I was delighted to read Andy Westlake’s article (TCM, July 2019) about a 350cc scrambles Matchless and his fond memories of that era.
I was a competitor at that time and this was my 1953 350cc Matchless at a scramble meeting somewhere in Cheshire in about 1957.
I am the bloke in the corset and this bike was my sole transport at the time. I rode it to the meeting and back with a silencer which I replaced with an 18in copper pipe for the races.
I started my competition career in 1955 on a G3L Matchless during National Service and was cannon fodder for the stars for nearly 20 years in most branches of the sport and really enjoyed it.
Although I am 86 years old now and no longer a motorcyclist I still compete in (age group) running, cycling, duathlon and indoor rowing events and am still hoping to breakthrough into the big time!
Brian Forster, via email.
Read more Letters, Opinion, News and Features in the October 2019 issue of TCM –on sale now!
