It comes as little surprise that David Whale, president of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs, has an interest in pedal-powered transport.
After all, it is the bedrock of the automotive industry.
Nor can it be a surprise that within the garage of the man with the world’s only-surviving Rosengart SuperSept are cycles with a difference, and with more purpose than simply carrying one person from A to B. These are working cycles in the most literal sense.
“The Wall’s Ice Cream tricycle was the first,” he explains. “The Post Office delivery cycle is special to me because it was a Christmas present from my father just before he died. It has a poignancy. I saw the Elswick advertised for sale with a photo of two ladies using it as a prop for a wedding, and it had been preserved. I’ve now found some new-old-stock mudguards for it.
“All have different meanings to me, but if pushed I would say my favourite – though not the last to sell, because of the personal meaning of the Post Office cycle – would be the Wall’s.”
Preservation is vital to Whale, who only buys complete items regardless of the work required to get them functioning. It has merit.
