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Καποιοι Παλιοι Ταξιδευτες...1953 την εποχη που δεν υπηρχαν δρομοι,
χωρις στολες, χωρις εξοπλισμο, μονο με ψυχη...
In the Summer of 1953 my father Geoffrey Gander and his friends set off on their annual Motor Cycling holiday around Europe.
They took a Brough Superior SS100, Triumph Thunderbird, Triumph T100 and a couple of Sunbeams.
As of June 2015 this web page has now had over 23 million visitors so if you email me sorry if my reply is not immediate as I do get many great emails and like to respond properly.
As a side note and of interest to all motorcycle riders ... In March I bought a set of expensive Halvarssons waterproof jacket and trousers from motolegends in Guildford, UK. I used them for the first time in the rain and after just 15 minutes of riding I was wet in various places. I was very dissapointed and returned home after just 30 minutes completely soaked. I have been in contact with Motolegends to report that the jacket and trousers were not waterproof and indeed were hopeless. I will post on this page the results and whether motolegends are a company that looks after its customers or should be avoided at all costs.
On 27th July I returned them to Motolegands and asked for my money back or a replacment - they refused.
As of 10th October Motolegends have neither replaced the faulty goods or refunded my money.
From my experiences so far - AVOID Motologends at all costs.
And now back to the 1953 trip where old fashioned values were very much still the norm.
It was probably quite an adventurous trip to take at the time. I have now been informed that so many modern foreign bikes ridden by smartly dressed English riders would have been quite a sight on Europe's roads. They would ride through France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. We think of old bikes as being unreliable, but my father and his friends were keen riders and engineers and completed the trip without much more than a puncture. The bikes that took part in the trip were:
GAU 856 Brough Superior SS100 with fuel in the loop sidecar. This bike still exists and I wonder if any of the others do?
AHC 650 Triumph Thunderbird. He bought this one on 22nd July 1950 for £219 16 9 and by the day they set off in July 53 it had done 24,900 miles.
KBY 571 Sunbeam and VMM 871 Sunbeam. At least one of these Sunbeams should still exist as it was owned by my dads pal and Best Man (when he married) - Fred. He owned it until he passed away about 10 years ago so hopefully it is surviving somewhere?
AHC 963 Triumph
I have published these pictures as I like them and I hope that anyone interested in bikes of this era will also enjoy them. I have all his pictures from numerous other trips and will try and publish these when I find the time as they are also full of beautiful pictures. It was the second anniversary of my fathers death that had been looking over his old picture albums and I guess it was that was the inspiration to put the on a web page, thinking that a few people might like them ... If you own any of these bikes then please do get in touch and I can give you high resolution copies of the pictures.
I have been advised by many people to make the images smaller or at a lower resolution to deter people from pinching them, but I think this will detract from honest peoples enjoyment of the pictures so have left it as is for now. I have also been told how to block everyone from downloading the images, but have not yet done this as if someone wants a favourite one for a personal screen saver then I don’t mind – perhaps if you do take an image for personal use then please do donate something via the button at the bottom of the page. One image alone has been downloaded over 100,000 times! I expect the garages of the world to be decorated with these pictures!
If you want to use an image in the public domain, on a web site or for any commercial purposes then please email me to ask.
And now back to the Trip ....
When we cross from England to France now we have a ferry or the tunnel. For this trip they choose to fly the bikes from Lympne Airport in Kent over to Le Touquet.
The start of the trip at Lympne Airport on a sunny day in July 1953 with a pair of two Bristol Freighters awaiting customers.
s to Geoff for telling me what the planes are.
They were all smartly dressed bikers and whilst helmets were not required, a jacket and tie certainly was.
Whilst the bikes were swiftly loaded at the English end, it took a while for the French to unload the bikes.
The two pictures below are from my cousin Steve and show more about the above.
To experience what this must have been like Geoff Morris has very kindly sent me a link to a period video, see http://www.britishpathe.com/video/girl-motorcyclists-aka-vespas/query/Wilkinson
So what do you do just a few minutes into France as an Englishman... of course you brew tea whilst you wait.
Below, my Father stands on the right of this picture, clearly dressed for a motor cycle ride!
The aeroplane below is a Miles Aerovan G-AJTC and it was owned at the time by Ladislav Marmol.
