by Bill Whelan

A quaint picture postcard, number 1292L, published by Ayre & Sons at a date that is unknown, shows eleven men with their eleven motorcycles. They are drawn up to be  photographed near St Thomas Church in St John’s.

It seems reasonable to think that the postcard photograph was taken before the outbreak of the Great War, say in 1912 or thereabouts.

Now, who were these eleven men? More to the point, what became of them in the years that followed that meeting of the Motor Cycle Club of St John’s?  It is likely that the families of these men persist in Newfoundland today. Perhaps these descendants can identify the men of the Motor Cycle Club?

These men were comfortable, surely. To import a motorcycle was far beyond the means of many Newfoundlanders of that time. A 1914 Triumph sold for $200 in Toronto, serious money. But the men of the Motor Cycle Club could import these devices and sport them around the town, perhaps frightening the horses. As a diversion from their busy lives in business, they might make a Saturday ride to Torbay, say to Mrs Liddy’s establishment, or perhaps to Bay Bulls, or to Topsail, where they had a club house or club rooms.

Again, who were these men? The Great War would soon be upon them, though of course they knew nothing of that as they stood to be photographed. When the war came, these men were the officer class, expected to lead from the front. Were they among the First 500? That seems likely.

And what about these motorcycles? Some were manufactured in Coventry by the Triumph Engineering Company. A later version of these motorcycles was the Triumph Trusty, a fabled motorcycle of great service in carrying battlefield dispatches in the Great War.

Your reporter consulted an expert, Mr Allan Johnson:

Numbering from the left to right (1 to 11): Numbers 1,3,4,7,8,9 and 11 are Triumph single cylinder side valve motorcycles made by the Triumph motorcycle company of Coventry, England. They would have 450 to 500 cc engines and belt drive to the rear wheel from the engine belt pulley. 

  Number 6 with the heavy and peculiar front fork is a Metz, made by Charles Metz of Waltham, Massachusetts, USA from 1906 to 1913.  Numbers 2 and 5 may be Marsh-Metz (aka M-M) motorcycles made in Brockton, Massachusetts, USA (1906-13)

  Number 10 is an Indian v-twin probably made in 1909,1910 or 1911, and made in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. By 1913, Indian were the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the USA.

Thank you, Mister Johnson.
What fun! Yes, these gentlemen were very comfortable. Who were they? Is there an old motor cycle, rusty and dusty, lingering in a shed behind a fine St John’s house today?