The Classic MotorCycle – September 2019

6 THE CLASSICMOTORCYCLE|SEPTEMBER 2019

Two-wheeled

deliveryduring

the returning

Olympic Games

Motorcycle couriers atop newDouglases, delivering

press photographs and doing it in style.

Words:ADAM REAR Photograph:MORTONS MEDIAARCHIVE

his intriguingpictur e, captured

duringthe 1948London

Olympics,epitomises modernity

and abrave newworld, with theseamlessly

styl ish, beautifu llooking Douglas twins,

not forgettingthe equallyslicklooki ng

gentsridingthem,posed alongside a

shinyaeroplane.

Long beforeelectronic methods of

transportingpress photographs,itw as not

an uncommonsighttos ee thembeing

delivered by motorcycle couriers and

aeroplanes,and this (admittedlysomewhat

stag ed-looking) photographdoesthe

perfectjob ofcapturing the process.

Douglas enthusiast, tuner and

London-based agentEddy Withers (Withers

of West Norwood Limited) is astrideaMark

III Sports Model, registr ation JYT147,with

colleagues TedBrigginshaw (bag in hand)

and AlbertLeRoy on standard(aka De

Luxe)MarkIII models.The‘pres s’ plates

abovethe headlightsrevealsthe purpos eof

the delivery–theyare carryingphotographs

rushedfromaLondonathletics meetingtoa

waitingAir FranceLockheed.

Douglasclaimedthe Mark III Sports

Model wasthe fastest350cc production

sports roadsteron theBritish market at the

time,with amaximumspeedof80mph.The

Sports Model used ahigh-levelexhaust

system with the twin exhaust header pipes

leadingintotwo Burgessstraigh t-through

‘silencers.’Itisalsopossible to pickout the

neatheatshieldattachedtothe pipe.

Theremovalofthe transversemounted

tool boxabove the gearbox on thestandard

machineallo wedthe Sports Model to

carryalarge circular air cleaner that was

connectedtoeachcarburettor intake.The

reworked cylinder head achieved the

improvements desired –the lowspeed

engine vibration reducedsignificantly

and therewas anoticeable increasein

acceleration and top end performance over

previous incarnations.

Aftera12-year hiatuscaused by the

SecondWorld War, the 1948London

Olympicswere thefirstsummerOlympiad

to be held since the 1936games inBerlin.

Originally, the 1940OlympicGames were

originall ygoingtobehoste dinTokyo and

then inHelsinki,butdue to the conflict

occurring at the time and the divide of

nations thegames were cancelled, aswere

the 1944OlympicGames,whichwere

awarde dtoLondon.

The1948Olympicswere called‘the

austeritygames’due to thefinancial

struggles Britain andmanyothernations

were facing.This wasapparentasno

newvenues were built for thegames and

athleteswere housed in alreadyexisting

accommodationat the WembleyArena,

instead of anOlympicvilla ge.Everything

wasdone onasmaller scale,with a‘make

do and mend’attitude extended to ensuring

that theshow, orat leastashow of some

kind,went on.

Germanyand Japan were not invited,

with one of thestars of thegames Fanny

Blankers-Koen, a30-year-old mother of

two(leadingtoa‘TheFlying Housewif e’

nickname) whowontwo gold medals in

athletics,while 17-year-oldUS decathlete

BobMathias became theyoungestgold

medalwinner.Thegameswasalsonotable

for itsfirstdefector, as aCzech official

refused to return home.

Theaeroplanecanbeidentified as a

memberoft he AirFrancefleet, acompany

that wasrebrandedonthe dawn of 1946,

when ithadanoverhaul and upgraded

its aircraft.Air transport at the timewas

improvingand rapidly expandingona

globalscale, and thiswasmostdefinite ly