We know this as Frank Byford has been in touch and back when this picture was taken he worked for Greeves and was riding the prototype Greeves scrambler.
In the year this picture was taken the plane was used to fly Frank and a BSA Goldstar scrambler from Southend to Le Touquet, to take part in a moto-cross event for the benefit of the Paris Surete.
The Customs at Le Touquet.
This picture below is entitled "A corner of Le Touquet" and couldn't really look more French ...
All the women are fashionably dressed, the men standing around smoking, the cars and even someone selling ballons.
Bob P has tracked down this exact spot and the picture below shows it as it is today. Not quite so French looking now and no sign of a ballon seller.
Below a stop in Northern France below for a smoke. The girl in the Brough sidecar looks very fashionably dressed and more fashion shoot than bike ride.
And onwards via Rheims below. Again almost no traffic is to be seen on the peaceful roads of 1953 Europe.
Below, Ken gets a puncture in St Quentin. The Triumph has a built in front wheel stand so its just a few minutes to get the wheel out.
And he soon becomes the main event in the town with everyone lending a hand or advice. The children in these pictures are probably now pensioners!
A stop at Bar le Duc for essential supplies
And shortly after a roadside stop for a picnic. The trees wre deliberately planted to give shade to passing horses and riders.
As vehicles appeared and speeds increased the trees had white bands painted around them for safety, but it did not work and most old roadside trees were cut down.
A stop for a coffee in Saverne and the passing local seems to prefer the Sunbeam
Below, the streets of Saverne are again very peaceful with no traffic.
A visitor to this web page (Richard Nash - thanks) has been busy and found the exact spot where the above picture was taken. It is 24 Grand Rue / corner of Place de la Gare, Saverne. and a modern picture of the location is below for comparison.
And back to 1953 below ... Entering Germany at Kehl and about 600-700 miles into the trip. My father was 18 when War was declared and having listened to the radio broadcast with his mother, had a cup of tea and then rode his motorcycle down to the recruiting office and signed up for the RAF. I assume that his friends were in the war and wonder what their banter was as they crossed into Germany.
χωρις στολες, χωρις εξοπλισμο, μονο με ψυχη...
In the Summer of 1953 my father Geoffrey Gander and his friends set off on their annual Motor Cycling holiday around Europe.
They took a Brough Superior SS100, Triumph Thunderbird, Triumph T100 and a couple of Sunbeams.
As of June 2015 this web page has now had over 23 million visitors so if you email me sorry if my reply is not immediate as I do get many great emails and like to respond properly.
As a side note and of interest to all motorcycle riders ... In March I bought a set of expensive Halvarssons waterproof jacket and trousers from motolegends in Guildford, UK. I used them for the first time in the rain and after just 15 minutes of riding I was wet in various places. I was very dissapointed and returned home after just 30 minutes completely soaked. I have been in contact with Motolegends to report that the jacket and trousers were not waterproof and indeed were hopeless. I will post on this page the results and whether motolegends are a company that looks after its customers or should be avoided at all costs.
On 27th July I returned them to Motolegands and asked for my money back or a replacment - they refused.
As of 10th October Motolegends have neither replaced the faulty goods or refunded my money.
From my experiences so far - AVOID Motologends at all costs.
And now back to the 1953 trip where old fashioned values were very much still the norm.
It was probably quite an adventurous trip to take at the time. I have now been informed that so many modern foreign bikes ridden by smartly dressed English riders would have been quite a sight on Europe's roads. They would ride through France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. We think of old bikes as being unreliable, but my father and his friends were keen riders and engineers and completed the trip without much more than a puncture. The bikes that took part in the trip were:
GAU 856 Brough Superior SS100 with fuel in the loop sidecar. This bike still exists and I wonder if any of the others do?
AHC 650 Triumph Thunderbird. He bought this one on 22nd July 1950 for £219 16 9 and by the day they set off in July 53 it had done 24,900 miles.
KBY 571 Sunbeam and VMM 871 Sunbeam. At least one of these Sunbeams should still exist as it was owned by my dads pal and Best Man (when he married) - Fred. He owned it until he passed away about 10 years ago so hopefully it is surviving somewhere?
