Now a little of my family history The eldest brother was Frank, Gordon Henry was a technical draughtsman at Wolseley Motor Company who made Wolseley cars when Herbert Austin was works manager. Percy Josiah joined the army at the outbreak of the First World War, he was a despatch rider. He was only serving for about 6 months when he was killed riding a Douglas on the Somme. It was the rule that two dispatch riders with the same dispatches would ride about 200 yrs. apart so a good chance of one making it they had delivered it, on returning they had decided to use the edge of the road fields but both were riding too close and a shell tough them both out together. At the age of 5 my brothers used to tie a long length of rope around me and hang me out of the attic window until a large crowd formed then they would pull me back in and hide from our parents. I made motor cycles in 1905 using Rex engines and Blomfield V twin Engines with automatic inlet valves, some were fitted with times Philipson pulley or Roo2 speed rear clutch hub.

During the first world war my brothers had a contract to transport shell cases from the Birmingham Battery and Metal works in Selly Oak to the ordinance depot at Drews Lane Ward End they were filled with Cordite detonators and nose cones We then transported them to Birmingham New Street railway station they then went directly to Dover onto the front. One of their drivers was a Canadian army deserter, one day the military police came and took him away this meant they were some drivers short, so they got a permit allowing me to drive a truck on national importance. This Henry Garner lorry was converted to enable me to reach the controls. One day we had to move a 3-ton lathe, the only thing that was available was a Humber 30cwt when it was loaded it would not clime up Suffolk street so I had to reverse up, this was an ordeal because I had to turn it round at the bottom and although there was not a lot of traffic. At 14 my sister had a RUDGE multi with sidecar on one occasion with me in the sidecar going down corporation street (which runs both ways in those days and approaching new street a police man on point duty put his hand up against us a little late and with the old belt rim brake that she made a valiant effort to stop which she did by catching the policemen side she was a pretty good looking girl, gave the chap a big smile and said that she was very sorry to which he replied that's all right misses but do you mind getting this dammed thing off my foot you see all police men had sized 14 boots and splayed feet in those days. Now another occasion comes to mind, one of my customers had an RUDGE 4 speed which shed one or two teeth off one gear on dismantling this component I was amazed to find double helical gears and a million three/16 roller bearings of varying lengths The Rudge Whitworth company replaced the broken parts free of charge and plenty of its gears I suppose in case any others were damaged and I had many headaches reassembling the box. About a year later the machine became a total loss after an accident I brought it and fitted the engine into one of my frames and it became my brothers trials bike. I was very impressed with the RUDGE advanced engine design with its four valves cylinder head and when they marketed their python engine as a proprietary unit being a motor cycle manufacture by this time I offered it as an option to special order. RUDGE made a pent roof head, semi radial and full radial. They also did a Two valves spherical cylinder head. They were quite advanced design engines as was proven by their many competitive successes in those days. Most manufactures had slogans theirs being "Don't trudge it RUDGE it" that only goes to show that my memory is not dormant after all.

At eight years of age my brothers made me a small motor cycle using a Peco engine this I rode constantly.Once they took my bike to Selly Oak garage for some mad reason as my school had Wednesday afternoon off. I peddled my bicycle from our house in Gravely Hill to Selly Oak saw my bike, which appeared OK. I wheeled it out to the main Bristol Road paddle it off and went down the hill a police sergeant walking up the hill stopped and tried to signal me to stop but I turn away so not to see him watched me go past with my school blazer on assumed I was under 14 years of age (in those day 14 was the age for a driving licence for a motor cycle). Well I went down to the university about 1 mile and back up the hill to the garage. I hid in the garage but he came and found the bike asked my brothers he asked them how old I was when they said I was only eight he said he would summons them for permitting me on the public road. He summons my father he was a personal friend of chief constable (I think he played golf and bowls with him) he rang my father telling him he had put the report in the litter bin. My father stated it would be good publicity for the garage if it appeared in the papers. My father took me to Victoria law courts to his dismay the case was held in camera this meant no press, no public just the magistrate a clerk and the police officer the fine was £2.00 which was outrageous at the time and made me the original juvenile delinquent so my fathers friendship was some what temporarily over.

