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2017 Update
The book is published but the journey is not over. Research continues on the period following WW1, but fascinating stories are still coming to light about the wartime period. Recently I was contacted by the Brooklands Museum Library about some military motorcycling images discovered in an album created by JR Haswell of Isle of Man and Brooklands racing fame.
As the image above shows Haswell was a prominent member of the racing elite, setting records and wining races in the early 1900s. However like so many others he was soon in Europe using his riding skills, not on his trusty Triumph but aboard a Phelon & Moore as part of a team of Royal Flying Corps despatch riders. Their job was to ferry messages and photographic materials between the Pilots and Headquarters.
The album is a window on Haswell's early racing career and includes certificates of Brooklands records and race wins, but it was those few poignant images of his friends serving with the RFC that interested me. There in the centre of a page was a picture of a Phelon and Moore motorcycle with sidecar which I have identified as one built by Arthur Westerdick. I was also able to introduce the album to Arthur's Grandson and provide him with another link to his family history. Incidentally, when discussing the album Arthur's grandson also said that Arthur was said to have tested the sidecars at Brooklands but sadly there are no records of any of the tests.
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| RFC Phelon & Moore Military Sidecar Image courtesy of Manx Aviation & Military Museum ©2017 |
Do you have a story relating to early Military Motorcycles. 1899 to 1945 (or even more recent). If so please contact us via email Warbike@fenlandclassics.co.uk
War Bike British Military Motorcycling 1899-1919 is available via the publishers www. Fenlandclassics.com or Amazon and the usual bookshops.
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