Enfields on display

Owners’ Club event is held at the firm’s Redditch works.

The Motor Cycle of April 20, 1961, describes this picture thus: “At the Royal Enfield owners’ club concours d’elegance, held at the Redditch factory, the awards were presented by joint managing director Major Victor Mountford. In this group are E J Clark (third best machine), Major Mountford, R G Unsworth (the club’s general secretary), D Baxter (runner-up) and

C D Pemberton, whose 1956 Super Meteor gained top marks.”

Mr Pemberton’s sparkling 692cc Super Meteor is from the first year when the Meteor became ‘Super’ – before that, from its launch for 1953, it had simply been named Meteor. With its upgraded name it also gained a new frame, as well as being fitted with an alternator. It lost its place as Royal Enfield’s ‘top of the range’ job when in 1958 it was joined by the faster, flashier Constellation, which had basically the same engine. The Super Meteor remained in production until 1962.

A native of Redditch, Major Victor T Mountford had risen through the ranks at Royal Enfield, joining straight from school, originally on motorcycle sales, before transferring to the motor mower side. He returned to motorcycles in 1933, becoming general sales manager after the Second World War, then later became joint MD.

Royal Enfield endured a tough 1960s, the firm stopping motorcycle manufacture in 1970. Of course the name continues today, on a range of smart and popular Indian-built machines, including the Interceptor 650 – the original (736cc) Interceptor having been added to the RE range, the year after Super Meteor production ended. Interestingly, when the first Indian Enfield Bullet was built in 1956, it was ridden the 14,000 miles to the Redditch works – and Vic Mountford was in the welcoming party which met it.