{"id":1733,"date":"2015-08-29T15:27:38","date_gmt":"2015-08-29T14:27:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hibbittbarnes.uk\/blog\/?p=1733"},"modified":"2025-07-02T12:48:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T11:48:49","slug":"early-triumph-motorcycle-reminiscent-of-grandpas-ww1-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hibbittbarnes.uk\/blog\/early-triumph-motorcycle-reminiscent-of-grandpas-ww1-service","title":{"rendered":"Early Triumph Motorcycle Reminiscent Of Grandpa’s WW1 Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

Harvey and I visited the Shuttleworth Collection<\/a><\/strong> in June at the Old Warden Aerodrome near Biggleswade in Bedfordshire where they keep a wonderful collection of historic aircraft and vehicles dating from the first half of the 20th century. It’s a fascinating place and well worth a visit if you happen to be in the area and have an interest in early aviation.<\/p>\n

They also have some vintage motorcycles and, amongst the collection, I spotted an early Triumph which looked familiar to me. Pictured below you’ll see it was a 1924 5.5hp Triumph S.D. (spring drive) which used the same basic engine that gave excellent service for despatch riders during the Great War.<\/p>\n

\"1924

1924 5.5hp Triumph S.D<\/p><\/div>\n

My Grandpa Hibbitt<\/a><\/strong> was a despatch rider during the First World War and this reminded me of the motorcycle he was sitting on in a photograph dating from this period.<\/p>\n

\"Charles

Charles George Hibbitt was a Motorcycle Despatch Rider in WW1<\/p><\/div>\n

In the photo<\/a><\/strong>, he is seated on a Triumph Model H<\/a><\/strong> which was the first Triumph not to be fitted with pedals, so was a true motorcycle. The Triumph Engineering Co Ltd had been using the advertising slogan Trusty Triumph since 1910 and the Model H became known as ‘The Trusty’ as it proved reliable in wartime conditions, despite a weakness in the front fork spring. This was prone to break on rough ground, so despatch riders would strap a leather belt around it as a precaution. The picture shows that my Grandpa did this very thing.<\/p>\n

More than 30,000 Triumph Model H motorcycles had been produced by the end of the war in 1918 and by the time it was discontinued in 1923 a total of 57,000 had been produced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Harvey and I visited the Shuttleworth Collection in June at the Old Warden Aerodrome near Biggleswade in Bedfordshire where they keep a wonderful collection of historic aircraft and vehicles dating from the first half of the 20th century. It’s a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,10],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-1733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ancestors-corner","category-making-memories","tag-hibbitt"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t