Stanway house

An outing by a Royal Enfield sidecar rig at Stanway House in 1917.

The place today.

Close to The Ton

Spy film of the new Conti Twin clocked at 156 km/h.

A party of Royal Enfield sidecarists in a pretty setting

Shimwell's

Shimwell's Brothers was a bicycle and later motorcycle seller in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was established in 1887 at the corner of Eloff and Pritcherd Streets (now one of the poshest commercial districts of Johannesburg) in humble quarters made of bricks built with mud and grass.

It later moved to the luxurious Henwood Building right in the middle of downtown.

The Henwood is the low building to the left of the picture behind the street lights. The tall building is the Barbican. Derelict for many years it has been gloriously restored today. Alas, the Henwood is now a parking lot. This was the entrance to Shimwell's at the Henwood,

Midwife in a motorcycle

In the April issue of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club (VMCC), reader Geoff Brazendale, author of a book on the history of the sidecar, tells the story of Nurse Robinson, in the Wetheral and District Nursing association in 1921. She visited patients east of Carlisle from her Wetheral base. She had a salary of 140 Pounds per year with a five Pound uniform allowance. These types of Nursing Associations raised money through local subscribers and patrons. They existed up to 1946, when the National Health Service was created. Apparently Nurse Robinson resigned in 1922 and no other nurse wanted to ride, and the trail of the bike after that has been lost.