British Motorcycle Charitable Trust facts for kids

The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust (BMCT) is a special group that helps save and fix old British motorcycles. They want to keep the history of British motorcycle making alive! This group started in 1979. Their main goal is to protect rare British motorcycles. They also let people see these cool bikes in museums and at special events every year. The Trust helps schools, clubs, and even people who own old bikes. They also collect lots of information about British motorcycles.

How the Trust Gets Money

The Trust gets money in a few ways. People donate money, and members pay a small fee to join. Sometimes, people who love motorcycles leave money to the Trust in their wills. This money is used to save rare British motorcycles. It also helps improve how British motorcycle history is kept safe in the UK.

Who Runs the Trust

The people who run the Trust are called Trustees. They are all volunteers who love motorcycles. They also have special skills in different areas of business. The current leader of the Trustees is Ian Walden, who has an OBE award.

Museums and Their Cool Bikes

Between 1979 and 1995, the Trust helped create the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull. Later, a private company took over running it.

The BMCT works with many transport and local museums across the UK. They help these museums show off rare British motorcycles. If you are an Associate Member of the Trust, you can get a discount to visit these places:

• Black Country Living Museum
• Brooklands Museum
• Coventry Transport Museum
• Haynes International Motor Museum
• The Tank Museum
• National Motor Museum, Beaulieu
• Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum
• Dover Transport Museum
• Stroud Museum in the Park
• Folk of Gloucester Museum
• Jet Age Museum
• Norton Collection Museum
• Grampian Transport Museum
• Internal Fire Museum of Power
• Derby Museum of Making
• Isle of Man Motor Museum
• Royal Engineers Museum

The Trust also supports the Manx National Heritage museum. They have given money to help them save old British motorcycles. These bikes have a special history with the TT and MGP races.

In 2001, the Black Country Living Museum got help from the BMCT. They also received money from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This money helped them buy the Marston Collection of Wolverhampton motorcycles. This collection included a very rare 1918 Sunbeam military bike. It was found in France in bad condition. The museum also got money to build a copy of a 1930s motorcycle shop. This shop has rare local bikes and old motorcycle items.

The Trust's newest project helped the Haynes Motor Museum. This museum is near Yeovil, Somerset. They now have a fantastic new exhibit called "Life on Two Wheels."

In 2014, the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire, opened a new motorcycle display. This was possible thanks to a £75,000 grant from the BMCT.

Amazing Motorcycles They Own

The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust owns a collection of rare British motorcycles. These bikes are on long-term loan to different museums they work with. Some of these cool bikes include:

• A 1911 BSA 3.5 HP
• A Scott Flying Squirrel
• A 1923 Beardmore Precision
• A 1937 Brough Superior SS80

The Trust recently bought the last working Triumph Bandit. They have loaned it to the Grampian Transport Museum. They also got a rare Carfield 'Baby' from 1923. This bike has a 1.5 HP Villiers engine. It won a bronze medal in the Scottish Six Days Trial. It covered over 1,000 miles in tough conditions.

The Trust also helped the Coventry Transport Museum restore a 1936 Triumph Tiger 80. In 2015, a special Matchless Vickers machine gun outfit from World War I was saved. The BMCT bought it and arranged for it to be shown at the Tank Museum in Dorset.

In 2013, the BMCT bought the Spalding Collection. This collection has an example of every British motor scooter made between 1946 and 1962. An exhibit of these scooters, called the British Scooter Collection, opened in 2016. It was at the Haynes International Motor Museum. In 2021, it moved to the Isle of Man Motor Museum at Jurby.

Helping with Education

The Trust helps pay for research and educational work. This work is all about the British motorcycle industry. For example, they funded staff at Coventry Transport Museum. These staff members wrote a history of motorcycle making in Coventry.

The Trust also helped pay for the Resource Centre at Haynes International Motor Museum. This center is near Yeovil. Here, information and books about British motorcycles are being put online. This helps people who love and restore old bikes all over the world.