An untold story
If you were a budding teenage motorcyclist looking for a job in Scotland in the mid-1930s, then one which involved riding a brand-new BSA, delivering letters and telegrams to outlying crofts and villages would be one that would tick all of your boxes.
The concept of the so-called ‘messenger boys’ was one which was introduced by King George V, who was not only an avid stamp collector but also a keen steam railway buff. He promoted the investment and extension of the rail line up the west coast of England to Glasgow, which enabled faster delivery of letters, but he soon recognised that, although telegrams were now quicker, they often sat in the post office awaiting collection or delivery for some time.
In 1932 – incidentally, the year he started the now-traditional Christmas broadcast – he commissioned BSA to manufacture a low-cost, easily maintained durable machine to complete the mail connection and the following year, the B1 was introduced.
It joined the rest of the 17 motorcycles in Small Heath’s line-up and understandably there was no shortage of
