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In my blog over the last few years I've shared quite a lot of Keith Bryen's private photos taken during his years with the "Continental Circus", that happy go lucky group of motorcycle racers, mostly privateers and mostly from Commonwealth countries who tried their had in the motorcycle GPs throughout Europe in what many consider was a "golden age"...the 1940's,50s,60s......
I thought I'd exhausted them all, but a review has brought to light some I'd overlooked....
They are to good to overlook, so settle back and take another look at the ghosts of the past racing motorcycles and living in the paddocks of the race circuits in Europe...
Left click on the images to enlarge them.
Again my heartfelt thanks to Keith and Gwen for letting me share these with so many of you ....
You'll kind all the others posted by typing in "Keith Bryen" in the search facility on the RHS of my blog....
Actually as I assemble this blog I can see I've still enough photos for several more...good news eh!
Keith and Gwen's "hotel" for the 1956-57 season....
Keith's first race in 1956 a very cold and wet Silverstone...
Keith and Gwen at St.Wendel, Saarland,29.04.1956...
On the grid at St.Wendel, Saarland, 29.04.1956, 10th in the 500cc race.
The paddock area at Hockenheim, Germany 13.05.1956..refuelling.
In the paddock area at Hockenheim, 13.05.1956, sharing a cup of tea in the Bryen's van.
Paddock at Hockenheim, 13.05.1956...Shell mobile workshop and fuel depot.
Heading out to the starting grid at the German GP, Hockenheim, 13.05.1956
On the starting grid at Hockenheim,13.05.1956.
On the starting grid at Hockenheim13.05.1956...6th in the 350cc race.
Ready for the start of the 350 German GP, Hockenheim,13.05.1956, Gwen holds Keith's goggles.
In the paddock at Floreffe, Belgium,6.05.1956..."home", "storage for the bikes" and transport for the bikes from meeting to meeting....a far cry from today.
Going out for practice at Floreffe, Belgium,06.05.1956..finished 13th in both 350cc and 500cc races.
It was hard going for the ladies...Gwen washes her hair, Keith ponders one of his Nortons, paddock Chimay, Belgium,20.05.1956.
Practice at Chimay, Belgium, 20.05.1956...6th in the 500cc race.
I've done an earlier few postings on Harold John Willis and suspect there may be a couple more to come....
See.....
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2010/06/whiffling-clarathe-1931-supercharged.html
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2011/02/harold-willisvelocette-engineer-and.html
Left click on the images following to enlarge them.....
Harold Willis was a director, engineer and race chief of Veloce Ltd., makers of the Velocette motorcycle until his untimely death in June 1939 following a simple medical procedure in the Nerve Hospital, Birmingham, England.
His death occurred at TT time in the IOM and cast a pall over the Velocette camp.
I've never really been sure where he was buried and suspected it may be in Wales as he often flew there in his de Havilland DH60 Moth which he called "Clattering Kate".
Richard Atkins, editor of the UK Velocette Owners club notified me of a ride being organised by Rob Evans of the Cheshire Centre to Llanfair in Wales to visit St.Mary's Church and to see the memorial plaque fitted to The Bishops Chair in the Church in honour of HJW.
I emailed Rob and in correspondence he agreed to assist with photos taken during the visit....
These follow and my thanks to Rob and to all those on the ride, who at this stage I have no names for nor identification of in the photographs.
The "icing on the cake" to use a well worn expression was that Ivan Rhodes made the trip over as well and spoke at Harold's gravesite....
Where is Llanfair....?
Where is the church and cemetary..?
Velocettes arrive in Llanfair, Wales near St.Mary's Church.
St.Mary's Church and cemetery, Llanfair, Wales.....
Harold John Willis's grave....
He is buried with his mother Eliza, who I suggest was Welsh and another Willis, a major in the army who appears to have died in France. Regrettably the text on headstone is illegible...
Ivan Rhodes speaks some words of HJW's life to those who attended at the gravesite.
Then the group moved into St.Mary's Church and viewed The Bishops Chair with the memorial plaque to HJW.
The group poses for a photograph outside the church gates with aptly a Mk.1 KSS Velocette...the machine that HJW was intimately involved with ....an early OHC Velocette....a fitting end to the tribute ride for Harold John Willis, Veloce Ltd director and engineer and race director for the Velocette racing effort to his death in June 1939.
Recently I had an email from a looker of my blog and there are a lot of you out there...thanks for stopping by.
I hope what I post continues to interest you......
He asked about early Lycett saddles for a Brough Superior.
Now I'm not even sure they used the Lycett brand...but a look through my archive came across catalogues of a few other brands, so I decided to share these with you.....
Who knows it may just be the photo you were looking for to take to a swap meeting/autojumble...
Left click on the images to enlarge...
We talked of Lycett, so lets look at an early 1950's catalogue...I believe it to be so, as it has a dual seat illustrated in it.....
A 1931 Dunlop catalogue.....
A 1930 Brooks catalogue....
A 1935 Brooks catalogue...
Moseley made air cushions for the pillion on motorcycles....
The Velocette KTT Mk.7 and prewar Mk.8 used a Moseley air cushion...
The photo shows C.Moore on his Mk.7 KTT at the IOM TT races in June 1938. He finished 14th in the Junior TT.
The illustration of the dual seat in the Lycett catalogue can't go uncommented....
Velocette patented the dual seat, later selling the patent to Feridax...
The photo below shows their use of it on one of the works racers, called by Harold Willis with one of his "Willicisms"...The Loch Ness Monster Seat...
The photo shows the 1936 TT DOHC Junior Velocette, KTT483/
s, with frame SF1...the first swinging arm frame made by Velocette......
Interestingly the engine S483/S was allotted to Stanley Woods but in frame SF2, while KTT481/S was allotted to Ernie Thomas in frame SF1.
Now the photo was taken in the IOM and obviously either the engines have been changed..could be because Stanley perceived Thomas's engine was quicker in practice...or the frames were changed, again because Stanley disliked the handling of his machine...
We'll never know....
What we do know is Stanley's engine broke an oldham coupling forcing him to retire on the first lap , whereas Ernie Thomas was in second place when he fell off on lap 6...remounted and finished 4th behind the other DOHC Velocette, ridden by Ted Mellors who came 3rd....
