, in with the swinging arm! Triumph showed this updated 5T ‘Speed Twin’ at the 1954 event.