Sir John Hale

John Rigby Hale was a renowned British historian that, at the age of 69, suffered a stroke that left him without the ability to speak. His wife wrote a book about the ordeal titled "The man who lost his language". In the book she narrates his early life, saying that after the war he would travel around the United States, Europe and the Middle East on a "second hand BSA". The picture in the book, however, suggests another brand.