1934
ORIGIN: Stetchford, Birmingham

DATES: 1911 – 1940

The model on display was used by Harold Breach, a leading motorcycle footballer for Gloucester and Stroud. Football played on adapted motorcycles was popular before and after the Second World War, with teams from Stroud, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and Worcester competing in organised leagues. Based around the rules of Association Football, matches consisted of two 35-minute halves played on a full-size pitch. Players wore special steel capped fireman’s boots, although they rarely bothered with crash helmets! Bikes had small tanks and were stripped of all unnecessary parts to reduce the weight and gain extra bursts of speed. In 1949, this bike took part in an international series of games in Sweden at venues all detailed on the machine’s fuel tank.