You will see later in this article just a few of the many occasions I should have come to an untimely end but fate decreed otherwise. My father was a master builder, built factories not houses and he used to say that the Belfast principle roof given enough height could span any distance, I think he may have been involved in the invention of this system, but I not sure about this. My mother owned a brass founder business in Hockley where she employed about twenty girls. One day father and mother had words he said that she was his wife not a business woman, so he said no more works for you. Later that day her traveller Mr Frank Hawker called and said the place was looked up and the girls were outside, my mothers told him what had gone on. My father came in and gave him the keys, that was the end of that. My life from childhood has been constant activity, with never a dull moment, so it's difficult with so many happenings in my life.

In 1916 while working with my brothers at there garage in Selly Oak during the winter we had a very bad downfall of snow. I was working when I noticed a load creaking noise coming from the roof and a moment later the roof came down on me, I hid in some tyres and was nearly crushed the only injury I received was a cut on my head from a long nail in the timbers.

In 1925 Captain Alan Price ask me if I could sign writer the sides of his lorry as I was somewhat of dab hand with a paint brush having had lots of practice on various things in my past I said I would call and see what he wanted to the following Sunday after Sunday school. I went to see him, he had just returned from a shoot and ask me to help myself to any of his game, it was then I noticed in the field opposite a monstrous hill that went up to the sky I ask him if I could have ago up it on my 1000 cc v twin racing Croft Cameron Anzani witch I raced on Madisfield drive. He said that it was up to me he said its impossible to walk up it in parts it was over vertical  in parts 1 in 1.1/2  I had seen American freak hill climbs and thought it would be somewhat of a challenge to do, so I went up the drive at about 40mph and hit the bottom of the hill holding on for grim life after some time going from mole hill to mole hill I reached the top only now to get back down this was not so bad, because I came down sweeping from side to side then my friend ask if he could come on the back. I agreed if he wanted this was the only time any one climbed Red Marley with a passenger to my knowledge, this was the birth of a great Easter Monday annual day out for most Birmingham people from 1930s to 1970s when due to very poor response from the Birmingham motoring club they closed it down.

In 1920 I had occasion to meet George Bernard Shaw, he was in my locality I was working in my garage in Barborne between St. George Lane and St. George's Square when a very smartly dressed chauffeur entered and ask if I could help him. He had a very important passenger in his car and it had broken down. I said I would have a look, when I got outside I saw a Rolls Royce. I said that no one other than a Rolls Royce mechanic could even pick up the bonnet, he say I will pick up if you think you could help. He did and I found that it was no spark. I then removed the magneto end cap to find the pin holding the contact points had come out. I put the points in the right place and fitted the pin back he then pushed the impulse starter button and it burst in to life, then a elderly man with a long grey beard got out and pressed a gold sovereign in to my hand, and thank me, I realised that gentleman was in fact George Bernard Shaw.

I would think that half of the motor cycling fraternity appears to know that I am still around, and that I designed and manufactured S.O.S. motor cycles. What I cannot understand is that only about three people had the true story. My old late great friend Bob Currie probably one of the most knowledgeable motor cycle journalists ever, then Reg. Kelly who not only has about eight SOS bikes but has every catalogue and spares list and any thing pertaining to myself & the make. He even has one of the alternative super Onslow special transfers. I have been riding Motorcycles since 1908 that works out at started competitive riding in 1923 on various makes of motor cycles which I had redesigned to suit my own needs, I had a garage at Hallow Worcester, some of the locals lads suggested that I made a bike like my own, having a knowledge of technical draftmanship designed my own bike and rode one quite successfully mainly using a 172cc Villiers Brooklands engine, Well all the air cooled engines ridden hard used to "Nip up" sometimes at the wrong moments, so having been schooled in technical draftmanship I designed a complete water cooled unit using the same porting (slightly altered) as the Brooklands cylinder and using a Serk radiator technical know how they made me a very efficient and small system. In 1929 the SOS Firm entered Harry Lester on a JAP engined works model in the Lightweight T.T. I went over to the island to look after the bike but, while there, entered myself as a reserve rider. Now the idea was that should Harry fall off in practice or anything else silly like that, I could step into the breech, but it did mean that he had to complete the necessary practice laps in order to qualify. That's just what he did finding that in fact he could get round quicker than the official entry (and if I'd known that in the first place he says there would have been no need to enter another rider Still Harry Lester was our London Agent, so tenth which wasn't at all bad going there was another official lightweight T.T. entry from the SOS. Company in 1931 again with Harry Lester as the rider but on that occasion things didn't go so well and he retired.

