Feature – The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust
The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust is a Registered Charity, run by motorcycle enthusiasts to promote and support the preservation and restoration of our motorcycle heritage – and what a great job they are doing! Their challenge is to identify and secure rare British motorcycles, ensure their restoration and make them available and accessible to the nation through a network of museums and collections. By doing this they aim to establish and preserve a rich working record of an important cultural and sporting aspect of our industrial and engineering history. Without the work of the Trust, many fine machines would be taken abroad, or into private collections – or be lost forever simply through lack of knowledge, or neglect and decay.
The BMCT have affiliated themselves to eleven leading UK motorcycle museums including the National Motorcycle Museum, The Sammy Miller Museum and the Manx Museum in the Isle of Man. (There is a link at the bottom of this post showing a full list of these museums). Over the coming months I shall be visiting each of these and posting a dedicated gallery with some pictures for those unlucky enough to be unable to visit themselves. And if you’re thinking about visiting these museums, just remember that an annual BMCT subscription of just £20 will gain you free entry to all of these – great value!
These guys have been involved in the restoration of some amazing machines. Take a look at these fine examples:
A 1939 Sunbeam B24S now on display at the London Motorcycle Museum
A 1923 Beardmore Precision powered by a Precision 500cc sidevalve engine of unitary construction
BMCT trustee John Kidson with Sammy Miller just 12 weeks after work started on a total restoration of an AJS S3.
The BMCT relies upon subscriptions, donations and bequests for their funding. If you would like to help them by making a donation, or by leaving a motorcycle, collection, or other bequest in your will, then please contact them at info@bmct.org, write to Andy Bufton at BMCT, Holly Cottage, Bishampton, Pershore WR10 2NH, or call 01386 462524.
Find out more about the BMCT on their homepage at www.bmct.org/ and visit www.bmct.org/html/museums.html for a full list of the BMCT Museums.
