The Taverner’s Section of the VMCC will be holding their annual Founder’s Day event at Stanford Hall, Leicestershire on Sunday, 23rd of July.
The LDMCC will have a stand, as we’ve done in previous years. Founder’s Day is always a good chance to buy bits and meet people – if you’re going, pop into the Douglas stand and say hello!
Animal lovers need not look away – this is a Greyhound of the two-wheeled variety, an unusual Douglas machine from 1933. Lot 155 of H&H Classics auction on 12th July at the National Motorcycle Museum is a Douglas D33 Greyhound. The machine – APH 256 – is one of just a handful of this model known to the Club and is listed in the Douglas Machine Register.
The D33 was an updated version of the successful S6/T6 models, designed by Freddie Dixon and launched at the 1929 Olympia Show. While S5/S6 and T5/T6 models from 1930-31 are relatively common, 1933 was a year of financial turmoil for Douglas, with an official Receiver appointed in July of that year. As a result very few 1933 machines were built, with London dealers still trying to move 1932 models at heavily discounted prices.
While I do not generally feature machines at auction in this blog, this is a most unusual example of a 1930s Douglas and appears from the photographs to be in remarkably original condition. I hope that it finds a new owner and a good home – in the LDMCC, of course!
… and the Surrey & Hampshire Section of the Douglas Club begins a new season of ride-outs for the year. These are informal gatherings for a run, coffee and a chat; Douglases are preferred, other machines are fine and you won’t be turned away if you arrive in a car! The main thing is to meet up and enjoy the company of other enthusiasts.
The first gathering of the year is on April 16th at Blackbush Airport cafe on the A30 at Blackwater, GU17 9LQ. More details of this and other Surrey & Hampshire section events from Roy Staunton, roystaunton@btinternet.com
I’m pleased to report that the Club’s Pre-War Spares Scheme will be up and running again shortly, with a planned start date of 1st March 2023. A Club member has kindly stepped forward and agreed to take on this key role – full contact details will be included in the next issue of The New Con Rod magazine, posted to Club members at the end of February. As the owner of a pre-war machine myself, I view this as a particularly positive development!
It appears that a number of members have not received their January/February issue of the NEW CONROD magazine on time. These were posted before Christmas as usual and would normally reach UK addresses in the first week of January and a little later in the US, Australia and New Zealand.
As many of you will be aware, the period between Christmas and early January has been plagued with postal delays caused by strikes, abnormaly high postage volumes and, particularly for overseas members, the software attack on the Post Office computer system.
If you are in the UK and have not yet received your copy of the magazine, please let us know. For overseas members, please allow a little extra time as the backlog of overseas post is still being cleared. However, if you have not received your copy by the end of January, please let us know. A replacement copy will be sent to you.
To avoid confusion and extra work for other committee members, please reply directly to Dave Lawrence at law41.ldmcc@yahoo.com
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
The London Douglas Motor Cycle Club 