1932 Royal Enfield RAF WW2 322nd Bomb Group Military Replica

1932 Royal Enfield

RAF WW2 Military Replica – 322nd Bomb Group

Sturmey Archer Model K2 three-speed gear

26″ Frame

28″ Wheels

During World War 2, the bicycle was the most reliable form of transportation for both civilians and military personnel. Airfields were enormous so cycles were the best way to get around them. Some were supplied by the Royal Air Force, either direct from cycle manufacturers or built up from those found in scrapyards. Others were owned by servicemen and women or donated by local businesses. In addition, many were ‘borrowed’ from local people. After the war, cycles used by military personnel were taken back by locals who had lost them or sold cheaply in auctions as ‘army surplus.’

This example was restored by a local enthusiast Terry and used for military cycle displays in East Sussex. It has no military provenance but is typical of the many civilian bicycles commandeered for military use during the war and it generates a lot of interest at shows as a memorial to the many pilots and air and ground crew who played such a big part in defeating the nazis. It’s ready to ride and display.

AIRMEN OF THE 322ND BOMB GROUP IN WORLD WAR 2

“The standard means of getting about wartime England was the bicycle. With rationing of petrol, the use of motor transport was confined to necessity, so bicycles were used by servicemen and women for personal transportation and getting around Royal Air Force (RAF) bases.

At RAF airfields, buildings and aircraft might be a half mile apart in order to minimise damage in the event of enemy raids or accidents. Because stations were so spread out, the RAF issued its own bikes, which were heavy and often lacked brakes – to enable air and ground crew to get about. Many bases were grim, hastily erected sites. Aircrew lived in prefabricated huts near aircraft dispersal sites, many without electricity or running water. Women’s Auxilliary Air Force (WAAF) staff lived nearby, billeted out with civilians or installed in a Waffery, and relied on their bicycles to get to work – at all times of the day and night, and in all forms of weather.

RAF stations could be made up of 2,000 personnel, only 10 per cent of whom were aircrew. The remainder were ground crew, including armourers and mechanics, members of the WAAF, RAF service police, clerks, drivers, caterers, and medical personnel. Over time RAF stations grew around aerodromes to become small towns, sometimes with entertainment and sporting facilities. Buildings were widely spaced, so the best way to get around was on a bicycle.

Many men bought their own bikes, costing around three or four pounds, which were more manoeuvrable than those issued by the RAF. Senior Fitter Harry Tickle of No. 460 Squadron recorded, “The old bikes were heavy and often with no brakes or gears – how we returned from the pub in one piece I shall never know. We came home in formation, well oiled and no lights.”

Bikes were a tradeable commodity and almost everyone on an airfield scrounged a cycle from somewhere. Bikes were borrowed from outside pubs, dumped unceremoniously in ditches, or passed on to friends and relatives when an airman failed to return.

Theft was so rampant that the local police constable from Bubwith (a village in Yorkshire near No. 460 Squadron’s base) rode his bicycle to RAF Breighton to complain about bicycles being stolen. When he went outside, his was gone.

A member of No. 463 squadron remembered, “If someone ‘borrowed’ your bike you walked everywhere until it turned up again – usually at the guard house after being picked up as being abandoned.”

* Article by Emily Hyles, credit at the bottom of the page