ikerr
Billy Twyble
On the 100th Anniversary of The Battle of the Somme I thought it was appropriate to post this photograph of my 1913 Douglas Motorcycle and my Great Uncle, Sergeant William (Billy) Twyble.
Billy transferred from the West Belfast Y.C.V/U.V.F. to the Royal Irish Rifles shortly after the outbreak of WW1. He was then transferred to 9 Signalling Company of the Royal Engineers and from 4th Oct 1915 to 3rd Jan 1918 he was in the BEF (The British Expeditionary Force) serving on the Western Front. The photograph of Billy was taken in France around that time.
Billy was discharged "being no longer physically fit for war service" after suffering from shell shock and was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field.
He purchased the Douglas on 12th May 1921 but some years later Billy emigrated to Australia and the Douglas was left to rot in a shed until my father acquired it in the late 1970's.
It was restored a number of years ago and ownership passed to me when my father died in 2012.
My name and Billy's are the only names on the V5C with Billy being listed as the previous owner.
Billy Twyble
On the 100th Anniversary of The Battle of the Somme I thought it was appropriate to post this photograph of my 1913 Douglas Motorcycle and my Great Uncle, Sergeant William (Billy) Twyble.
Billy transferred from the West Belfast Y.C.V/U.V.F. to the Royal Irish Rifles shortly after the outbreak of WW1. He was then transferred to 9 Signalling Company of the Royal Engineers and from 4th Oct 1915 to 3rd Jan 1918 he was in the BEF (The British Expeditionary Force) serving on the Western Front. The photograph of Billy was taken in France around that time.
Billy was discharged "being no longer physically fit for war service" after suffering from shell shock and was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field.
He purchased the Douglas on 12th May 1921 but some years later Billy emigrated to Australia and the Douglas was left to rot in a shed until my father acquired it in the late 1970's.
It was restored a number of years ago and ownership passed to me when my father died in 2012.
My name and Billy's are the only names on the V5C with Billy being listed as the previous owner.