AJS & Matchless Owners Club

Took my model 20 to Jack hills' cafe today for a rememberance meeting. About 300 bikes there, mine was the only old British bike there!

At our local service over 200 there with 30 plus British bikes from 2/3 clubs and AMC with the most.

Big crowd in Bishop beside the Cenotaph, pipe band and marching representatives of the services, very well done and silence impeccably observed. Roads closed and no bikes but 'spoons open afterwards...

three chums and myself went up to Ypres, or 'Wipers' as Tommy called it, overnight at Roncq then on to the Menin Gate, by car I'm afraid only two riders out of us, a number of modern m/cycles were present some of the riders laying wreaths. Unfortunately a T.V company had erected a damn great operating bubble in the centre of the square obscuring the larger of the two relaying screens kind regards

took my belt drive 1922 carfield motorbike to stanton fitzwarren memorial service and parked it right by gate to the memorial .
it coughed farted and spat on the way there and back but i made it .
the people at the church were very interested and happy to see something there which the lads from WW1 would have come home to ride after wartime .

the man who owned the bike fought in the great war and was gassed but he did come home alive , i knew him in 1984 , he told me that an american airman had used the motorbike on broadwell airfield during WW2 and went off to d-day , he kept the bike in the barn for him but he didnt come back .
we got the bike on the basis that the airman could come back for it , but he never did .

both my father and i got the bike initially but he passed away in 2016 .

2 of my great great uncles [brothers] were both lost in the great war and so i went to the church service in the next village from mine where also the memorial theyre names are on is located .

i actually wanted to be in 3 places at once on sunday for the services so in order to fill the gaps i took the bike of 2 of the men who fought in both wars to my relatives memorial stone and service , along with some of my fathers ashes which are somewhere wedged into the bike itself .

we all have a story to tell and this is mine , i look forward to reading anyone elses story and have great respect for any gesture however big or small that any of you have made in remembrance .

best wishes
ian

A very touching story. It's not much but I ziptied an outsize plastic poppy to the front grille of one of our vans yesterday.

Also managed to watch the Remembrance parade on the BBC yesterday.

Really hope that this isnt part of our history that drifts into the mists of time now the 100 year is past. Sad thing being ive asked my apprentices if any of them could tell me the years of the great and second world war and not one could tell me. When i was in school,im 57, itwas taught in both primary and secondary but not now for fear of offence.

Wonder if my village will have a Remembrance day next year. It was also our British Legion Branch 90th anniversary. At the AGM last Tuesday a committee could not be formed. It could have continued without a committee. By HQ just having two POC's ( Persons of Contact. ) I offered to be one, no one else offered. At the B/Legion AGM a girl younger than me did most of the committee work holding 3 officer posts. She resigned. I was the only other person that could be a POC. As a POC would need an e mail address. Also to be able to access the HQ website for info. There was a good turn out for Remembrance Sunday, so an appeal will be made in the church magazine. If no one comes forward, The vicar said she will organise a Remembrance service next year. It seems only older people are prepared to keep the likes of British Legion going, but HQ demands organisers must have IT skills has ruled them out. They also made it more difficult for the older people to pay subs. As that is now done by HQ, not at their local branch.

Big Pete wrote:Really hope that this isnt part of our history that drifts into the mists of time now the 100 year is past. Sad thing being ive asked my apprentices if any of them could tell me the years of the great and second world war and not one could tell me. When i was in school,im 57, itwas taught in both primary and secondary but not now for fear of offence.

I have recently given talks at my village primary school. I was amazed at the keen interest shown by the children. My first talk was to 10/11 year olds, the second to 8/9 year olds. Both talks over ran the allotted time, taking up time of the next intended lesson. It was these younger children that had so many questions to ask, really amazed me. I never had time to answer all. So a return visit will be made just for questions. The subject was History of the village and school. No adverse comments were received. Quite the opposite from parents comments on the village Face book page. The children also attended the church prior to Remembrance day, many of them turned up with parents on the day.

Rob Harknett wrote:Wonder if my village will have a Remembrance day next year. It was also our British Legion Branch 90th anniversary. At the AGM last Tuesday a committee could not be formed. It could have continued without a committee. By HQ just having two POC's ( Persons of Contact. ) I offered to be one, no one else offered. At the B/Legion AGM a girl younger than me did most of the committee work holding 3 officer posts. She resigned. I was the only other person that could be a POC. As a POC would need an e mail address. Also to be able to access the HQ website for info. There was a good turn out for Remembrance Sunday, so an appeal will be made in the church magazine. If no one comes forward, The vicar said she will organise a Remembrance service next year. It seems only older people are prepared to keep the likes of British Legion going, but HQ demands organisers must have IT skills has ruled them out. They also made it more difficult for the older people to pay subs. As that is now done by HQ, not at their local branch.

Rob, your message rang a bell with me as I am having exactly the same problems with my RBL branch but was really cheered with the attendance at our Remembrance service both young and old. I took my bike to a separate Air Force service and wondered then if any of the Airmen remembered there rode battered old A.J.S.s.