Category: Douglas motorcycles

I’m often asked to help identify Douglas machines – and it can be quite a challenge. A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes, – though one silver flat-tanker can look much like another. A Mk. IV looks very like a Mk. V apart from the rib in the front mudguard … However, with a basic understanding of the era from which the machine dates, frame, engine and gearbox numbers usually permit accurate identification. A guide to these numbers and where to find them can be found here.
Finally, and perhaps less obviously, for UK-registered machines the registration mark can prove invaluable. The reason for this is that most of the Douglas machines still in existence are listed in the LDMCC’s Machine Register. Armed with the registration mark and a bit of patience, it’s surprising how often ‘newly discovered’ machines are already known to the Club.
I’m sure the Club’s machine registrar could give me an accurate figure for the number of machines listed, but an informed guess would be around 4,000 – there’s a fair chance that the machine you’re trying to identify could be among them!

I was contacted recently by a chap researching the history of the Bristol Aircraft Company, whose researches raised questions about the ownership of the Douglas business in the 1930s. For owners of machines from this era, the discussion sheds some light on the origins of the ‘Aero’ model name. The generally accepted explanation for the Aero designation is that the company was bought in June 1935 by The British Aircraft Company (BAC), and that Aero was included in the subsequent models’ names to reflect this change. But is this correct?

Mick Walker, in his book ‘Douglas – The Complete Story’, attributes this to a news item published in The Motor Cycle of 20^th June 1935 which states that ‘The Douglas factory has been purchased by the British Pacific Trust (a front for BAC) …’ Their plan appears to have been to use Douglas’ manufacturing facilities to produce aircraft engines. However, contracts failed to appear and motorcycle production continued until 1939. This version of events is also to be found in Jeff Clew’s book ‘Douglas – The Best Twin’.

For readers with an appetite for historical accuracy, a history of the Douglas concern on the Kingswood Council website suggests a different version of events.

In essence, the issue boils down to the origins of Aero Engines Ltd., set up to take over the factory in June 1935. Was this company formed by BAC (not to be confused, incidentally, with the later British Aircraft Corporation of Concorde fame) or by General Aircraft Ltd., as described in the comprehensive and evidently well-researched document on the Kingswood Council website? The author of this piece, John Penny, makes a strong argument for the latter explanation.

Something for historians among us to ponder during these icy and salty months while your trusty Douglas is sitting in the garage!