Of fish and fowl

By the time Britain’s Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon Anthony Eden officially opened the 28th London Cycle and Motor Cycle Show at 11am on Saturday, November 14, 1953 – an hour after the doors opened to the public – thousands had gathered around the Flying Fish and scores of people aged nine to 90 got even nearer to touch or try its riding position. Later, during his tour of the show accompanied by Jack Sangster (motorcycle factory proprietor and Manufacturer’s Union president) the foreign secretary unveiled the Bantam.

By now, some of you will be wondering if your scribe has lost his marbles (they were lost decades ago…) and others will understand. Bantam first. As his tour neared its end, Anthony Eden lifted a large union flag to unveil the Bantam, in fact the 100,000th BSA Bantam off the production line. Journalists and BSA claimed it a postwar world record for one motorcycle model by a single maker.

The fact that the foreign secretary opened the show and spent time viewing exhibits underlined the importance of these events in postwar Britain, showing that the Government valued the motorcycle industry and the export income it earned. Unlike some politicians finding themselves involved with cycling and motorcycle happenings, Mr Eden was once a motorcyclist, owning and riding a Douglas and his second wife Clarissa (nee Spencer-Churchill) was a keen cyclist. Against this background, it’s not surprising he revelled in the exploits of Messrs Norton, Amm, Oliver and the Flying Fish.