AHC 963 Triumph
I have published these pictures as I like them and I hope that anyone interested in bikes of this era will also enjoy them. I have all his pictures from numerous other trips and will try and publish these when I find the time as they are also full of beautiful pictures. It was the second anniversary of my fathers death that had been looking over his old picture albums and I guess it was that was the inspiration to put the on a web page, thinking that a few people might like them ... If you own any of these bikes then please do get in touch and I can give you high resolution copies of the pictures.
I have been advised by many people to make the images smaller or at a lower resolution to deter people from pinching them, but I think this will detract from honest peoples enjoyment of the pictures so have left it as is for now. I have also been told how to block everyone from downloading the images, but have not yet done this as if someone wants a favourite one for a personal screen saver then I don’t mind – perhaps if you do take an image for personal use then please do donate something via the button at the bottom of the page. One image alone has been downloaded over 100,000 times! I expect the garages of the world to be decorated with these pictures!
If you want to use an image in the public domain, on a web site or for any commercial purposes then please email me to ask.
And now back to the Trip ....
When we cross from England to France now we have a ferry or the tunnel. For this trip they choose to fly the bikes from Lympne Airport in Kent over to Le Touquet.
The start of the trip at Lympne Airport on a sunny day in July 1953 with a pair of two Bristol Freighters awaiting customers.
s to Geoff for telling me what the planes are.
They were all smartly dressed bikers and whilst helmets were not required, a jacket and tie certainly was.
Whilst the bikes were swiftly loaded at the English end, it took a while for the French to unload the bikes.
The two pictures below are from my cousin Steve and show more about the above.
To experience what this must have been like Geoff Morris has very kindly sent me a link to a period video, see http://www.britishpathe.com/video/girl-motorcyclists-aka-vespas/query/Wilkinson
So what do you do just a few minutes into France as an Englishman... of course you brew tea whilst you wait.
Below, my Father stands on the right of this picture, clearly dressed for a motor cycle ride!
The aeroplane below is a Miles Aerovan G-AJTC and it was owned at the time by Ladislav Marmol.
We know this as Frank Byford has been in touch and back when this picture was taken he worked for Greeves and was riding the prototype Greeves scrambler.
In the year this picture was taken the plane was used to fly Frank and a BSA Goldstar scrambler from Southend to Le Touquet, to take part in a moto-cross event for the benefit of the Paris Surete.
The Customs at Le Touquet.
This picture below is entitled "A corner of Le Touquet" and couldn't really look more French ...
All the women are fashionably dressed, the men standing around smoking, the cars and even someone selling ballons.
Bob P has tracked down this exact spot and the picture below shows it as it is today. Not quite so French looking now and no sign of a ballon seller.
Below a stop in Northern France below for a smoke. The girl in the Brough sidecar looks very fashionably dressed and more fashion shoot than bike ride.
And onwards via Rheims below. Again almost no traffic is to be seen on the peaceful roads of 1953 Europe.
Below, Ken gets a puncture in St Quentin. The Triumph has a built in front wheel stand so its just a few minutes to get the wheel out.
And he soon becomes the main event in the town with everyone lending a hand or advice. The children in these pictures are probably now pensioners!
A stop at Bar le Duc for essential supplies
And shortly after a roadside stop for a picnic. The trees wre deliberately planted to give shade to passing horses and riders.
As vehicles appeared and speeds increased the trees had white bands painted around them for safety, but it did not work and most old roadside trees were cut down.
A stop for a coffee in Saverne and the passing local seems to prefer the Sunbeam
Below, the streets of Saverne are again very peaceful with no traffic.
A visitor to this web page (Richard Nash - thanks) has been busy and found the exact spot where the above picture was taken. It is 24 Grand Rue / corner of Place de la Gare, Saverne. and a modern picture of the location is below for comparison.
And back to 1953 below ... Entering Germany at Kehl and about 600-700 miles into the trip. My father was 18 when War was declared and having listened to the radio broadcast with his mother, had a cup of tea and then rode his motorcycle down to the recruiting office and signed up for the RAF. I assume that his friends were in the war and wonder what their banter was as they crossed into Germany.
d suspiciously by the man leaning against the car.
of course we had tea! No the bike isn't tiny its just that I am 6ft4 and 16st!
days...
