Offered from the estate of the late Alain de Cadenet, c.1914 Brough 3½hp Model HC OHV

Gearbox no. CS6140 (Sturmey-Archer)

• Acquired by Alain de Cadenet in 1970 from the original owner's widow
• Believed to have accompanied first owner, Captain Furness, during WWI service in France
• Loaned to the National Motorcycle Museum in 2017 for the W E Brough exhibition

Father of the better-known George, engineer William E Brough had already built a light car and a tricycle at his Nottingham workshop before completing his first motorcycle in 1902. Single-cylinder, v-twin and horizontally opposed twin-cylinder engines were used prior to WWI, though only the latter type was used post-war. Brough's first 'flat twin', an overhead-valve 497cc (3½hp) two-speeder, was developed in 1912 and launched in September 1913 as a 1914 model. It occupied the middle of the Brough range, priced at £56 10s compared to the 6hp v-twin at £72 10s and the 3½hp single at £46. Immensely proud of his new creation, William Brough wrote: "The beautiful sweet running of the new Twin Engine has placed it far ahead of any design at present on the market." Three versions of the Model H were on offer for 1915. Production recommenced post-war, but the Model H was swiftly superseded by the larger (692cc) sidevalve Model G. Faced with increasingly difficult trading conditions, William Brough's company ceased motorcycle production in 1925, leaving his son's Brough Superiors to carry on the family tradition.

This wonderful Brough 3½hp Model H was acquired by Alain de Cadenet in 1970 from the widow of its original owner, a Captain Furness of Solihull. A cavalry officer during the Great War, Furness is believed to have taken the machine with him to France during his service. At the time of Alain's purchase, the machine still had its last expired tax disc dating from 31st December 1921 (subsequently misplaced). Disliking the new road tax arrangements introduced in 1922, Furness laid the machine up and it would remain in dry storage for nearly half a century until rediscovered by de Cadenet.

Recorded as a 1914 example on the DVLA database, this machine's frame/engine numbers, '1218' and '931' respectively, fall into a 1914/15 sequence of Brough Model H models (the lowest numbered 'W E' being in three digits). The series had progressed to around 1,600 by 1923, with the highest known frame number being '1635', first registered in 1924. 'W E' survivors are believed to number around 14 worldwide, albeit some examples were constructed using a cache of new-old-stock headstocks discovered by Brough specialist and expert Dave Clark in the 1980s at the Brough Superior factory after they had been used by George Brough as hardcore for a works extension in the 1930s!

Restored at some point during Alain's ownership, 'AU 1837' was loaned to the National Motorcycle Museum in 2017 for the landmark W E Brough exhibition. There are no documents with the Brough, but it is HPi clear and on the DVLA database.

A rare survivor from Brough Senior's concern, this Model HC - with three-speed Strumey-Archer gearbox - represents a probably unrepeatable opportunity to acquire an early example of the marque, having been cherished for decades by Alain de Cadenet.
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