Mess with institutions at your peril and few have been messed around more than the UK Post Office. Established by King Charles II in 1660, the Royal Mail service was run by the General Post Office – or ‘GPO’ as everyone knew it.
The boss was known as ‘The Postmaster General’ – a title that’s even older going back 450 years to Henry VIII. The GPO lasted 310 years before it was dissolved in 1969 and became simply ‘The Post Office’.
Since then, various managements have come and gone, name changes, privatisation and all sorts of bollocks. Wonderful post office buildings in city centres have been sold off or let to private companies, all in the name of short-term profit.
What remains a comforting constant is the colour Post Office Red which still adorns post boxes, telephone boxes before that function was offloaded to British Telecom, signage and, of course, vehicles.
BSA inspired by DKW after WWII
The Bantam came out of WWII when engineers from England discovered the German DKW motorcycle powered by a simple, small capacity two-stroke engine. It was perfect for cash-strapped Britain in the post-war years being cheap to make (BSA basically copied the DKW), cheap to run and maintain, and long-lasting.
The GPO spotted its potential both for towns where a nimble lightweight motorcycle could dodge the traffic, and for rural villages, many of which had narrow streets built for horse-drawn carts. More than 6,000 Bantams were used by the GPO over the years, particularly for delivering telegrams.
And that’s what this example is, a 1961 123cc BSA Bantam GPO motorcycle complete with leg shields. It’s coming up for auction with H J Pugh in Ledbury on 30 September 2023 with no reserve price.
The auctioneer says, “Last ridden in January 2021. Engine turns over with compression. Comes with various history including invoices and BSA handbooks.”
I mean, just look at it! It’s a lovely piece of history. I probably shouldn’t admit this but I’d be tempted to locate or make a replica of an original GPO Telegram Delivery Rider uniform. Perhaps I should just think that and not say it.
Viewing for the GPO BSA and other motorcycles, plus a host of spares and memorabilia, is on 27 and 28 September just before the sale.
