New Releases for October 2017 - The Great War 1914-1918 (1 Viewer)

jjDesigns

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THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918

The importance of motorbikes during the Great War is all too often overlooked. Motorbikes were used for mounted infantry, scouts, dispatch and courier duties, ammunition carriers, medical supply carriers and casualty evacuation. The versatility of these machines clearly helped them play a hugely significant role in the logistics of the war, far more than the automobile.
The use that they were most commonly used for was that of the messenger. Because of the unreliability of communications technology during the war years, the motorbike’s virtue of speed meant that orders, reports and maps could be transferred between units quickly.



GWB18.JPG

GWB-18
THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918,
THE WOMENS ROYAL FLYING CORPS,
DESPATCH RIDER,
“TIME FOR TEA”.
(2pcs)


GWB18REAR.JPG

It was not only the men who got to ride around on motorbikes. The Women’s Royal Flying Corps made extensive use of motorbikes. The initial aim of the WRAF was to provide female mechanics so that men could be free to serve in the armed forces. Thanks to the high number of women volunteers, many also filled driver positions as well.

Douglas was a British motorcycle manufacturer from 1907–1957 based in Kingswood, Bristol, owned by the Douglas family, and especially known for its horizontally opposed twin cylinder engined bikes and as manufacturers of speedway machines. The company also built a range of cars between 1913 and 1922.
During WW1 some 70,000 of these 349cc twin horizontal cylinder machines were produced for the British military.


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Was relieved when I noticed that the motorcycle was modeled with the kick-stand down. For a moment prior to that realization, I thought the female figure must have been a circus performer before she answered the call! ;)

-Moe
 
That one has a lot of character and certainly captures the British spirit. Well done.
 
‘Nuther pic from the blog I referenced above, this of Australian “bikers” in WW I:

aussie%25255B2%25255D.jpg


-Moe
 
Mark, to that end, a better pic perhaps:

View attachment 220927

To clarify, the source of the pic cited in the blog is an Ebay ad:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/WWI-Motorcycle-Corps-Australia1918-Suffrage-Pass-/230440094672

Certainly not trying to hawk anyone’s wares, here!

-Moe

Moe,

Thanks for the better photo and I can now read caption and it was what I had initially thought they are in the Middle East so would be great additions to the armoured cars so I'd be in for multiples of these.

Maybe Andy could do these to go with ALH series

Mark
 
Both the Light Car Patrols and Australian Light Horse would benefit from these. I think there is every chance they will be released down the track, but maybe a long wait. Well done guys for bringing these forward and planting the seed. Robin.
 
That image looks to have been cut from this one in the Ebay ad:

C92B44BE-0131-4F9E-B22C-8962FDE7120C.jpeg

The journal pic (bottom right) is of poor quality, but the vendor’s description appears to indicate that the original is quite good.

-Moe
 
Here’s a better pic of a rider:

0FA9A11C-3C7A-4066-A9E3-947CBCC785DF.jpeg

There are are others on the IWM and AWM sites, but it wasn’t completely clear whether they were Australian or some other UK or CW troops.

-Moe
 
Here is a photo my grandfather took while in France in 1918. Pictured are some of his "mess buddies" from Company F, 17th RR Engineering Btn, AEF . . . Can you believe the mud!
:smile2: Mike

17th RR Eng c.jpg
 

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