Keeping it in the family

Love your magazine, a breath of fresh air reading about real bikes.

I enclose a picture of my grandad’s Velocette. This was his last bike. The second photo is my father’s last bike, a Norton. Prior to that, my father had both BSAs and Nortons. At one point he had a BSA three-wheeler which he exchanged later for a Rudge Ulster, his favourite bike.

On the Velocette are grandad’s three grandsons, Sam, myself and Erik. We all had bikes as well. Sam had a Honda 50 which he drove all over Britain. My first bike was a BSA Bantam; next came a 600cc

Norton 195, then a 1937 Norton International and finally a 500cc Norton Dommie. Brother Erik had a Raleigh Cyclemaster, then a BSA A10, next a 350 Triumph and then a 500cc Norton Dominator. Latterly he had a 1200cc BMW and, at 75 years old, is running around on a 250cc Honda.

Maybe someone might recognise the number plates on the Velocette and the Norton and know what happened to them?

Hamish Archer, Glasgow

This is one of our favourite photos in a long time. Three little lads on their grandad’s Velocette, all clearly having a whale of a time and looking forward to having motorcycles of their own!

The last bike owned by Hamish’s father.