I designed a 172 water cooled engine unit but the cost of patterns and jig boring proved to costly so I brought 172 super sports Villiers engines and adapted my own cylinder, head conversions in 1931 then I suppose Villiers tested one of my machines and found it was very good and allowed me to purchase from them just the bottom half engines as they were making so many of the components for these engines. They ask if they could make my engines, I agreed till they said that it would have to made in volume and supplied to other manufacturers to which I said sorry I have something exclusive, and would like to keep that way, so they said they would make as liquid cooled engine of their own.

In 1933 that produced the 250 and 350 water cooled engines on which they gave me 1 years rights. That makes about, this involves every kind of competitive event track racing, Freak hill climbing, road racing, sand racing, timed road hill climbs motorcycle football, Wall of death twice (with 30 years gap) 1929 and 1959.tried like it (HURT MYSELF ANY WAY) Mostly enjoyed the big stuff like the Scottish six days, international six days lands end, nearly all the long distance stuff picked up quite a bit of cash at grass track racing, well anything on two sometimes three wheels still enjoy riding both as often as possible,

Dramatic incidents
Thrown off at the age of 6 or 7 when my brothers pushed me and the bike started leaving me hanging on the side of the bike, Bike and sidecar parted
A farmer asks me to look at a chaff cutter machine with my combo like AA. Box when the front bolt brook and the bike and sidecar parted
Telephone wires hanging across the road in a trial in the 60s,
In 1940, young Len had a bit of a mishap with a car on the Soho Road. He was treated for a cut head
We had got a bungalow at Rowney Green next to my brothers, which we used to go to some weekends. As we were travelling to it down this road we found the road completely black out by smoke coming from a farmers field that he was burning off then suddenly on our side of the road was a lorry filled with land girls. No hope, we hit it head on a total loss. I broke my collar bone young Len was out cold with concussion Jean had cut here finger, the wife had very bad cut legs from the dash, Peter who was sat on her lap had a cut lip
In 1946 Ted Wassell thought it would be a good idea if we went over to the Isle Of Man for the T.T. races so he phoned up Elmdon Airport to find out about planes. There were planes every hour so we decided to just go and try to get a flight so when we arrived we were told that to join the queue. We got to the top of the stairs to be told unfortunately there was no room so we had to wait for the next planes. The planes were old war time Dakota we joined the next flight after about an hour we had flown over Ireland and was on our way to America when they informed us that they had been a crash on the island, and we were delayed. When we landed we were told that the previous flight had crashed with a lot of our good friends on board with no survivors, that totally spoiled our trip
I was nominated for the (Golden Years Award) achievements of the year by a person of over pensionable age. I was beaten by Bill Lacey who was learning to fly a hang glider and hoped to fly over the channel to visit friends. The awards were given out at the Midlands Hotel in Birmingham. Reg was my guest and his room was over the railway tracks, this only allowed him a few hours sleep, but he had the bottle of champagne and the flowers to keep him company.

I had a letter from Ann Widdecombe MP minister of employment that someone had nominated me as the oldest working man in Britain, and requested that I travel to London to the department of employment, that they would pay all my expenses. I travelled down with Jean my daughter, this was somewhat of an ordeal because it snowed hard on the way down and the coach took 5hrs 30min instead of 2hrs. This meant that we arrived late, as we arrived we were set on by the worlds press this meant a lot of press coverage in local/national/radio/television. I was interviewed and I said part of my longevity was due to my none smoking, none drinking, a little sex (only twice a night) and to keeping my fingers moving and only eat to live not live to eat. A little later Ann went to present me with a bottle house of commons champagne, but having stated that I was teetotal I had to turn down so, she sent over and presented me with a house of commons paper weight. We were also invited on to the Kilroy-Silk show. This was a show about people who worked after retirement, this was quite an experience being a centrepiece on this show. He asked Jean why she had retired at only half my age, she replied that she was fully employed keeping me hard at it.

1995 I was awarded an MBE in new years honours list for my life long services to the motor cycling world

Credits

Len with MBE	Photo of 1995 portrait by Charles Green
Drawing	D.Twiss, drawn in March 2000
Other photos	Photos by Bob Shilling, originally in article on Len by Frank Melling Original article is linked to main page