Motorcycle Apprentice: Matchless - in Name & Reputation

This is the inspiring story of how a young school-leaver with no academic qualifications and low expectations built a successful career based on an apprenticeship with Associated Motor Cycles Ltd, and eventually became Managing Director of his company. It describes the very personal story of the ups and downs of factory life in the 1950s and 1960s. In particular, it conveys the unique atmosphere and excitement that surrounds the manufacture of motorcycles, an atmosphere that for those who have experienced it is like no other. The excellence of the training that was provided by the company enabled the writer to achieve far more than he ever anticipated. The journey through the factory, starting with the lowliest of duties in the machine shops and ending as personal assistant to the top motorcycle designers of their time, is described in detail. It gives a rare insight into working practices within the different departments and the characters that were employed. Supported by a host of period photographs and rare documents, it provides a unique record of work within the British motorcycle industry in the final years of its decline into oblivion.

Table of Contents:
1. The seed is sown 2. First bike 3. The interview 4. Before my time 5. Drilling shop initiation 6. Heat treatment - a man's world 7. An accident, setback and recovery 8. College work and metallurgy 9. Fun and games 10. The machine shops 11. The jaywalker 12. Fire in the assembly shop 13. Homework and theft 14. The race shop 15. The tool room 16. The eternal optimist 17. The drawing office 18. Indentures and real work 19. Design - a career begins 20. Racing cars - a new hope 21. AMC afterlife - cranes also have wheels 22. Homecoming 23. Just another plaque on the wall 24. Vehicles - an appendix 25. Management - a comment

About the Author :
Born in London in 1941, Bill Cakebread’s sole ambition was to work with motorcycles. This enthusiasm secured him an apprenticeship with Associated Motor Cycles Ltd. When the British motorcycle industry collapsed, he joined Peter Berthon, famous for his association with ERA and BRM racing cars. Adapting his vehicle engineering knowledge to mobile cranes, Bill then became one of this country’s leading experts in crane safety, and, as Managing Director of his company, was a regular contributor of articles on the subject, as well as representing the UK at international standards meetings.

Review :
Jampot magazine, November 2008 AJS & Matchless Owners Club Limited UK For anyone who has a fascination with the marques of AJS and Matchless, those fabled yarns from the days when the factory was in full swing serve to remind us of how our present day pride and joy was once created. Bill Cakebread served an engineering apprenticeship after coming out of a grammar school education. It was often hard work in grubby surroundings, but he loved it, and it led him to far greater things in later life. Bill's account of his apprenticeship is a wonderful story of a man who lived his dream. The illustrations (many that I've never seen before) are a priceless record of the day, right up to the 2007 AMC revisited event at the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. Recommended. "A really good read and a story long overdue in telling" - interbike.co.uk "Insightful, educational, entertaining. The author deserves a cake for serving up this literary dish." - Classic Bike "Well illustrated with photos, drawings of the factory layout and other memorabilia, anyone with an interest in Associated Motor Cycles, engineering and life in working class post-war Britain should enjoy this book." - Brough Superior Club "A very interesting and easy read that I recommend to anyone with a sense of history and a passion for the British Motorcycle Industry." - VintageBike.co.uk "It's quite an uplifting story, which initially at least, emanates happiness in one man's proud working life in an environment he clearly loved. He tells of the characters, the politics, the factory layout, the production methods and much more, plus there are many humorous anecdotes from both his working and his private life." - Classic Bike Guide Jampot magazine, November 2008 AJS & Matchless Owners Club Limited UK For anyone who has a fascination with the marques of AJS and Matchless, those fabled yarns from the days when the factory was in full swing serve to remind us of how our present day pride and joy was once created. Bill Cakebread served an engineering apprenticeship after coming out of a grammar school education. It was often hard work in grubby surroundings, but he loved it, and it led him to far greater things in later life. Bill's account of his apprenticeship is a wonderful story of a man who lived his dream. The illustrations (many that I've never seen before) are a priceless record of the day, right up to the 2007 AMC revisited event at the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. Recommended.