Veteran dispatch rider Lewis Banham sits astride a BSA M20 motorcycle again after 73 years
It was at a British Legion lunch for World War Two veterans that I met Lewis Banham, a mild-mannered 94-year-old with a cheeky smile, once a dispatch rider with 44th Lowland Infantry Brigade.
Along with other members of what some people rightly call ‘Britain’s greatest generation’ he was there simply to enjoy tea, cake and a chat with fellow veterans. Upon finding he had served in the Netherlands I ascertained he had not yet received the ‘Liberation of the Netherlands’ award. Having taken his details I soon put things in motion; the Dutch Embassy move quickly and make sure the veterans get their medals pretty sharpish.
Lewis was accompanied by his friend Bill Ogden, himself a veteran who brought Lewis along as part of the ‘Veterans in the Communities’ (VIC).
‘To hear him talk about the M20 it’s like he is talking about a long lost friend’
On the way home that evening I thought it would be nice to find an original BSA M20 and have Lewis Banham sit on this bike one more time. An SOS went out the military vehicle collectors and re-enacting community and within an hour Jim Stott contacted me with an offer to bring his…
