A phoenix arises

I usually try to pick a different topic for these articles each month but I'm breaking that tradition to tell an amazing story that follows directly on from last month's "The Forncett Bikers". Those of you who read the extended article on the Forncett History blog, will know that Marjorie Thurston and Dick Sutton had many motorbikes over the years, but a couple of bikes appeared frequently in Marjorie's photo collection, and one of those was AH2192. 

I know nothing about vintage motorbikes, so I enlisted help with identification from a friend and previous contributor to these articles, Sinclair Glover. He, in turn, contacted a vintage motorbike expert and to my complete amazement he told me, not only that AH2192 was a Rex JAP V-twin made around 1912, but that it was still registered with the DVLA! So, here is the story of this remarkable bike.

Rex-JAP motorcycles were produced between 1912 and 1916. They were manufactured by the Rex Motor Manufacturing Co. in Coventry and fitted with high-performance J.A.P. (J.A. Prestwick & Co.) engines. Surviving Rex-JAP motorcycles are exceedingly rare and, because of their historical significance, they are highly sought-after. We don't know when Dick Sutton acquired AH2192 but, given that he was 21 years old in 1912, it's conceivable that he bought it from new. The bike appears in five of Marjorie's photos and in some it has had a sidecar attached.

It seems likely that Dick sold AH2192 sometime after 1931. The new owner was almost certainly Henry Spurrell, a retired policeman who lived in Buttle's Lane, Wacton, just two miles from Church Farm. Henry had worked for the Metropolitan Police in London for around 30 years. He had married Kate Baynton in Marylebone in 1902, they subsequently had three children and the family lived in Wood Green until at least 1928. However, by 1931 Henry had left his wife and children and moved to a cottage in Buttle's Lane, where he was living with a woman called Annie Thomas, who was 20 years younger than him. Henry and Annie had two children, Ethel (b.1931) and William (b. 1936).

In his early 20s William Spurrell was already a motorcyclist and in November 1955 he was fined at Long Stratton Court for driving without due care and attention.

Diss Express - 4 November 1955

In March 1960, just a few months before his father Henry died, William registered AH2192 in his own name. 

The document gives the original registration date as January 1921, but veteran motorcycles often have a 1921 registration date because the Roads Act of 1920 made vehicle registration compulsory across the UK from 1st January 1921. The engine capacity was incorrectly given as 350cc; it is actually 964cc. It seems likely that the bike was still in working order in 1960, but before 1971 it was apparently dismantled and not rebuilt. This date derives from paperwork still with the bike in 2023 that refers to spare parts priced in pre-decimal currency.

William Spurrell never married and lived in Buttle's Lane until he died in 1984. AH2192 apparently remained in pieces until it was sold at auction in 2023, by which time it was in a sorry state.

However, the bike was bought by a very capable enthusiast who took a conservation approach to the restoration. This is typical for rare, highly original machines where a repaint would destroy its historical value. All the moving parts were brought back into tolerance and new bushes spindles and bearings were fitted.

The bike is very unusual and possibly the only surviving example of this model. Other Rex JAPs have a 2-speed hub gear and clutch with a cranking handle start. AH2192, as depicted in the Church Farm photos, is direct drive from the engine to the rear wheel, via a rubber belt. To start it you would have to run alongside until the engine started and get on it before it disappeared down the road. Should you need to stop, the engine would stop and you need to go through the starting procedure again.

At some point after the Forncett photos were taken, the bike was fitted with an engine pully made by NSU (the British division of the famous German manufacturer NSU Motorenwerke). These pulleys were sold as "after-market" accessories which gave a low gear, a neutral and a direct drive top gear, but you still needed to start the bike by pushing. The only other thing that appears to have changed is the rear mudguard which is not correct but had clearly been on the bike previously.

As the recent photos of AH2192 show, the motorbike has now been completely rebuilt and has been ridden in a number of Vintage Motorcycle Club events. 

Apart from some very minor changes, the motorbike is almost exactly the same as when it was being ridden around Forncett over a century ago and, as the present owner commented, "Marjorie would definitely still recognise the bike as it is now"!

With thanks to Sinclair Glover, Michael Cushion, Ian Cunningham (H&H Classic Auctions) and to the present owner of AH2192 without whom I could not have told this story.