WDM20 RAF 50907

The Story of 50907 A BSA WDM20 .... The 'original' BSA WDM20 50907 was used during World War II by Royal Air Force Despatch Rider, Ray Ealey who was with 6 Heavy Mobile Wireless Transmitting Unit from start to finish of the Western Desert conflict against Rommel & the Afrika corp. Number 6 HMWTU consisted of approx 80 men, with the most secret, latest technology, High speed automatic transmitting & recieiving wireless sets that handled the morse code message on a narrow tape with continuous centre line where the dot or the dash of the morse code was indicated by its position above or below the line. These were "Read" by wireless operator "Morse slip readers" firstly into dots or dashes, then to letters. Ready to be decoded into plain language by Coding Officers, 'Logged', placed & sealed in a plain brown envelope to be immediately signed to a motor cyclist to be hand delivered as fast as possible, and handed personally to the Commander designated . This vital, highly secret, hand delivered imformation were, "Ultra Secret" and "Most Secret Signals" that originated from the "Enigma Code Breakers'' at Station X in Bletchley Park UK. to Commanders in the Middle East Western Desert conflict. The "Enigma Chain" was the most highly kept secret of WW2. The ability to intercept, decipher & read, enemy secret code wireless signals & transmit them in the British unbroken X code across the world to Wireless stations such 6 HMWTU. An information chain of enemy proposed actions is credited with shortening the war by two years & saved many thousands of lives, was kept secret until just a few years ago! This BSA WDM20 that you see is not the real 50907 but it is one of the motor cycles "Of Fame" in its wartime desert colour & chosen insignia. These sturdy machines with their lonely riders were the Final 'Link in the "ENIGMA CHAIN" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This WDM20 has been re-painted to look as authentic as possible. This motorbike was 1 of 309 issued to the Royal Air Force, and the records say it was sent to India. Now come my reasons for repainting this 1942 BSA WDM20 to replicate 50907. When I was in the Royal Air Force a lot of years later, one of the stations I was posted to was RAF Chicksands, and at that time we were monitoring all the Military Signals in Europe, including any from the Soviet Union. This was in the late 1950's and early 1960's when the Cold War was most intense. After RAF Chicksands I was sent to the Middle East where we also monitored various signals and used equipment that had been developed from the WW II Enigma machines. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After I had purchased this WDM20 and while searching for the correct Colour schemes and Insignia for Royal Air Force Despatch Riders motorbikes I was contacted by Ray Ealey who lives in Canada. As Ray could give me first class information about his WDM20, and as he had been delivering the Signals and Messages that were of the type that I used to work with, I made the decision to have the WDM20 repainted in the most authentic way that I could. That is why my 1942 BSA WDM20 is in the WW II Middle East Colour scheme and with the Royal Air Force Roundel superimposed on the Royal Corps of Signals Logo, as used on Ray's WDM20. The number 50907 was the ACTUAL Royal Air Force registration number that was issued to Ray Ealey's BSA WDM20. The coincidences do not stop with just the Middle East. After the end of WW II Ray moved to Canada where he married a Canadian girl, Hazel Pierce who served with the Womens Royal Canadian Naval Service during WW II, some of her shipmates were employed at HMCS Coverdale in new Brunswck Canada, monitoring signals that were sent to and from the German U-Boats. ( Which of course used those now famous Enigma coding machines ) In the early 1950's Ray, Hazel and family lived in Riverview, New Brunswick almost next door to HMCS Coverdale which at the time had a lot of American "Civilians" employed there. The Americans kept themselves & their "mysterious ways", aloof from their neighbours, Ray & Hazel, but by the height of the Wireless masts and length of aerial wire, distance & knowledge from Hazels old shipmates, they rather enjoyed telling them what there "Mysterious ways" were. "Monitoring the Soviet Submarines in the Artic waters.!!" Another coincidence was that they became friends with another couple who were from the UK and like Ray, had moved to Canada after WW II. It came to light, many years after they became friends, that Joan ( nee ) Martin, an Ex-WAAF wireless operator, the lady in the other couple, mentioned in a Boozing session, the word "X code". Ray picked this up and asked Joan what she did as a WOP ( Wireless Operator ). She explained she was intercepting German wireless transmissions at a secret RAF Station. That location turned out to be RAF Chicksands. Small world isn't it ? Now you have my reasons for restoring the WDM20 as you see it. As a tribute to the hundreds of WW II Motor Cycle couriers who were killed, maimed or injured. Who really travelled the long hazardous journeys on and off road, always alone but highly responsible. In all weathers & climates, day & night. Carrying the vital information that the command needed to make :- A decision of Victory or Defeat ! A decision of Life or Death ! Their faith in a great British built machine such as the BSA WDM 20. That is MY story of this replica of RAF 50907 A 1942 BSA WDM20.