An extremely rare two-stroke Welbike built to carry British Paratroopers into battle in World War II, has come up for auction.
The 1942 bike – which was owned and brought back from the war by Lieutenant Colonel Dennis O’Rorke of the British Tank Regiment – will go on sale on 10 November with Iconic Auctioneers and is estimated to reach between £5,000 and £10,000.
It will be a truly remarkable and moving opportunity to collect a piece of resistance history.
The little 1942 Excelsior Welbike Mk2 98cc was made by Excelsior motorcycles at its Tyburn factory for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) as a one-time use, disposable machine that carried British Paratroopers into battle at Arnhem
The little 1942 Excelsior Welbike Mk2 98cc was made by Excelsior motorcycles at its Tyburn factory for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) as a one-time use, disposable machine that carried British Paratroopers into battle at Arnhem.
Fitted with a two-stroke Villiers Junior 98cc engine, the Welbike was the smallest motorcycle ever used by the British Armed Forces and was the lightest mode of transportation for troops on the ground.
The single-seat folding bike commissioned for production by Station 9 – the ‘Inter Services Research Bureau’ based at Welwyn – could be folded up into a capsule and dropped by parachute along with troops.
Between 1942 and 1943, 3,641 units (plus a prototype and some pilot models) were built.
Some were issued to the British 1st and 6th Airborne Divisions, some were used on D-Day and and some were used at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden.
But in reality very few of those bikes were ever used in active service.
Lieutenant Colonel Dennis O’Rorke’s bike is believed to have not been used in service, which is why it’s presented in such excellent, unrestored condition – it even appears to have the original paint.
September 2024 marks 80 years since Operation Market Garden – it intended to create a route for the Allied forces into northern Germany in September 1944
It’s presented in such excellent, unrestored condition – it even appears to have the original paint
Mark Bryan, head of motorcycles at Iconic Auctioneers, says: ‘This bike is particularly rare as it is completely unrestored and just as it was 70 years ago, when prepared for action in the European theatre of war.
Lieutenant Colonel Dennis O’Rorke of the British Tank Regiment brought the 1942-made motorcycle back at the end of the Second World War
‘The bikes proved to be of limited use, if they landed safely by a road or track alongside the troops who jumped with them, then they could be quite useful, but more often than not they were dropped off road in farmland where they were not very effective’.
The bike came off the production line in November 1942 and has been owned by Lieutenant Colonel O’Rorke since the end of the war. It has remained in his family ever since he passed.
The winning bidder will get their hands on the bike (which is mostly complete) along with some spare parts including a rear mudguard and some original and reproduction materials.
Budding historians will take interest in the MOD consignment contract number – 294/23/S – but bidders should note though the bike is not UK registered.
Considering the poignant history associated with this unique machine, it could very well go for more than the £10,000 upper estimate when it goes on sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show sale in November.
Auction entries close 9 October.
Arnhem and Operation Market Garden
British Paratroopers tasked with capturing and holding the bridges at Arnhem were faced with much fiercer German opposition than Allied Intelligence predicted
In September 1944, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery conceived Operation Market Garden.
The plan was to hasten the end of the Second World War by opening up new routes in Germany, by pushing through the Netherlands into Northern Germany.
Three Allied airborne divisions were to drop into Holland and secure territories and bridges around the towns of Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem, after which the British would advance through the corridor into Germany.
But the British Paratroopers tasked with capturing and holding the bridges at Arnhem were faced with much fiercer German opposition than Allied Intelligence predicted, in particular elite Panzer tanks.
The defeat at Arnhem was a costly one, with an estimated 1,984 Allied soldiers killed. In total the Allied forces lost more than 17,000 men during operation Market Garden.
Members of the armed forces lay wreaths during a ceremony at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, Netherlands, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem, part of Operation Market Garden
The Princess Royal meets a veteran during a ceremony at the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, Netherlands, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem
Despite the defeat, today Operation Market Garden is remembered as the largest airborne assault in history and one of the boldest Allied operations of the Second World War.
But most importantly the operation, and the Battle of Arnhem in particular, are remembered as a proud example of resistance, courage and sacrifice.
It also led to the liberation of a large chunk of the Netherlands, and the saving of thousands of Dutch people who were on the brink of starvation by 1944.
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